Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Pure-Castile Liquid Soap (sold as Baby Unscented), 32 fl oz

1. Ingredients 45% of the rating 4 of 5

   Nine named ingredients (five organic oils or waxes, lye used up in soapmaking, water, citric acid, tocopherol) with no fragrance, though citric acid and tocopherol are additives a plainer soap would skip.

2. Independent testing 15% of the rating 3 of 5

   Independent labs found no lead, cadmium, mercury or arsenic in one Dr. Bronner’s coconut oil and the lowest phthalates of twelve coconut oils in another, but those are food oils; the soap is untested, and EWG Verified is a paid ingredient screen.

3. Does what it says 10% of the rating 3 of 5

   The page calls it ideal for babies when diluted and good for 18 uses, but an alkaline soap raised infants’ skin pH more than a pH 5.5 detergent in a randomized study.

4. Trust 15% of the rating 3 of 5

   It names every ingredient and has no soap recall, but a 2025 lawsuit over heavy metals in its toothpaste (settled) and a 2023 Prop 65 notice about a chocolate bar count against the brand.

5. Value 15% of the rating 5 of 5

   $17.19 for 32 fl oz is about $0.54 an ounce of concentrate, the lowest of the soaps here (Dr. Bronner’s bar is about $1.04).

The rating, 3.8 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank personal care and our standard.

• Whole Foods Market (opens in a new tab) approx. $17. Whole Foods’ online grocery page, listed as “Baby Unscented, 32 Ounce”; $16.99 and in stock on 2026-11-03, and the price can vary by store. Its ingredient line says “palm kernel oil”, as Vitacost’s does and unlike the maker’s “palm oil”.
• Walmart (opens in a new tab) approx. $17. Sold and shipped by Walmart.com; $17.17 and in stock on 2026-11-03, with the same barcode (018787772324) as the maker’s 32 oz bottle.
• Vitacost (opens in a new tab) approx. $19. Listed as “18-in-1 Pure-Castile Magic Soap, Baby, Unscented, 32 fl oz”; $18.67 on 2026-11-03 with an add-to-cart button, and the barcode matches the maker’s 32 oz bottle.
• Sprouts (opens in a new tab) approx. $22. Sprouts’ online store, listed as “Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Liquid Soap”, 32 fl oz, UPC 00018787772324 (the maker’s barcode); $21.99 on 2026-11-03, about $0.69 an ounce.

Prices as we saw them on November 3, 2026. They change often. These links carry no tracking code and earn us nothing.

1. Water
2. Organic Coconut Oil
3. Potassium Hydroxide (none remains after the oils are made into soap)
4. Organic Palm Oil
5. Organic Olive Oil
6. Organic Hemp Seed Oil
7. Organic Jojoba Wax
8. Citric Acid
9. Tocopherol

• Independent Lead Safe Mama (independent third-party lab, community-funded) September 2025

  Tested Dr. Bronner’s Organic Whole Kernel Virgin Coconut Oil and got “non-detect” for lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic; the oil joined the group’s “Lab-Tested Safer Choices List” (September 2025). Coconut oil is the soap’s first oil, but this is a retail food oil, not the soap. The site earns advertising and affiliate income. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Independent Mamavation with Environmental Health News (Mamavation earns affiliate income) November 2024

  Found 126 ppb total phthalates in Dr. Bronner’s Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, the lowest of the twelve coconut oils it lists; the result was added in November 2024. It is a food oil, not the soap, and Mamavation did not test the soap. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Paid certification USDA Organic Integrity Database (certifier: Oregon Tilth Certified Organic) October 2026

  Lists All-One-God-Faith, Inc. DBA Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps (NOP ID 8150001024, Vista, California) as a certified organic handler since 20 July 2003, with “Liquid Soap (Baby Unscented Pure-Castile Soap)” among its products. It is a company-level handling listing that the maker pays for, not a test of the soap for contaminants. The profile was updated 16 October 2026. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Maker’s own test Dr. Bronner’s (statements on its product page)

  Says the soap is EWG Verified and that its oils are certified fair trade and Regenerative Organic Certified. EWG’s directory blocks automated lookups, and we did not open the Fair Trade or Regenerative Organic listings, so these stay the maker’s claims. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Is a true soap too alkaline for skin, hair and babies?

Probably for some. Dr. Bronner’s own page on soap and skin pH (opens in a new tab) says true soaps are alkaline, “typically with a pH around 9–10”; we found no measured pH for this bottle. In a randomized study of infants (opens in a new tab), washing with an alkaline soap (pH 9.5) raised skin pH by 0.45, against 0.19 for plain water, and cut skin fat the most. The maker still calls this soap ideal for babies “when diluted”. If skin or scalp is dry or eczema-prone, a gentler syndet cleanser may suit better. The maker’s shampoo guide (opens in a new tab) says to follow castile soap with an acidic rinse, which hints at the same issue.

Does Dr. Bronner’s contain heavy metals?

Not that we found for this soap, and nobody has tested it. One Dr. Bronner’s coconut oil was non-detect for four metals in an independent lab test. The brand’s toothpaste had lead in the same program’s test and drew a lawsuit that settled in 2025; our bar soap page sets out that case. The soap is not named in it.

Do the oils carry phthalates?

In traces. Mamavation’s lab (opens in a new tab) found 126 ppb total phthalates in Dr. Bronner’s virgin coconut oil, the lowest of twelve, and every oil it tested had some. It did not test the soap, and we found no limit that applies.

Is “EWG Verified”, “Regenerative Organic” and “Fair Trade” enough proof?

