10 of the best baby soaps
Keep your baby squeaky clean with these soaps and bodywashes that are designed to be kind to skin and hair
Is there a sweeter smell than your baby’s soft skin? There isn’t – until she brings up a full milk feed, does an explosive nappy or covers her hair in sweet potato puree!
When caring for your little one’s skin, it’s important to strike a balance between keeping it clean and letting the nature look after it the way it was designed to. This is why the NHS says you don’t need to bathe her every day (unless she really enjoys it) and to stick with plain water for the first month.
After that, you may want to use a specially formulated soap bar or liquid wash. Look out for products that are as natural as possible, without artificial perfumes and chemicals.
Here are ten that we rate highly for their skin-kindness and top quality ingredients, many of which are perfect for baby’s with eczema and other skin issues.
1. Chuckling Goat Baby Kefir Cleanser, £5.15 for 85g bar
This gorgeous goat’s milk soap bar is handmade in small batches and is made with kefir, gluten-free oatmeal and essential oils. It suitable for all types of sensitive skin, making it perfect for newborns or children with eczema.
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It can be used from head to toe, is long-lasting and contains no dyes, perfumes, parabens, petrochemicals or phthalates. No wonder it picked up silver for best baby skincare product in the MadeForMums Awards 2018.
You can buy Chuckling Goat Baby Kefir Cleanser from Chuckling Goat.
2. Aveeno Baby Daily Care Gentle Body Wash, £5.99 for 500ml
The colloidal oatmeal in this baby-friendly Aveeno range helps protect the skin’s natural barrier and prevent water loss, making it especially suited to little ones with eczema.
We love the fact it is made without any parabens, soap, alcohol or dyes, and creates a gentle foam to massage into the skin.
You can buy Aveeno Baby Daily Care Gentle Body Wash from Amazon, Superdrug, Sainsburys and Boots.
3. Childs Farm Baby Wash, £3.99 for 250ml
This unfragranced hair and skin wash leaves your newborn squeaky clean and smelling just like a gorgeous new baby rather than an artificial scent. We love the handy pop top dispenser too.
Childs Farm won bronze for best baby skincare brand in the MadeForMums Awards 2018 thanks to its natural products and this mild wash is free from parabens, SLSs, mineral oils and artificial colours. Also vegan-friendly.
You can buy Childs Farm Baby Wash from Childs Farm, Amazon, Boots and Superdrug.
4. Asda Little Angels Baby Soap, 35p for 100g
A simple, great value soap bar especially formulated to keep young skin clean and soothed.
It lathers up nicely and has a fresh natural smell with no artificial perfumes. It’s also cruelty-free and lasts ages.
You can buy Asda Little Angels Baby Soap from Asda.
5. Earth Friendly Baby Calming Lavender Shampoo & Bodywash, £4.08 for 250ml
Not only does this all-purpose wash smell wonderful, but the sleep-inducing lavender oil should help your baby start to feel ready for bed. It also has a mildly antiseptic effect, which is great for eczema and sensitive skin.
With 99.2% of the ingredients made from natural origin and half from organic farming, this is a UK-made product that is most definitely kind to the planet as well as your child. A little goes a long way too.
You can buy Earth Friendly Baby Calming Lavender Shampoo & Bodywash from Amazon, Superdrug and Ocado.
6. Weleda Calendula Soap, £5.50 for 100g
This organic vegetable oil-based soap is designed to be as kind to your skin as possible, thanks to extracts of calendula and chamomile plants, and transforms into a thin foam when mixed with water.
It’s designed for the whole family to use – mild enough for baby but cleansing enough for adults. The scent is wholly deprived from natural oils and the soap is free from preservatives, dyes and mineral oils.
You can buy Weleda Calendula Soap from Weleda, Amazon and Holland & Barrett.
7. Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Shampoo & Wash, £7.99 for 235ml
There’s a delicious honey smell to this creamy liquid wash made from soy protein which is really moisturising and made with 99.9% naturally derived ingredients.
The no-tears formula contains no phthalates, parabens, petroleum or SLSs, so you know it won’t dry out or irritate your baby’s skin and scalp.
You can buy Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Shampoo & Wash from Amazon, Boots and John Lewis.
8. Jackson Reece Kinder By Nature Natural Body Wash, £3.99 for 200ml
This liquid wash is kind to the environment as well as your child’s skin and also soaps up nicely. Almost all the ingredients are derived from renewable vegetable or plant extracts, it’s cruelty free and also made in the UK.
It’s suitable for eczema sufferers too, thanks to being pH balanced, paraben-free, hypoallergenic and dermatologically approved. This is why our MadeForMums Awards 2018 judges gave it gold for best baby wash product.
You can buy Jackson Reece Kinder By Nature Natural Body Wash from Amazon.
9. Hope’s Relief Goat’s Milk Soap, £8.99 for 125mg
Fresh goat’s milk is combined with organic shea butter and cocoa butter to make a soothing soap that moisturises and soothes itchy, dry and sensitive skin types, especially eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis.
The secret is the pH balancing properties of the milk, which makes it a good choice for teens and adult prone to acne and skin flare ups, as well as little ones. The hard soap also foams up nicely.
You can buy Hope’s Relief Goats Milk Soap from Amazon.
10. Johnson’s Baby Soap, £1.25 for 4 soaps (.31p each)
This classic baby wash product is designed to be mild on the eyes as well as the skin, meaning you don’t have to worry when washing a wriggly child.
It is also pH skin neutral and hypoallergenic, and can be applied directly to skin and hair.
You can buy Johnson’s Top To Toe Baby Bath from Amazon, Boots, Superdrug and Sainsbury’s
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MadeForMums product reviews are independent, honest and provide advice you can have confidence in. Sometimes, we earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links. However, we never allow this to influence our coverage. Our reviews and articles are written by parents who are professional journalists, and we also include feedback from our parent community and industry experts.
Authors
Alex is the former deputy editor of Prima Baby, and mum to 2 boys.
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