5 facial bar soaps for every skin type

These new-generation facial bar soaps might just change your mind about liquid cleansers.

There was a time when using the same bar of body soap on your face was a thing. But as we now know, different areas of the skin require very distinctive attention. Consequently, bar soaps were blacklisted from our skincare regime for its harsh detergent constituents and skin drying factors.

Since then, beauty brands have realised that it isn’t the bar itself that is the culprit, but the formulation. Thus began the reintroduction of bar soaps in our routine. Easy to travel with (no spillage), keeping well over time, and environmentally friendly (reduced packaging), more and more are looking to our old ways for new results.

For those looking to switch up their cleansing game, we’ve rounded up the best facial bar soaps for every skin type.

Chanel Sublimage Radiance-Revealing Rich Cleansing Soap
Best for: Mature Skin

As the name implies, Chanel’s Radiance Revealing Rich Cleansing Soap is a luxuriously indulgent product. The bar is composed of vanilla flower extract with highly potent antioxidant properties and shea butter for intense hydration. The bar lathers up to produce a gorgeous silky foam that cleanses and purifies to reveal illuminated skin. The beautiful carved soap also comes with its very own soap dish.

Drunk Elephant Juju Bar
Best for: Sensitive Skin

Drunk Elephant has earned a very loyal cult following for its natural products and creative packaging. One of two of the brand’s facial bar soaps is the Juju Bar – a low pH level formula (unlike other soaps with detergent components) which gives you squeaky clean skin without stripping away the hydration. The subtle exfoliation is countered with healing elements to refine the skin’s texture without the feeling of tightness afterwards. Free of fragrance, essential oils, dyes, colourants and irritants, it is suitable for even the most sensitive skin.

 Fresh Umbrian Clay Treatment Bar
Best for: Oily Skin

For when washing your face still isn’t clean enough, it’s Fresh’s Umbrian Clay Treatment Bar to the rescue. Offering a very deep and thorough cleanse, the Umbrian clay extracts impurities from within the pores. Great for oily or acne-prone skin in the summer, it ensures that all skin slough is flushed out. To complement the clay, ingredients like cranberry, bamboo and bitter orange work together for a full exfoliation. Once a week, work up a lather, and leave on for 10 minutes as a clarifying mask. Dull skin is now renewed.

Sisley Botanical Soapless Facial Cleansing Bar
Best for: Combination Skin

Naturally purifying and gentle to skin, Sisley’s Botanical Cleansing Bar leaves skin with a smooth, matte finish and radiant complexion. Enriched with calendula and tropical resins (incense, myrrh and benzoin), it forms a fine-textured creamy lather that washes off for an instant sensation of freshness. A magnet for makeup and dirt, it isolates and removes all impurities from the skin on your face.

Sulwhasoo Herbal Soap
Best for: Normal to Dry Skin

Extracting the beauty properties of Korean medicinal herbs (like red ginseng for anti-oxidisation, Chinese peony for healing, and Solomon’s seal and anti-inflammation), Sulwhasoo’s Herbal Soap cleanses the skin while nourishing it too. Using a 40-day ageing process to lock in all the goodness of the ingredients, the Herbal Soap is packed nutrients and most importantly supports the skin’s moisture barrier to lock in all the goodness. A special bonus if you enjoy the refreshing zingy scent of ginseng.

Main image: Vitória Santos/Pexels

This story first appeared on Prestige Online Hong Kong.