They are screens the maker pays for or joins, and none tests the finished soap. The USDA Organic Integrity Database (opens in a new tab) does list the company as a certified organic handler (Oregon Tilth, since 2003) with this soap among its products. EWG blocks our requests and we did not open the Fair Trade or Regenerative Organic listings, so those stay claims. All of them cover sourcing and the ingredient list, not purity.

Is the palm oil sustainable?

Dr. Bronner’s says its palm oil comes from Daabon in Colombia, where oil palms grow without deforestation, and is Regenerative Organic Certified and fair trade. We did not open the certifiers’ listings, so this is the maker’s claim. The Vitacost and Whole Foods ingredient lines say “palm kernel oil”, which differs from the maker’s page and may be a stale retailer entry.

Does it have a Prop 65 notice or recall?

No soap notice or recall. California’s Prop 65 notice search (opens in a new tab) shows one notice, filed in July 2023, about mercury in a Dr. Bronner’s chocolate bar. The FDA’s recall database returns no matches for the company, and FDA’s warning-letter search (opens in a new tab) lists no letter to it (searched 2026-11-03). We could not read Reddit or search court dockets.

• Nine ingredients, all named on the maker’s page: water, organic coconut, palm, olive, hemp seed oils and jojoba wax, lye that is used up in making soap, citric acid and tocopherol. The maker says there is no added fragrance.
• An independent lab found no lead, cadmium, mercury or arsenic in one of Dr. Bronner’s coconut oils, and another lab found the lowest phthalates of twelve coconut oils in its virgin coconut oil.
• At about 54 cents an ounce of concentrate it is the cheapest cleanser per ounce among the personal care products we list.
• Whole Foods lists it at $16.99 and Walmart at $17.17 from Walmart.com; Sprouts and Vitacost show the same barcode as the maker’s bottle.

• It is a true soap, so it is alkaline. Dry, eczema-prone or very young skin may do better with a syndet cleanser.
• No lab has tested this soap itself for metals, 1,4-dioxane or PFAS. The tests we found are of coconut oil and, for the brand, a toothpaste.
• The “18-in-1” claims (face, shaving, makeup brushes, pets, camping) go far beyond what we could check, and “ideal for babies” sits against the infant pH study.
• Citric acid and tocopherol are additives that a bar of plain soap would not need.

Tested by

None for the soap; food-oil results only

1. Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Pure-Castile Liquid Soap (maker page). Maker’s page. Sold on the page as “Unscented - Pure-Castile Magic Soap”; ingredients, sizes and prices, seen 2026-11-03. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
2. Walmart: Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap, Baby Unscented, 32 fl oz. Independent source. $17.17 and in stock on 2026-11-03, sold and shipped by Walmart.com; barcode 018787772324. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
3. Whole Foods Market: Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap (Baby Unscented, 32 Ounce). Independent source. $16.99 and in stock on 2026-11-03; its ingredient line says palm kernel oil. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
4. Vitacost: Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Pure-Castile Magic Soap, Baby, Unscented, 32 fl oz. Independent source. $18.67 on 2026-11-03; barcode 018787772324; its ingredient line says palm kernel oil. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
5. Sprouts: Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Liquid Soap, 32 fl oz. Independent source. $21.99 on 2026-11-03; UPC 00018787772324. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
6. Dr. Bronner’s: soap, skin pH and the microbiome (maker page). Maker’s page. Says true soaps are alkaline, typically around pH 9 to 10. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
7. Dr. Bronner’s: castile soap as natural shampoo (maker page). Maker’s page. Says to follow castile soap with an acidic rinse such as diluted apple cider vinegar. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
8. USDA Organic Integrity Database: All-One-God-Faith, Inc. DBA Dr. Bronner’s (NOP ID 8150001024). Certifier or regulator listing. Certified handler (Oregon Tilth, Vista, California) since 2003-07-20; “Liquid Soap (Baby Unscented Pure-Castile Soap)” is in the product list; profile updated 2026-10-16. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
9. Lead Safe Mama: Dr. Bronner’s Organic Whole Kernel Virgin Coconut Oil lab report (2025). Test report. Independent, community-funded test of a coconut oil, not the soap: non-detect for lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic. The site earns advertising and affiliate income. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
10. Mamavation: Coconut Oils Tested for Toxic Phthalates. Test report. An advocacy outlet’s lab test of coconut oils (first published June 2024; the Dr. Bronner’s result was added November 2024): Dr. Bronner’s Organic Virgin Coconut Oil at 126 ppb total phthalates. Not a test of the soap. The article carries affiliate links. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
11. California Prop 65 60-day notice search: Dr. Bronner. Certifier or regulator listing. One notice, AG 2023-01918 (July 2023), about mercury in a Dr. Bronner’s chocolate bar. Searched 2026-11-03. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
12. FDA warning-letter search for Dr. Bronner’s (FDA.gov). Certifier or regulator listing. No warning letter to Dr. Bronner’s or All-One-God-Faith appears. Searched 2026-11-03. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
13. FDA enforcement (recall) search for Dr. Bronner’s (openFDA). Certifier or regulator listing. Returns “No matches found”; the food and device databases also returned none. Searched 2026-11-03. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
14. Gfatter et al., 1997: soap and detergents and infant skin pH (PMID 9407174). Independent source. Open randomized study of 40 infants aged 2 weeks to 16 months. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Pure-Castile Bar Soap The bar made from the same oils, at about $1.04 an ounce; it is also a true soap, so the same alkalinity caution applies.
• Meliora Bath & Body Soap Bar, Unscented Six ingredients and MADE SAFE listed, at about $1.75 an ounce; also a lye soap.
• Vanicream Shampoo A sulfate-free liquid with 15 ingredients and no soap, for people whose skin or scalp reacts to alkaline soap.

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