The 10 best and safest baby shampoos for your baby should put the health of your baby first and foremost. There are many shampoo products that claim to do this but this isn’t necessarily true. Many shampoo brands use a flurry of chemicals in their products that are designed to be sold as cheaply as possible so that they can score a profit. They do this at your expense, not caring those chemicals are harmful to you and your baby. Unfortunately, many of the top brands we’re most familiar does this. Normally, many of them will have alternative brand names that will be sold as generic knockoffs, knowing not every parent can afford big money to spend on better quality shampoos for their baby. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes even the highest-priced shampoos aren’t necessarily the best and safest for your baby. It boils down to whatever formula was used to put a shampoo product together. Quite frankly, the least amount of chemical involvement poured into the shampoo the better. The healthiest people, regardless of age, are individuals who diligently favor the best nature itself has to offer as opposed to what some of the pharmaceutical companies have conjured up.
Ideally, you want the baby shampoo to be free from certain chemicals such as parabens, phthalates, and sulfates. These are not healthy for your baby’s skin. They’re not even healthy for yours, despite the fact they’re usually found in most adult shampoos and body washes. If you ever wonder why your scalp gets itchy for apparently no reason, check the ingredients of your shampoo. If those three chemicals are in the list of ingredients, odds are you’ve found your main culprit. In addition to favoring baby shampoos that are chemical-free, finding one that has a no-tear formula is ideal. This way, should it get into your baby’s eyes it won’t irritate them.
Unless a baby shampoo has that claim put on the bottle, you’d probably want to avoid it. Again, it’s about keeping the chemicals away from your baby. This also applies to fragrances. Not every aromatic shampoo product is necessarily a skin-friendly one. Many brands use botanical extracts and essential oils to create fragrances, including products claiming to be all-natural. If the baby’s skin is really sensitive, you’ll want to make sure to stick with a shampoo product that uses ingredients that has the least amount of irritants possible. Once again, it’s sticking with the best and safest shampoos for your baby that has the best reputation as brands that really do put the health of your baby first and foremost.
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10 Best and Safest Shampoos for Your Baby
#10 – Cetaphil Baby Wash & Shampoo with Organic Calendula
Cetaphil has a baby wash and shampoo formula that uses organic calendula in a product designed as a tear-free 2-in-1 solution for your baby’s hair and skin care needs. The aromatic calendula from the marigold flower is used to work as a soothing moisturizer for your baby’s sensitive skin. This is a hypoallergenic product free from irritants to ensure your baby doesn’t have to contend with anything unpleasant during bath time. Since 1947, Cetaphil has brought forth a line of skincare products that were originally developed in 1947 by a Texas-based pharmacist. The parent company behind Cetaphil is Swiss-based Galderma. Among store-bought healthcare products, Cetaphil’s name is among the most common. On sites like Amazon, Cetaphil has an incredibly high rating for this particular baby wash and shampoo product. With at least forty thousand five-star ratings given, this easily categorizes Cetaphil’s baby wash and shampoo product as one of the best and safest money can buy for your baby.
#9 – Noodle & Boo Lavender Newborn 2-in-1 Hair & Body Wash
For babies with dry or dull hair, Noodle & Boo Lavender Newborn 2-in-1 Hair & Body Wash is the ticket to deal with that problem. The protein, plus Vitamins B and E keep your baby’s hair healthy and shiny as a tear-free haircare solution. Lavender is a calming agent that benefits your baby. The tear-free formula cleans your baby’s hair and body without stripping away daily moisture. It’s mild enough for daily use and for babies with sensitive skin, including eczema. There is a list of preservatives in this brand but does leave out dyes, paraben, phthalate, and sulfate.
As a company, Noodle & Boo has focused solely as a premium leader in luxury maternity and baby skin care. This American-based company has been recommended by pediatricians for their hypoallergenic products that purposely avoid the harmful chemicals found too often in many beauty and healthcare products. This includes avoiding bisphenol A (BPA), formaldehyde, GMOs, PPGs, and triclosan. The preservatives Noodle & Boo use in their baby shampoo product is used to keep bacteria, fungus, and yeast out so that it’s healthy and safe to use. Any kind of product that uses water is at risk of developing bacteria, mold, and yeast, which then becomes a skin irritant. What’s great about Noodle & Boo is the company’s honesty, which is rare among most brands.
