Native Body Wash Reviews: Our Family’s Honest Take After Years of Daily Use

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There are currently zero bathrooms in our house without a bottle of Native body wash in the shower (not an exaggeration). My husband uses it, I use it, and two of our kids use it. And so I’ve bought more bottles of this stuff than I can count and tried more scents than I can remember.

When people ask me for Native body wash reviews, I have opinions.

How We Got Here

Native won me over with their deodorant first. When I was on a big natural deodorant kick a few years ago, I tried SO many different brands. Native was the most solid choice when looking at ingredients, price, scents, and effectiveness. You can see how it stacked up in the 2 week pit test against Lume Deodorant.

I didn’t realize Native had a full body care line until browsing Target one day and seeing their shampoos and body washes. When we needed new body wash, it was top of mind.

I started because of the ingredient list. No sulfates, no parabens, no phthalates, no dyes. Plant-based cleansers. Vegan and cruelty-free. Especially for my pre-teens, finding a clean body wash was really important to me. I love that all six of us can use this same formula and I can feel good about it. Plus, the scents are really fun!

Which One to Buy: Regular vs. Moisturizing

If you take one thing from this post, take this: the moisturizing formula is noticeably better. We won’t buy the regular formula again and stick with the moisturizing.

The regular body wash is fine, maybe even good. If you don’t have sensitive or dry skin, its probably just fine. But the moisturizing version is made with real shea butter there is a noticeable difference in how soft your skin feels after showering with this one vs the regular one. One person in our fam got irritated from the regular body wash but has no problem with with moisturizing one.

(you can see the picture above of the clear regular body wash on the left and the white moisturizing body wash on the right)

Instead of trying to figure out who the regular formula worked for, I just moved everyone to the moisturizing formula.

Native also launched a Sensitive Series recently, developed with dermatologists and allergists, with hypoallergenic fragrance and naturally derived ceramides. We haven’t needed it since the moisturizing formula covers us, but if someone in your house has truly reactive skin or eczema, I would start there.

Native Body Wash Scent Reviews

We have tried a truly ridiculous number of Native scents. Some became staples, some were fine, and one surprised me. Here’s how they stack up for me (but I know, scents are totally personal and you might not feel the same way).

Cocoa Butter & Vanilla. This is our everyday workhorse. It’s subtle, it’s unisex, and it does exactly what I want a daily body wash to do: you smell good, but you don’t smell like anything in particular. It works fine on its own and it never competes with perfume. If I could only keep one bottle in every bathroom, it would be this one.

Vanilla & Cashmere. Same category as the Cocoa Butter & Vanilla, and the two are basically tied for our family favorite. Soft, warm, and quiet. Everyone in the house uses it without a second thought, which is the highest compliment a shared body wash can get.

Pineapple & Coconut Milk. This is my personal favorite even though it’s the opposite of subtle. It’s a little strong on the pineapple, I’ll admit, but it’s fruity and fun and you just feel like you’re on a tropical vacation for two minutes in the shower. Sometimes I use this as a bubble bath at night or just a quick rinse in the tub when Im not taking a shower before bed.

Coconut & Vanilla. This is Native’s famous fan favorite and I hate to be a downer but, I like the other ones better. It smells pretty strongly of coconut, and to me it reads as more of a fake coconut than a real one. It’s fine. It’s not my favorite but I will use it without any complaints. If you love coconut, I suspect you’ll love it, but if you’re picking your first bottle, I’d have you start with Cocoa Butter & Vanilla instead.

Sea Salt & Cedar. Another really good base scent perfect for men (but can be unisex). It’s clean and a little woodsy without being loud. We’ve gone through bottles of it, which says enough.

Eucalyptus & Mint. I liked this one a lot. It’s fresh and cool and feels like it wakes you up a little, which makes it a great morning shower pick. The kids are less excited about this one but it is another good unisex option.

Sugar Cookie. I haven’t tried this one yet, but it’s one of Native’s seasonal scents and it sounds like a lot of fun. Its on my list to try for the holidays (maybe as stocking stuffers?)

The Scent Fades Fast (a good thing)

I read reviews of the Native body wash complaining the scents don’t last that long. They aren’t wrong. You smell wonderful in the shower and right when you step out but a few hours later you don’t smell strongly of Pineapple and Coconut.

I love this. By the time I’ve put on deodorant and perfume, my body wash isn’t fighting either one. You get that fresh, just-showered smell in the moment, and then you’re clean but don’t smell of anything. If you’ve ever worn a heavily scented body wash that clashed with your perfume two hours later, you understand why this is important.

If what you want is to smell like your body wash all day, I would find a different body wash.

Is Native Body Wash Good for Men?

My husband has been using Native as long as I have, so I’ll answer this one on his behalf: yes. Our two everyday scents, Cocoa Butter & Vanilla and Vanilla & Cashmere, are genuinely unisex, warm and subtle rather than sweet or flowery. If you want something that leans a little more traditionally masculine, Sea Salt & Cedar is the one I’d grab first but Eucalyputs and Mint is another great pick. Native also makes a dedicated men’s line.

What Reddit and Other Reviews Say

I always gut-check my own take against the internet before recommending something, and the consensus on Native body wash tracks with our experience: people consistently praise the scents and the clean ingredient list, the moisturizing formula gets singled out as the best of the line, and the most common complaint is that the scent doesn’t last long after the shower. Which, as I said above, is the point. The one other thing people complain about is the price so lets talk about it.

The Price Question

Native costs more than a drugstore body wash. There’s no way around that. You can put it on subscription to save a few dollars or buy things in bundles.

For me, the slightly higher price for ingredients I trust for everyone in my family is absolutely worth it. I stock up when its on sale for Prime day or something but in general, feel good about spending a bit more for something that is literally being slathered over everyone’s skin.

The Verdict

Native body wash is one of the easiest recommendations I make. It’s the only body wash we’ve bought for years, it works for every age and every skin type under our roof, and the ingredient list is one I can feel good about.

Buy the moisturizing formula, pick Cocoa Butter & Vanilla if you can’t decide on a scent, and subscribe if you like it, because you’ll be back for more anyway.

Native Body Wash FAQ