Mrs. Meyer’s hand soap is generally safe for most people, but it contains several ingredients that deserve a closer look, particularly fragrance compounds and preservatives that can trigger allergic skin reactions in sensitive individuals. The Environmental Working Group gives the product an overall score of 3 out of 10 (where lower is better), which places it in the “low hazard” range. That said, individual ingredients within the formula score much higher for concern.
What’s Actually in the Formula
The lavender liquid hand soap, one of the brand’s most popular scents, lists these ingredients: water, cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine (a gentle surfactant), sodium methyl 2-sulfolaurate (the primary cleanser), glycerin, lavender oil, orange peel oil, fragrance, olive fruit oil, aloe leaf juice, citric acid, sodium chloride, potassium sorbate, and sodium benzoate. On the surface, this is a relatively short ingredient list compared to many conventional hand soaps, and it includes moisturizing additions like glycerin, olive oil, and aloe.
The cleansing agents are milder than what you’d find in many drugstore soaps. The main surfactant in Mrs. Meyer’s formulas has roughly 15% less skin irritation potential than sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), the harsh cleanser common in cheaper products. However, research shows it interacts more aggressively with the natural oils in your skin, which can weaken your skin’s protective barrier over time. For occasional handwashing this is unlikely to matter, but if you wash your hands frequently throughout the day, it could contribute to dryness.
The Fragrance Issue
Fragrance is the single most concerning ingredient in Mrs. Meyer’s hand soap. EWG gives the fragrance component a score of 8 out of 10, flagging it for high allergy and immune system concerns, moderate endocrine disruption potential, and moderate irritation risk. That score stands out sharply against the product’s overall rating of 3.
Mrs. Meyer’s does disclose its fragrance allergens on its website, which is more transparent than many brands. The list is long: limonene, linalool, citral, citronellol, geraniol, eugenol, coumarin, and several synthetic compounds including alpha-isomethyl ionone, amyl cinnamal, and hexyl cinnamal. These are among the most common causes of fragrance-related contact dermatitis. If you’ve ever reacted to perfume, scented lotion, or essential oils, any of these could be a trigger.
The essential oils themselves add to this picture. Lemon peel oil and Virginia red cedar oil both score a 4 on EWG’s scale, primarily due to allergy concerns. Mrs. Meyer’s is known for its strong, pleasant scents, but that fragrance load comes with real tradeoffs for people prone to skin sensitivity.
Preservatives and Skin Sensitization
Some Mrs. Meyer’s formulas have contained methylisothiazolinone and benzisothiazolinone as preservatives. Both are well-documented contact allergens. The European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety found that benzisothiazolinone has sensitizing potency similar to methylisothiazolinone, and that methylisothiazolinone at concentrations as low as 0.01% in cosmetic products is causing contact allergy in consumers. The committee concluded it could not consider benzisothiazolinone safe in cosmetics from a sensitization standpoint until safe exposure levels are established.
These preservatives are more of a cumulative concern than an immediate one. You might use the soap for weeks or months without a problem, then develop a sensitivity that causes redness, itching, or a rash on your hands. Once you’re sensitized, even trace amounts of the chemical in other products can trigger a reaction. This is different from simple irritation: it’s your immune system learning to react to the ingredient.
The product’s own safety data sheet classifies it as “Skin sensitisation: Category 1” and states it “may cause an allergic skin reaction.” That’s a standard regulatory disclosure, but it confirms the potential is real.
Is It Safe for Kids?
The safety data sheet for Mrs. Meyer’s hand soap states “keep out of reach of children and pets.” This is partly a standard precaution for any soap product, since swallowing it would cause stomach upset. But the fragrance allergens and preservatives are more relevant concerns for children’s skin, which is thinner and more permeable than adult skin.
Children are also more susceptible to developing new sensitivities. Repeated exposure to known sensitizers during early childhood can establish allergic responses that persist for life. If your child has eczema, sensitive skin, or a family history of contact allergies, a fragrance-free soap is a safer choice for everyday handwashing.
Environmental Considerations
Mrs. Meyer’s markets itself as an environmentally conscious brand, and it does hold certifications including Leaping Bunny cruelty-free status and a Whole Foods Eco-Scale rating. The products are not tested on animals.
The environmental picture is more mixed at the ingredient level. EWG flags methylisothiazolinone as a high concern for aquatic toxicity, meaning it’s harmful to waterways when it washes down your drain. Benzisothiazolinone carries moderate aquatic toxicity concerns along with questions about how readily it breaks down in the environment. Even the fragrance component and some of the plant-derived surfactants carry some degree of aquatic toxicity concern. The product is better than many conventional alternatives on this front, but “green” branding doesn’t mean zero environmental impact.
Who Should Choose a Different Soap
For the average person with no history of skin sensitivity, Mrs. Meyer’s hand soap is a reasonable choice. It uses milder surfactants than most mainstream brands, includes moisturizing ingredients, and keeps its overall ingredient list relatively short. Many people use it daily without any issues.
You’re better off with a fragrance-free alternative if you have eczema or dermatitis, a history of reacting to fragrances or essential oils, very dry or cracked skin on your hands (which allows ingredients to penetrate more deeply), or young children in the household who will use it regularly. If you notice redness, itching, or a rash developing on your hands after switching to Mrs. Meyer’s, stop using it for two weeks and see if your skin clears. Fragrance-related contact dermatitis often develops gradually, so the connection isn’t always obvious.