How to Choose the Best Baby Bath Products

You’ve just bathed baby and you cuddle him tightly, inhaling the fresh, sweet scent of the soap you just bought for him. As you put his baby clothes on, you notice that he has some reddish spots on his skin that weren’t there before. What are those reddish spots?

Chances are, the soap that you just bought contains harsh ingredients that caused those spots. But you’re sure you bought baby soap – it smells as sweet as a baby, the word “best for baby” was printed on the box, and even had a cute infant’s picture on it! Where did you go wrong?

Tips on Choosing the Best Baby Bath Products

When it comes to baby body care, most of us are guilty of choosing the best baby bath products according to our senses of sight and smell. Oh, and advertisements play a huge role too. In our efforts to save on time and energy, we forget to do research or read product labels. Instead, we pick the ones that smell good or the ones that celebs attest can give babies soft, smooth skin. Are we really doing it right? Below are a few tips on how to select the best products for babies:

1. Ask your pediatrician. Nobody can give you better advice for your baby’s skin and overall health than a doctor can. He has the complete record of your baby’s health and through years of study and experience, can recommend you what to wash baby with.

2. No to anti-bacterials. Science’s never-ending quest to battle germs and bacteria seems to be backfiring. What we eagerly embraced as germ-killing products have been found to kill all types of bacteria - even the beneficial ones that have to do with growth and development. Experts also say that constant use of antibacterials may even do more harm than good because these encourage the development of mutant microorganisms that are resistant to antibacterial products!

3. Skip the fragrance. Fragrant soaps may smell oh so good, but the effects they have are oh so bad! Fragrances contain a lot of chemicals with hard-to-pronounce names that have been linked to nausea, dizziness, cancers, skin and kidney diseases.

4. Brand should not be the deciding factor. Statistics show that 80% of the most popular “gentle” and “best baby bath products” are not, in reality, intended for babies. In a study conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) on baby products, it was found out that the average baby is exposed to 2 bromo, 2 nitropropane, and 3-DIOL. All of these can cause skin allergies and irritation. Alarmingly, this study also found out that some baby products contain ingredients that may damage the brain and nervous system, affect the proper functioning of the glands or cause different types of cancers.

5. Read product reviews. What you should be looking for are product reviews that include not only the features of the product but its pros and cons as well. These are honest reviews according to the experience of actual users.

6.Don’t scrimp on it. Sometimes, we settle for the more popular products because they’re a great deal cheaper than organic soaps, shampoos, lotions and powders. But considering that organics do not contain the dreaded chemicals listed above, and therefore safer for your baby, doesn’t the benefit offset the cost?

Choosing the best baby bath products may be time and effort consuming, but in the end, it’s your little one who will reap the benefits.