Live

We Asked 4 Kids to Review SoaPen Roll-on Soap, and the Results Are Pretty Darn Cute

published May 25, 2023
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Cute little girl washing her hands at a bathroom sink, in a stylish home environment. Aloe Vera plant in foreground and liquid soap and chrome tap featured. Little girl is confident and content.
Credit: Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images

Teaching kids to be diligent about washing their hands has — to absolutely no one’s surprise — become even more important in recent years. Stopping sticky little hands from spreading germs is a crucial life skill that can actually be taught pretty early on. For those with children who are handwashing-averse (or maybe just don’t do the best job at it), luckily there are now clever products on the market to make it easier on both parents and kids. Enter: SoaPen roll-on hand soap.

You may have seen the kids’ roll-on soap when it landed a deal on Shark Tank, or touted as a must-have on your Instagram feed. Essentially, the SoaPen is a washable soap marker for kids’ hands — they draw, then they scrub the coloring off with water, and their hands are squeaky clean. Available in three different colors and scents (tangerine-scented red, pear-scented green, and berry-scented blue), the non-toxic soap is meant to help kids have fun and do a more thorough job cleaning their hands for a full 20 seconds.

To see if the SoaPen really makes a difference in kids’ handwashing, we enlisted four rigorous testers to get their hands dirty — err, clean — and tell us how they really felt. Their parents then gave us their reviews. Without further ado, the cutest reviews you’ve probably ever seen:

Credit: Kristina Razon

Felix, Age 5

Does it make washing your hands more fun? Yes.

Do you like the colors? Yes.

Does it smell good? Good.

Is it easy to draw with? Yes.

Which is your favorite? Blue, because it smells like blueberries.

What’s your favorite thing to draw with it? Cats and a leopard.

Anything else you’d like to share? Why does the thing have water and paint in it?

Here’s What Mom Had to Say 

Does it really help your kid wash their hands? Yes, I thought it was super helpful. Felix was definitely quicker to wash his hands if the SoaPens were around for him to use.

How does it apply? Smoothly, or could it have a better applicator? It rolls on smoothly, but I will say that the application isn’t quite so even (the color comes out more at times than others).

Do you feel it requires more work than normal handwashing? Somewhat, as kids have to unscrew the top, apply, and screw it back on, but Felix didn’t seem to mind.

Is it good value for the money ($18 for a three-pack)? If not, what would be a fair price point? It’s a bit steep, but if each SoaPen lasts for a while (i.e., a certain number of washings) then I’d say the price point is fair.

Would you recommend it to a friend with kids who have trouble washing their hands? Yes!

Anything else you’d like to share? I think these are also great for travel or anytime you have to leave your house with your kids. The soap dispensers in public restrooms are always so far out of reach for small kids that I have to pick Felix up to bring him closer to it, or dispense the soap into my own hand to then transfer to his hand.

Credit: Laura Schocker

Lily, Age 2

Does it make washing your hands more fun? Yes!

Do you like the colors? Yes!

Does it smell good? Yes!

Is it easy to draw with? Mom: I drew for her since she’s only 2, but I say yes!

Which is your favorite? Green.

What’s your favorite thing to draw with it? My name! Mom: She’s really into letters and writing her name right now, and I did two letters on each hand.

Here’s What Mom Had to Say

Does it really help your kid(s) wash their hands? My daughter isn’t super resistant to washing her hands, but this definitely made it feel more fun!

How does it apply? Smoothly or could it have a better applicator? It definitely applied smoothly and easily.

Do you feel it requires more work than normal handwashing? A little bit! You have to paint the soap on instead of squirting it into their hands and moving on. So while it’s a little more fun, it’s not the best when you’re racing in the door for naptime.

Is it good value for the money ($18 for a three-pack)? If not, what would be a fair price point? Yes, I think that’s fair! Maybe a little on the high side.

Would you recommend it to a friend with kids who have trouble washing their hands? Yes! I feel like turning any difficult toddler task into a game is effective for us, so I would totally recommend this for people whose kids resist handwashing.

Anything else you’d like to share? I had to really help her scrub a bit to get the green color off. Maybe that’s a good thing because it encourages more vigorous washing? But it also meant the whole process took a little bit of extra time.

Credit: Anna Hoffman

Alice, Age 7 & Charlie, Age 4

Does it make washing your hands more fun?

Charlie: Yes.

Alice: Yeah, definitely.

Do you like the colors?

Alice: Yeah! It’s really cool, especially the blue.

Charlie: I wish there was pink.

Does it smell good?

Alice: Kind of. It smells kinda like candy.

Charlie: The blue one smells like blueberries, and the green one smells like kiwi.

Is it easy to draw with?

Alice: It’s kind of easy and kind of ticklish.

Which is your favorite?

Alice: I think the red ’cause I like how it smells like cherries.

Charlie: [thinks for about 30 full seconds] Green. And blue and red.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Alice: Yeah, it’s much more funner than regular soap that you can’t see.

Here’s What Mom Had to Say

Does it really help your kid(s) wash their hands? It definitely got them excited to wash their hands, and there were a few bonus handwashing sessions that were kid-initiated.

How does it apply? Smoothly, or could it have a better applicator? It applies very smoothly and easily.

Do you feel it requires more work than normal handwashing? No, in fact I felt it washed off very quickly.

Is it good value for the money ($18 for a three-pack)? If not, what would be a fair price point? It depends on how long each “crayon” will last — and also whether it is truly effective at cleaning hands, which I’m not completely sure about. As a cute novelty gift and a way to encourage handwashing, I’d probably want it to be more like $12 to $15.

Would you recommend it to a friend with kids who have trouble washing their hands? Definitely; it was a fun way to disrupt the handwashing routine and give them some control over the soap application.

Anything else you’d like to share? As I mentioned above, I’m not totally convinced that this soap got my kids’ hands super clean, but it definitely got them more excited for handwashing!

Buy it now! SOAPEN Kids’ Roll-On Hand Soap, $17 from Amazon

Cubby: Eat. Live. Play. Families Together at Home.

Want more great home ideas for families? Sign up for Cubby’s weekly newsletter featuring our best editor-approved product recommendations, meal ideas, and all the kid’s room decor ideas you need.