Clean Bar Box Subscription Box Review – August 2015

Clean Bar Box is a subscription box that delivers you handmade artisan soaps that are free from preservatives, animal products, petroleum derivatives, parabens, and sodium lauryl sulfate.

This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Box: Clean Bar Box

The Cost: $14.99 (monthly; four 2.5 ounce bars), $19.99 (monthly; two 5 ounce bars and two 2.5 ounce bars), $19.99 (every other month; two 5 ounce bars and two 2.5 ounce bars). Save with 6- and 12-month subscriptions.

The Products: Four new scents of seasonally-inspired soap every month. All ingredients are sourced in the USA and the soaps are handmade in Indiana.

This is a review of the large box, which you can purchase on a monthly or every other month basis.

Ships to: US (free).

Note: Lots of other countries are available in the drop-down list in the sign-up window. I can’t tell how to calculate shipping for those countries, though. I’d suggest e-mailing them if you are interested and live outside the US.

Check out the Beauty Subscription Box Directory for more great bath- and spa-oriented subscriptions!

Each box includes an information sheet with the month’s theme and descriptions of the included scents. This is the last month of summer so all the scents are tropical.

Bay Rum Soap (5 oz.) – Value $7.50

Mango Soap (5 oz.) – Value $7.50

This box always smells so good when I open it up. I like the bay rum soap better than I thought I would. While I would classify a lot of Clean Bar Box scents as more feminine, I think this one could work as a unisex soap.

Green is an interesting color choice for mango soap. I guess the outsides of mangoes are green, though! At any rate, this has a fruity scent that fits perfectly with the tropical theme. One thing to note is that the tub floor gets a little slippery if you are using these during a shower, so be careful with that. (Apparently this is common with soaps where lye was used to saponify the fats, though!) I was a little worried about the dyes in these soaps at first (I have sensitive skin), but I’ve used several full bars of rather brightly-colored soaps from them at this point and haven’t had any issues.

Note: Past soaps are available to purchase on the Clean Bar Box site, but not all of the August ones are up in the store yet. I based the pricing on other 5 oz. bars in their store and linked to their order page. (All the 5 oz. bars come in earth-friendly cardboard boxes.)

Banana Coconut Scrub (2.5 oz.) – Value $3.75

Citrus Basil (2.5 oz.) – Value $3.75

It seems like there is usually at least one scrub bar in Clean Bar Box. I find the exfoliation to be pretty gentle. Also, this banana coconut scrub smells good enough to eat! Citrus Basil, like the bay rum above, is another scent that has the potential for being unisex.

I didn’t see any 2.5 ounce bars in the Clean Bar Box shop, so I just divided the price of the 5 ounce bars in half to get a value.

Customer service note: I have reached out to Clean Bar Box a few times with questions and they are always super responsive.

Verdict: I calculated a value of about $22.50 for the June Clean Bar Box. This is a subscription where you know what to expect every month. For what it’s worth, the value is a little higher than last month because they’ve raised prices in their shop; however, they’ve kept subscription prices the same. I also like that you have the option of buying a smaller box or getting one every other month (they even have soaps for sale individually and a one-time, non-renewing box purchase option). That way, the subscription can work for you even if you are a less frequent user of bar soap.

I like the effort to branch out into more unisex scents this month, as well. And as usual, the soap scents fit the theme and season nicely.

What did you think of the Clean Bar Box? Do you get any soap subscriptions?