Keeping products that have water as an ingredient in a warm place jeopardizes their quality level. Also, they admit there is no single preservative that can keep bacteria at bay so a blend at very small percentages is required to ensure the baby shampoo does exactly what it needs to do with enough safety measures in place to keep your baby’s health top priority. A common mistake many brands make is using higher concentrations of preservatives, which is what triggers skin irritation.
#8 – Cantu Care for Kids Tear-Free Nourishing Shampoo
For babies who have curly and kinky care, Cantu Care for Kids Tear-Free Nourishing Shampoo is a product that focuses on the needs of hair types that need more specific attention. The natural oils used in this product are designed to prevent issues such as breakage and other damage. As a company, Cantu Beauty has been winning awards as a haircare brand and has been featured in various publications such as Cosmopolitan, Health, Healthline, and Prevention. Instead of using paraben, phthalate, and sulfate, Cantu Care for Kids uses coconut oil, honey, and shea butter. In 2015, this product won a Naturally Curly Editors’ Choice Award for Best Kids Collection. Although it says kids, it is safe for your baby as well.
#7 – Puracy Baby Shampoo & Body Wash
As a natural baby shampoo and body wash, PPuracy does the job without the involvement of chemicals and other toxic ingredients. The team of doctors who created this baby shampoo formula focused on using food-grate plants and mineral-based ingredients that is skin friendly. The convenience of the pump bottle makes this a favorite among parents. It does do wonders for sufferers of eczema. The smell of citrus comes from this product, which bugs and insects hate, so that’s one plus if you wish to keep those away from your baby. This is an easy-to-rinse baby hair and body care product that uses a blend of fruit and vegetables as a vegan’s choice to act as a hydrating moisturizer. What’s great about Puracy is the friendly support you get if you find their products don’t measure up to your standards as a parent. The American-based team involved in the creation of this product is so confident in its products that it offers a Pure Love Guarantee with no time limit.
#6 – Baby Bum Shampoo & Body Wash
For ingredients, Baby Bum Shampoo & Body Wash uses a mix of banana and tropical extracts, as well as sea minerals, in a tear-free formula that strives to be completely vegan. As a product focused to keep dyes and gluten out of the equation, it uses a formula that’s safe for babies, kids, and toddlers when it comes to hair and skin care. Paraben, phthalate, silicone, and sulfate are ingredients you won’t find in Baby Bum’s product, ensuring your baby’s health comes first when it’s bath time. Baby Bum belongs to Sun Bum, a company that has an office in Cocoa Beach, Florida, and in Encinitas, California. They’ve been in the business of making vegan-based beauty and health products since 2010, focusing on the value of quality living that puts family first. With values like that, Baby Bum becomes an easy choice as one of the best and safest shampoo products for your baby.
#5 – California Baby Super Sensitive Shampoo & Body Wash
The gentleness of California Baby’s shampoo product has become a favorite product used by medical professionals in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units. There is no fragrance or sulfate used in this plant-based cleanser that also happens to be hypoallergenic. It has aloe vera and calendula, key ingredients used to hydrate your baby’s skin from head to toe. However, if your baby has a nut allergy, this will not work as it uses coconut as part of the ingredient list. Designed as an organic product, California Baby’s shampoo and body wash have focused on the sensitivity of a baby’s skin since 1995. It was developed by Jassica Iclisoy, a mother who found baby skincare products at that time failed to put the baby’s health a top priority. Manufactured out of Los Angeles, California, California Baby remains a family business that consistently puts family first. Today, California Baby has become a leader in healthcare products focused on every member of the family, regardless of age.
#4 – Pipette Baby Shampoo and Wash
Pipette Baby is the newest kid on the block as a maker of healthcare products for babies. Since September 2019, Pipette has catered to parents who want a perfectly clean solution to caring for their baby’s hygienic needs. Focused on using strictly non-toxic ingredients, Pipette puts the health of your baby as a top priority when it comes to its business practices. The core ingredient used in the baby shampoo and wash, as well as the rest of Pipette’s products, is squalane. As squalene, it is the baby’s first naturally built-in moisturizer. As a creamy substance, it creates a powerful moisture barrier for newborns within the first few hours after birth. Squalene is a rich ultra-hydrating molecule that promotes the smoothness of a newborn baby’s skin. Over time, squalene is lost as the baby gets older.
