better bathing

Filed Under Going Green, Stuff | March 20, 2009

Nasty things like phthalates and parabens don’t just lurk in plastics, you’ll also find them in skincare products such as lotions, bubble bath and shampoo. That’s why we’re always on the hunt for products to keep our little one’s skin clean and soft without endocrine disruptors and chemicals. We feel that’s not too much to ask.

We’re already fans of Nature Babycare’s diapers (they’ve just added great training pants to their repertoire too) so when we heard that Better Baby Bums was carrying their new line of skincare products which are biodegradable, hypoallergenic and paraben- and phthalate-free, we had high expectations. And we weren’t disappointed.

The line includes an Eco-Sensitive Lotion, Wash, Shampoo and Foaming Bath and we’ve put the Lotion and Foaming Bath to the test. Our tots have very sensitive skin so much to their chagrin we don’t “do” bubble baths as they end up with irritated, itchy skin. But thanks to Nature Baby Care’s Foaming Bath, which uses glycerine to make bubbles rather than sodium laureth sulphate*, bubble baths are now de rigueur chez nous.

Their lightly-scented Lotion goes on easily and absorbs quickly. It’s definitely an everyday lotion, we wouldn’t use it for tackling eczema for example, but for after-bath moisturizing it’s perfect.

It took awhile to get used to the packaging. Each product comes in a unique rectangular, fully-recyclable, plastic bottle with a flip top lid. The lid can get in the way a bit when trying to get out the Lotion and we found it hard to get out every last drop of the Foaming Bath. The shape does make them very handy for stacking and packing however.

Designed for babies and toddlers, we gave the products a whirl ourselves and ended up sharing them quite liberally with our tots.

Natures Babycare Skincare: www.betterbabybums.com

* Our original article was wrong, an intrepid subscriber read the fine print more closely than we did and the Eco Sensitive Wash does contain SLS. We followed up with Better Baby Bums and they let us know that these products are developed under EU standards, which are generally more stringent than here in North America. They also let us know that the jury’s still out on how harmful SLS actually is. They also recommended the DermaMed line of skincare products that they carry which are made locally and guaranteed SLS-free.

So our sincere apologies for not getting the facts completely straight. We test and research our products carefully but obviously we need to dig even deeper into the claims companies make about their products. To that end we promise we’ll even more thorough in future.

Interested in more safe skincare options for your tots? Here are some other great products we’ve covered: