The most dependable bar soaps, according to Consumer Reports

Bar soap remains a cheap, fuss-free staple in millions of bathrooms despite the rise of body wash. Shoppers face dozens of choices in the soap aisle, and the wrong pick can dry out skin, wear away fast or leave a gummy film on the shower shelf.

Consumer Reports tested 13 bar soaps for lather, staying power and skin feel, and its six favorites are worth a look before the next store run.

Credit: Walmart

Every other soap in Consumer Reports' test group cost more per use than this Kirkland Signature pick, sold in a pack of 15 for $14.49, or 97 cents a bar. CR found the lather rich on both a net sponge and bare hands, with skin feeling clean afterward and never tight or dry. In the lab, 21% of a sample washed away during 20 minutes under cold running water, and the bar stayed solid across two days on a shower dish while other soaps turned goopy. The 4.5-ounce bar has a curved shape that can feel awkward to grip, and it still fits a standard travel case.

Credit: Amazon

Longevity is the main reason to spend $5.99 on this bar. A chunk of it shed only about 3% of its weight during CR's 20-minute soak under a cold stream, less than any other soap in the test group gave up. The 8-ounce bar outweighs the rest of the lineup, which makes it a handful to grip and too bulky for a standard travel case. CR's tester found the lather rich and the skin clean afterward, with too little moisture for anyone prone to dry patches.

Credit: Amazon

Scent is the draw of this $1.25 bar, which CR's tester picked ahead of the other fragranced soaps in the test group for a faint mint note that carried onto skin without any cooling sting. Lather came easily off a net sponge but thinned out when the bar was worked by hand, and CR's tester needed a second pass partway through the shower. CR measured 87% weight loss from a sample chunk after 20 minutes under running water, the tradeoff that comes with the low price. The curved 3.2-ounce bar is easy to grip and fits a standard travel case, and at roughly $1 per bar, restocking stays cheap.

Credit: Target

Unscented soaps often carry a faint chemical odor, and CR's tester detected nothing of the kind in this $4.29 bar. The 5-ounce bar lathered well, stayed firm on a wet shower shelf and fit inside a standard travel case. Dissolving tests placed it in the middle of the pack, so it wore away more quickly than some bars in the lineup and more slowly than others. CR's tester reported slightly dry arms and legs after showering with it, which matters if dry skin is already an issue.

Credit: Malin+Goetz

Malin+Goetz charges $20 for its rectangular 5-ounce bar, more than double the price of every other soap in CR's test group. CR's tester described the scent as strong and cologne-like, then regretted that none of it carried over to skin after the shower. She worked up a thick lather with it, came away with skin that felt clean instead of tight and found the bar still firm on a shelf the next morning. In CR's dissolving test, nearly 67% of a chunk washed away in 20 minutes, a pace the testers flagged as short of what $20 should deliver.