Nécessaire
Quick verdict: Ever looked at the back of a body wash and found a skincare ingredient list? That’s Nécessaire’s whole idea. Niacinamide in the body wash, peptides in the lotion, retinol and vitamin C in treatments made for the body instead of the face. The company behind it is a certified B Corp, holds The Climate Label for 2026 and gives through 1% for the Planet, and we confirmed all three at the issuers. A 500 ml body wash is $42, so you’re paying a skincare price for something that rinses down the drain. Our rating: 3.7 out of 5.
Who they are
Randi Christiansen, who’d worked in marketing and strategy at Estée Lauder, and Nick Axelrod, from fashion and beauty media, started Nécessaire in Los Angeles in 2018. The pitch from day one was body care built like face care.
It’s independent, with outside money. BeautyMatter reported in 2022 that Cavu Consumer Partners had invested, joining earlier backers Imaginary Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Maveron, Able Partners and VMG Catalyst. None of them owns it outright, and there’s no parent company. Venture money usually wants an exit at some point, though, so that’s worth keeping an eye on.
What they get right
Three certifications that survived checking. B Lab’s directory lists Nécessaire, Inc. as a certified B Corp since September 2022, with a score of 103.1. The Climate Label register shows it first certified in 2020 and current for 2026 (the program used to be called Climate Neutral). And 1% for the Planet lists Nécessaire Inc. as an active member. That’s a fuller set than most beauty brands we’ve looked at, and we’ve found plenty this year whose badges outlived their certifications.
Full ingredient lists on the product pages. Open the body wash and you get every ingredient, not just the hero ones. The cleansers are mild sugar- and coconut-derived ones rather than sulfates, with niacinamide and plant oils behind them.
It says where things are made. Nécessaire’s footprint page lists manufacturing in Utah, California and Vermont, plus the states it ships from. It doesn’t name the factories, but it’s a lot more than “made in the USA.”
A fragrance-free version of almost everything. The scented versions use essential oils, so linalool and limonene show up on those labels. If that matters to you, the fragrance-free option is there for the body wash, lotion, deodorant and treatments.
Where they fall short
It’s expensive for a product you wash off. $42 for a 500 ml body wash is roughly ten times the price of a drugstore bottle. The actives make more sense in the leave-on products, like the lotion and the body retinol, than in something that sits on your skin for 30 seconds.
Some of the green claims are offsets. Nécessaire’s own footprint page says it has measured and offset its carbon footprint, and that its Plastic Neutral status through rePurpose Global means the plastic is offset too. That’s honest about what it is. It’s still a payment for cleanup elsewhere, not less plastic in your bathroom. Most of the range comes in plastic bottles and tubes.
No independent performance testing we could find. We didn’t find a lab test or a hands-on review from a source we’d cite, so our “does it work” score rests on the formulas rather than on somebody else’s trial.
What they sell and what it costs
Body care is the core. The body wash is $28 for 250 ml or $42 for 500 ml, the body lotion is $30 for 200 ml or $52 for 450 ml, and the deodorant is $24. Treatments sit higher: the body retinol and the neck serum are $65 each, and the body vitamin C is $62. There’s also hand cream at $28, shampoo and conditioner from $32, a mineral sunscreen at $45, and travel sizes around $15.
Call it $$$. It’s priced like department-store skincare, because that’s what it’s competing with.
Who it’s actually for
Buy Nécessaire if you’re already spending on your face and want the same kind of formulas below the neck, especially the lotion or a body treatment. It’s also a good pick if third-party certification is what you care about most, since all three of its marks held up.
If you mostly want a clean body wash that doesn’t cost much, this isn’t it. Our natural body wash roundup has options at a fraction of the price, and our profile of Plaine Products covers a refill model that tackles the plastic directly.
Deals and discounts
No affiliate relationship on our side. Nécessaire runs a give $10, get $10 referral program on its site.
Related reading
- The Best Natural Body Wash and Bar Soap That Actually Cleans
- The Best Natural Deodorants
- Fragrance-Free vs Unscented
Frequently asked questions
Is Nécessaire a B Corp?
Yes. B Lab’s directory lists Nécessaire, Inc. as a certified B Corporation since September 2022, with a score of 103.1. We checked the directory itself.
Who owns Nécessaire?
It’s independent. Co-founders Randi Christiansen and Nick Axelrod started it in 2018, and it’s backed by venture investors including Cavu Consumer Partners and Imaginary Ventures. No company owns it outright.
Is Nécessaire worth the price?
For the leave-on products, it can be, since the lotion and body treatments carry ingredients you’d normally find in face care. For the body wash, it’s a harder case, because a $42 bottle rinses off in seconds.
Is Nécessaire carbon neutral?
It holds The Climate Label, which we confirmed as current for 2026, and its own footprint page says it measures and offsets its carbon emissions in full. Offsetting pays for reductions elsewhere rather than cutting the brand’s own emissions to zero.
Does Nécessaire make a fragrance-free body wash?
Yes. The body wash, lotion, deodorant and most of the treatments come in a fragrance-free version alongside the essential-oil scents.