[InstinctiveMama]

My daughter will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. For the most part, I do not think of babies as dirty but bathtime will come soon. I am reluctant to use soap, even organic baby soap with this little one. Does anyone have any suggestions for something else that is natural and cleansing? Thanks!

 

[kiwiva]

We do use a baby cleanser now but for the first few baths we just used water. After the post-birth bath she didn't get one for about a month. The only other thing we use is olive oil a couple times when she had cradle cap.

 

[Isfahel]

I use a homemade goat milk soap for my baby. It works great for hair, body, everything. I washed her once in storebought baby wash and she broke out all over, I have used the goat soap since and never had a problem. A friend of mine makes it locally www.ozarksoap.com. I even use it to brush my teeth with

 

[nighten]

Water only! Especially if cord stump is still attached. We gave our babe sponge baths with water only until then, and once the stump fell off, we only gave her true baths like once a week (with her in the tub with me)? Sponge baths daily though.

Now that she's older (almost one year) we still do sponge baths, but full on baths maybe two times a week (depending on messy dipes, etc.). We use the Earths Best/Jason lavender organic baby wash/shampoo. I love it. It's tear-free and smells nice and she's never had a problem with it.

I never use soap on her face or ears though as it's too difficult to rinse without risking water in her ears and it's never been a problem to just use a damp cloth there.

If you encounter cradle cap, don't use any soap if possible (soap in any form dries skin) -- but you can use a soft bristle toothbrush to gently scrub the scalp. The olive oil trick is a good one too!

 

[nonnymommy]

Yep, just water here too.

 

[JamieCatheryn]

From 1 month on I've used ph balanced olive oil soap twice a week for DS's hair and body. If you want something more natural but more cleaning than just water, you can get soapwort root and soak it in water and use it as a soap solution. The storebought stuff tends to have SLS in it that's the main problem, and often handmade stuff is too alkaline, it has to be rebatched with an acid to fix it.

 

[InstinctiveMama]

Thanks for the great suggestions! I think in a couple of weeks I will start with water and maybe move on to some of the other products you mentioned later. I appreciate the advice!

 

[Peony]

Yep, water only. I didn't use soap with DD1 until she was old enough to play outside and get really dirty.

Even then, I only use soap once a week or so, I usually just rinse her off. And I only started shampooing her hair last year (she is 4) once a week, I always just rinsed it with water, it never was greasy, and I've noticed it tangles much easier now that we use shampoo.

 

[laohaire]

My DD is 18 months and I've never used anything but water on her body, though I have used Burts Bees baby shampoo on her head (as well as olive oil one time for cradle cap - scrubbed gently with a toothbrush after applying the oil). I only shampoo her "as needed" i.e. when she has food stuck in her hair or something. If she manages to keep her hair free of foreign material, she might only get a shampoo every other week.

 

[lilsishomemade]

I used water for a long time, only using soap if they had really big blowouts (which for my guys seemed to start when they started eating food). All of my boys were born with a lot of hair, so I do wash their hair now when they get a bath, if they get food or whatever in it. I use California Baby products for my guys, and even though we all have sensitive skin, they haven't had any problem with it.