As a parent, safety always comes first when it concerns our children. Babies’ skins are susceptible to even the slightest environmental stressor, so it’s often tough to discern what’s safe for their skin and what’s not.

To ease baby toiletries hunting for you, our team of certified organic skincare specialists at Buds Organics have compiled a list of safe, non-toxic ingredients for you to look out for and those that you should steer clear of.

What's Safe?

1. Certified Organic and Natural

Products with ingredients of natural origin and organic farming are the key elements in a product that claims to be non-toxic, safe and environmentally friendly. But what is ‘Organic’? Aren’t all foods organic since they originate from living things?

Organic farming and organic baby toiletries use no synthetic chemicals and none of these nasty chemicals that can cause health problems. They are environment-friendly, using processes and ingredients that are better for the planet.

“Contains only Natural Ingredients”, “Made with Organic Aloe Vera Juice”. How do you know if the organic ingredients are organic?

What if the certified organic ingredient only constitutes less than 1% of the overall product, with the remaining 99% made up of chemicals? Yet their proud statement of “uses only organic actives” is not untrue.

Search for products with certification from internationally recognised organic certification bodies such as ECOCERT. Buds Organics has been ECOCERT certified since 2008, meaning we have safe ingredients, and our product, packaging, and process are all environmentally friendly.

2. Scent-Free or Organic Parfum

While we understand ‘scent-free’ gives the impression that products would be purer, we should look for entirely natural scents, such as those from essential oils and natural extracts from plants.

Look past pictures insinuating that it is natural or terms such as ‘contains lemon extract’ and focus on the ingredient list, for example, Lavandula Stoechas (Lavender) and Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) oil.

3. Preservative-free

While going preservative-free is the better option, we usually cannot avoid using them since they are used to deter products from spoilage.

However, as consumers, we need to know that the most dangerous product would be one without a proper and trustworthy preservation system for baby toiletries.

Hence, it is worth remembering what the safe and nasty preservatives found commonly in skincare are. There are two preservation methods: to preserve against contamination and growth of bacteria and preserve against oxidation.

ECOCERT knows that natural ingredients baby toiletries only are not always possible, but they still insist on safety first. Some of the preservatives approved by ECOCERT are sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, dehydroacetic acid and benzyl alcohol.

These are food-grade approved preservatives that are safe to use and crucial to extending a product’s shelf-life.

Buds Cherished Organics is a testament to the power of nature’s self-preserving plant actives. Proudly preservative-free, this range does not compromise on the effectiveness or shelf-life of the products.

4. Bonus Ingredients

Look for gentle baby cleansers that contain potent antioxidants, such as Vitamin E and Olive Leaf extract. Antioxidants help repair and rebuild the skin barrier, preventing inflammation and premature ageing.

Organic Sunflower oil, Organic Jojoba oil and Organic Shea Butter are plant emollients that soften and smoothen the skin, replenishing lost moisture.

Our star ingredient is the addition of prebiotics, which inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria and promote the growth of good ones.

An example is Alpha Glucan Oligosaccharide, the key element in the Buds Soothing Organics range used as a wholesome treatment for sensitive and irritated skin.

We previously covered some of the non-toxic ingredients found. Let us now look at the ones to avoid and ensure none of these appear on your baby toiletries products’ labels.

What's Not Safe?

Mineral Oils

Mineral oils are used in moisturisers because they make the skin silky smooth, but it clogs pores in the process as it is a by-product of gasoline. The commonly used ones are petrolatum and paraffin oil. Think of what this puts your infant through!

PEG

Petrochemicals such as Polyethylene Glycol are emulsifiers that can cause reproductive disorders and increase the skin’s permeability to allow greater product absorption.

SLS/SLES

In our previous articles, we have mentioned the adverse effects of Sodium Lauryl Sulphate many times and are here to remind you that it is a potential carcinogen. It is hazardous to a baby’s delicate skin because it is highly drying, which strips the skin of its natural sebum.

Parabens

Any name that ends with ‘paraben’ such as Propyl-, Methyl-, Butyl-, or Ethyl- are preservatives to protect against microbial but they disrupt hormones in the body. They do not break down in the body quickly and can cause cancer when accumulated.

TEA & DEA

TEA is a stabiliser that increases products’ pH value whereas DEA is a thickener. When absorbed into the body over a long period, they can become toxic to immune and respiratory systems.

Lanolin

Lanolin, a greasy yellow substance made from secretions from the skin glands of sheep to condition their wool, is widely used in several skincare products.

Despite this, the incidence of allergic reactions is rapidly increasing, and some lanolin even contains cancer-causing pesticides.

Artificial Fragrance

As addressed earlier, synthetic chemicals in fragrances are derived from petrochemicals. They are bad for children with asthma or allergies and may cause endocrinal disruption.

In Short

Don’t be fooled by marketing claims and familiarise yourselves with harmful ingredients in baby toiletries to be extra cautious.

We are here if you have any queries or doubts as we believe in the importance of being educated on what’s safe for your newborn and what’s not. For more information, visit Buds Organics – Certified Organic Baby, Kids & Mother Skincare.