Issue 14: Toxic-Free Babies, Part 2
Personal care products for kids and babies.
Welcome to Part 2 of Toxic-Free Babies! Before I begin, I’d like to thank you for coming along this far with me and reading this sub. Hopefully you’ve learned a lot and cleaned up your home and beauty products, resulting in a healthier home and body.
Marketing Toward Your Kids
Today we’re going talk more about baby products and clever marketing toward children. I have always considered marketing toward kids as a kind of evil thing, but to each his/her own. From the beginning of my motherhood, I have tried to keep the products I use on my children as clean and toxic-free as possible. However, as my children get older, they are drawn to the brightly colored products they see in the store. Or they’re drawn to products that have fun cartoon characters on them (whether they are familiar with them or not!)
Some members of our family [redacted] try really hard to give our girls fun toys. They mostly accomplish this very well. However, one time when we went for a visit, they picked up a Baby-Shark bath art kit and some Crayola bathtub finger paints. I hid those products as fast as I could and shook my head. If my girls had seen those they would have wanted to use them, immediately. Later, when I had a very rare private moment in the bathroom by myself (IYKYK), I pulled them out and checked the ingredients. My intuition did not lead me astray.
Crayola Bathtub Finger Paint Ingredients:
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium Hydroxide, Styrene/Acrylamide Copolymer, Fragrance, Disodium EDTA, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Blue 1 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake.
You have read me long enough to know that this is a toxic super load (see Issue 6 if you need a refresh) All in the water with your kids, soaking into their skin, entering their bodies, and possibly causing major skin irritation, respiratory distress, and UTIs. Crayola claims this product is non-toxic, but it surely doesn’t look that way to me.
Mr. Bubbles
I distinctly remember getting my first UTI at the ripe old age of 6. My parents were big fans of Mr. Bubbles. Maybe my sister and I convinced them that we needed this bright pink bottle of bubbles. That part I don’t remember. But that UTI? SURE DO. Please note that this photo shows that this product is pediatrician and dermatologist tested. Nobody is going to look out for your kids the way you do.
Mr. Bubbles Original Ingredients:
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Tocopheryl Acetate, PEG-150 Distearate, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, Red 33
Mr. Bubbles EXTRA GENTLE! Ingredients:
Just to be fair and thorough, here you go. You can decide for yourself if this is “extra gentle” (psssst: It’s not).
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Tocopheryl Acetate, PEG-150 Distearate, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol
My memory of this experience is SO strong that I have never put any kind of bubble bath in my daughter’s baths. I use their shampoo/body wash as bubbles and it serves us just fine.
What to Do?
I have found that using the same method of finding good products for myself works well when finding things for my kids. I check the ingredients and cross reference The Dirty Dozen. I try my best to ignore the clever marketing, though I know that even I am susceptible to it sometimes. I don’t let my kids choose their own products either. It’s my job to keep them safe.
For the record, they did see those bath products my [redacted] gave to them and asked to use them. I explained that those products weren’t healthy and would hurt their skin and they let it go. Educate them young Frens.
Be Careful When Selecting Products and DYOR:
When I was a new mother, I wasn’t well experienced in what was necessary to keep a baby’s butt clean and dry. If you’re a new mom or expecting your first baby soon, I’ll give you some help here.
Baby Powder
You don’t need baby powder. In fact, a lot of baby powder is toxic, contains talc, and I would recommend you never buy it if you can avoid it. Some baby powder products are better and contain cornstarch instead. But DYOR and see if this is something you think you might need. I never did.
Diaper Cream
Diaper cream is a must have IMO. This creates a barrier between your baby’s skin and the wetness in the diaper. I only used it when my baby had a diaper rash and overnight (since they were in the diaper longer). I have a few that I have used and will list them in the product recommendations.