Squalene is also found in animals and plants and has served as a key ingredient in the majority of beauty and healthcare products, even long before the major pharmaceutical companies we know today were conceived. On its own, squalene is unstable. However, when hydrogenated, it becomes squalane, which is considerably more stable at the molecular level. During the first half of the twentieth century, squalane in cosmetics came from shark liver. Since then, the demand for cruelty-free hair and skin care products has mostly done away with that practice in favor of more sustainable options.
Pipette’s dedication to reinventing squalane as a cruelty-free, sustainable ingredient focuses on the benefits of Brazillian sugarcane. What Pipette Baby has accomplished in all their products, including its shampoo and wash, is turning the sugarcane-based squalane into a healthcare powerhouse. Since the body is already familiar with squalane, it naturally responds favorably to a moisturizing source that has so many benefits to it. The combination of vanilla and ylang-ylang as a scent in its baby shampoo and wash acts like aromatherapy for your baby, making bath time a more enjoyable experience for both of you. There is also a rose-geranium scent if that is your preference but observation has noticed the babies tend to respond more favorably to the vanilla.
#3 – CeraVe Baby Wash & Shampoo
From CeraVe, its baby wash and shampoo product earned a seal of acceptance by the National Eczema Association as a product that matched the criteria for its health and safety benefits favoring people with eczema and other sensitive skin conditions. Fifty percent of the lipids in the skin barrier come from the natural ingredient known as ceramides. This is what fills in the gaps between skin cells so your baby’s skin can lock in the moisture and keep impurities out. Hyaluronic acid is used to help your baby’s skin retain its moisture while Vitamin E acts as a soother. The shampoo is designed to be gentle, non-irritating, and tear-free. This is a fragrant-free product that has no dyes, no parabens, no phthalates, and no sulfates. The mild foam that lathers into your baby’s hair and skin easily rinses off to ensure there is no residue. This is exactly what you want for a clean and healthy baby.
#2 – Burt’s Bees Baby Shampoo & Wash
Since 1984, Burt’s Bees has made a niche out of the manufacturing of personal care products that focuses on using earth-friendly ingredients that are natural. This subsidiary of Clorox takes its role very seriously as a brand that sticks to natural ingredients instead of chemicals. With Burt’s Bees Baby Shampoo & Wash, this is evident. By keeping parabens, petrolatum, phthalates, and sulfates out of the equation, Burt’s Bees enables the shampoo product safe to use on your baby. The non-irritating, tear-free formula also allows this shampoo to double as a body wash that will keep your baby clean and healthy from head to toe. The soy proteins are what make this product excel at what it’s designed to do. Soy proteins act as natural moisturizers. The vitamin B and essential minerals that come from the plant boost the value of this shampoo as one of the best and safest products you can use as part of your baby’s healthcare regime.
#1 – Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Gentle Body Wash & Shampoo with Oat Extract
As an adult when it comes to health and beauty products, Aveeno is my favorite brand, hands down. I also have a cousin who is a nurse that gave birth to twins in 2021. Aveeno Daily Moisture Gentle Body Wash & Shampoo is the only product she uses for them. The oat extract is what this brand uses and not just in baby shampoos. Personally, I have extremely sensitive skin and a sensitive scalp. I literally have to use shampoos that are as close to what a baby uses as possible. What’s awesome about Aveeno’s baby wash and shampoo is the way the oat extract behaves as a natural moisturizing ingredient.
More parents have come to trust this brand and product more than any other. The harmful chemicals of paraben, phthalate, and sulfate are not found here. This is good because you don’t want this for your baby. You shouldn’t have these put in your own hair, either. The adult equivalent of this product is Aveeno Farm-Fresh Oat Milk Sulfate-Free Shampoo with Colloidal Oatmeal & Almond Milk. This is what I use on myself, as well as Aveeno Rose Water & Chamomile Blend Sulfate-Free Shampoo with Colloidal Oat for Dry & Sensitive Scalp. I tend to switch back and forth between the two.
The ingredients in this baby shampoo product are tear-free. Aveeno’s products are among the most recommended by dermatologists. Adding to the appeal of Aveeno’s baby shampoo is the pH-balanced formula that makes it a hypoallergenic product. This means there are no irritants that will cause your baby to experience discomfort. There is no soap found in Aveeno, just the oat extract that’s taken from the kernels. What you find in this product are the benefits of the oats, which are antioxidants, enzymes, lipids, proteins, and vitamins. The beauty of this product not only keeps your baby’s hair soft and healthy but their skin as well.
10 Best And Safest Baby Shampoos For Your Baby article published on BabyCareGuru.com© 2023
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