Young skin is different than old skin (not to call anyone here old, but you know what we mean). In fact, a child’s skin doesn’t thicken and mature until their early teens. So, their young, delicate skin has different needs than ours. This means that purchasing body care products for them requires a bit more thought and consideration.
Body wash is something kids use every day, and it’s being slathered over every part of their skin. Therefore, it’s important to make sure the product they’re using isn’t going to cause them any discomfort or irritation. In this article we’ll take a look at each component of most body washes — cleansing agents, moisturizers/conditioners, botanicals, fragrance, and preservatives — and highlight some good ingredients to look for in each category, and some to avoid.
But first, a quick disclaimer. These lists are by no means exhaustive — there are so many different ingredients out there, and it’s impossible to keep track of them all. But, hopefully this information can at least serve as a starting point when hunting for the right products for your child. Also keep in mind that ingredient names can sound very similar, sometimes only differing by a few letters, so it’s important to pay close attention when looking at product labels.
Cleansing Agents
Leaving the skin clean is the most important job of a body wash, and besides water the cleansing agents typically make up the largest percentage of the formula. These fall into two categories: soaps and surfactants. For body washes, surfactants are a lot more common given their predominantly liquid form and mildness on the skin. However, within the vast world of surfactants there are good and not-so-good varieties.
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- Decyl glucoside
- Coco glucoside
- Lauryl glucoside
- Caprylyl/capryl glucoside
- Cocomidopropyl betaine
- Sodium lauroyl methyl isethionate
- Sodium lauroyl oat amino acids
- Sodium cocoyl isethionate
- Sodium cocoyl apple amino acids
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- Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)
- Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)
- Ammonium lauryl sulfate
- Cetrimonium chloride
- Lauramide DEA
- Cocamide DEA
- Oleamide DEA
- Castile soap (can be overly drying)
Moisturizers/Conditioners
The next most important task of a body wash is to leave the skin feeling soft and hydrated, either by not stripping away too much of the skin’s natural oils (via gentle surfactants) or by adding moisture back in (via moisturizing ingredients), or both. Here are some of the good and not-so-good ingredients in the skin conditioning category.
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- Glycerin
- Allantoin
- Cetyl alcohol
- Cetearyl alcohol
- Hydroxypropyltrimonium honey
- Guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride
- Hydrolyzed rice / oat / quinoa protein
- Silk amino acids
- Light oils – grapeseed oil, apricot kernel oil, sunflower oil, almond oil
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- Propylene glycol
- Dipropylene glycol
- Sodium lactate
- Polyquaternium-7
- Polyquaternium-10
- Mineral oil
- Castor oil
- Cocoa butter (can clog pores)
- Heavy oils – coconut oil, avocado oil, flax seed oil (can clog pores)
Botanicals
Another broad category, the term “botanicals” encompasses oils and extracts derived from fruits, leaves, stems, bark, and other plant parts. Sometimes these are used for their perceived benefits to the skin, other times for fragrance (discussed in the next section), and oftentimes simply as “vanity” ingredients that sound nice on the package and allow brands to charge a bit more. And while all botanicals are natural, some can be sensitizing and too harsh for young skin. Then there’s the allergy factor — if you know your child is allergic to a particular plant or substance, you’ll definitely want to avoid it in all forms.
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- Witch hazel
- Green tea extract
- Calendula extract
- Olive leaf extract
- Willow bark extract
- Frankincense oil/extract
- Myrrh oil/extract
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- Peru balsam oil/extract
- Cinnamon oil/extract
- Clove oil/extract
- Oregano oil/extract
- Camphor
- Licorice root extract
- Chamomile extract (only if your child suffers from ragweed allergies)
Fragrance
This is the trickiest category because manufacturers are allowed to hide fragrance ingredients behind the generic “Fragrance/Parfum” label on an ingredient list. So, when shopping for a body wash for your child, our recommendation is to choose a brand that practices ingredient transparency. If you see “Fragrance” as an ingredient, it’s safe to say that there are many artificial and potentially irritating fragrance compounds lurking in the product. Another dead giveaway is the scent name — a “Cotton Candy” scented product, for example, is going to contain synthetic fragrance.
Brands that use 100% natural fragrance ingredients will typically not hide behind the “Fragrance” label, and instead will list out each fragrance ingredient individually. Again, first make sure your child doesn’t have a known allergy to any of the fragrance ingredients used in the product. If you’re not sure or don’t want to risk it, opt for a fragrance-free wash.
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- Essential oils (the oils from plant parts; should be listed towards the end of the ingredient list, meaning they’re used in small quantities)
- Hydrosols (scented water collected from steam-distilling a plant part; can be used liberally as they’re much less potent)
- Resins / oleoresins (thicker, wax-like extractions typically from pods and bark, such as vanilla and myrrh)
- Absolutes (more concentrated essential oils; need to be used in very small quantities)
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- “Fragrance”
- “Parfum”
- Generic scent terms (e.g., just “Lavender” instead of the proper botanical name, “Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil”)
Preservatives
Sometimes that body wash can be hanging out in the shower for a couple of months or more. What’s keeping it fresh and effective? Preservatives!
Preservatives are 100% necessary in order to keep our personal care products safe and free of nasty microbes. But, of course, there are good preservatives and bad preservatives out there. Below we’ve highlighted which are known to be safe for use in body care products for kids, and which you definitely want to avoid.
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- Sodium benzoate
- Potassium sorbate
- Ethylhexylglycerin
- Benzyl alcohol
- Sodium dehydroacetate
- Benzoic acid
- Sodium citrate
- Silver citrate
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- Parabens (methylparaben, propylparaben, isopropylparaben, ethylparaben, butylparaben, isobutylparaben)
- DMDM hydantoin
- Benzalkonium chloride
- Triclosan
- Diazolidinyl urea
- Imidazolidinyl urea
- Iodopropynyl butylcarbamate
- Methylisothiazolinone
- Quaternium-15
As you can see, one must be a lot more careful when choosing a body wash for kids and their sensitive skin! We followed the above guidelines when developing our Super Gentle Shampoo + Body Wash. As the name suggests, it’s a really mild and safe formula that cleans well without the risk of dryness or irritation — perfect for the kids and teens in your family.
Wondering what’s safe to put (or not) on your child’s face? Read this post.
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