Shampoo and Body Wash
I have found that these are usually combined for baby products, which is fine. I haven’t ever used “soap” on my kids. They simply don’t need it. Do NOT wash your babies every day. It’s not good for their skin, you clean their privates well when you change their diapers, and babies don’t really get dirty. I wash my kids with their body wash/shampoo once a week. On top of that I add their shampoo/body wash to the tub water as bubbles and let them soak. They take a water bath to rinse every night before bed.
Another Note About Shampoo
Did you know that a lot of “Tear Free” shampoos contain EYE NUMBING AGENTS?! That’s how they’re tear free! When I learned this I was absolutely disgusted. I will link the shampoo/body wash I use on my kids below. The ingredients are so mild that it is naturally tear free, I know, I’ve tested it on my own eyes.
Hand Soap
I have found that foaming hand soap is the easiest for kids to use independently. Beware of foaming hand soaps sold in stores; many have foaming agents in them. Also, a lot of hand soaps are marketed toward children.
I have a simple solution to this. Buy an empty foaming hand soap container (or reuse one you already have). Add 2 tbsp of Dr. Bronner’s Castille Soap and top off with water. Close and shake. Works great!
Nursing:
If you’re nursing, it’s important to think about which nipple balm you might use. After all, your baby will be ingesting small amounts of it. Sometimes some coconut is all you need. I will add my recommendations below for this as well.
Oral Care:
We discussed this thoroughly in Issue 8. When your kids are old enough to brush their teeth, follow all of the guidelines I listed in Issue 8. But I would advise finding a milder flavor toothpaste for your kids. A fun note, breast milk protects young baby teeth from decay. I didn’t start brushing my kid’s teeth until they were 1 and eating solid food regularly.
I also recommend a Sonicare toothbrush, starting at an early age. Clever marketing here will make you think you HAVE to buy the kid’s one but you don’t. The settings are a little different and it jingles, which my kids like. But one of my daughters broke hers recently and we’ve been using a regular handle with a kid’s toothbrush head. It’s working fine. The tooth brush heads DO need to be the kid’s kind.
Product Recommendations:
This contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I receive a small commission. It doesn't change the price for you. Thank you.
Diaper Cream:
I used Seventh Generation Diaper Cream for long time. It worked well but would separate. As long as I kneaded the tube, it was fine. It’s also hard to find. If you can find it, it’s good.
Currently I use Balm of Gilead. It’s tallow based and great. This isn’t an affiliate, I just love their products.
Shampoo/Body Wash:
In the past I loved Earth Mama products. They are still very good. Very clean and effective. I think it’s safe to say that all of their baby products are good. Always double check but this brand is very reputable. Earth Mama Lavender Baby Wash.
Now we use Puracy. I switched because I also use this shampoo in my own hair. I also like the conditioner for myself and my girls now that they have longer hair.
Hand Soap:
Here are some links to the products I recommended above for the foaming hand soap DIY.
Bottles - normally I would recommend glass, but after seeing how my kids manhandle these, I’m recommending plastic.
Nipple Cream:
I would honestly use tallow or coconut oil as a first try. After that, you could try the Balm of Gilead Mama Baby Balm. I would feel comfortable with my babies ingesting that in very small amounts.
When I needed it, I used the Earth Mama one and it was fine, too. I didn’t have to use these creams for long so I can’t vouch for the long term use of them. When I needed something I used coconut oil or this one and it worked for me.
Toothpaste:
We currently use the Kid’s Scents toothpaste from Young Living, an MLM. I don’t sell for Young Living, but you may be able to buy toothpaste via their website.
Sonicare Kid’s Toothbrush Heads
“Bubble Bath”:
Like I said earlier, I don’t put bubble bath in my daughters’ baths. But I do like this body wash from Young Living and it gets really sudsy plus passively cleans them while they soak. I’ve tried the Puracy shampoo and it doesn’t get as bubbly.
Thank you for reading this Substack. Writing it for you has been a true pleasure. If there is anything else you feel like you need help with or any other questions you have, my DMs on Twitter are open or you can leave a comment here.
Take care of yourselves and your families Frens. Keep them safe. Keep them Toxic-Free.
-Angel