Best Bath Soap for a Toddler?

S.,

You can not use this for shampoo, but my doctor told me the best soap for children is Dove. I have use it since my son was an infant (he is 2 yrs old now) and he has beautiful, soft skin. I use it myself and it is fairly cheap when bought in bar form.

We go through a lot of soap too but I have been refilling my foaming soap and shampoo dispensers (Kandoo and Huggies) for over a year now. I think the formula is two tablespoons of soap and fill the rest of the dispenser with water and shake. This works with most clear soaps.

Even if we go through a whole bottle in a month it still is only a tiny bit of actual soap so it saves a ton of money. It's a lot more fun too!

We are very economical about our son's soap. We mix it up. He uses sesame street and also Lush brand products as these are very close to organic.

I realize I am posting this after the fact and what caught my eye was how you feel about "green". Green is different that 'organic'. You should be able to pronounce and recognize the ingredients in the product if is it safe for all (environment, body, etc.). Products at Lush are actually Vegan (all vegetable and plant based.) with only the safe preservatives found in cosmetics that have been used for years. The products also have a shorter shelf-life of about a year or less depending on your purchase.

You can go 'green' and still know that the product you are purchasing is safe. Especially if you are very familiar with essential oils, carrier bases (oils and soaps) and all the latin words they are printed under. Just know that some brands claim organic and are not. It still is a buyer-beware market but that is what is so wonderful about hearing from others about their experiences with products.

After reading some responses from another:
Some plants can be toxic, but did you know that what you put on your skin also is absorbed into your blood stream? In a few of my classes on essential oils: 'Never put anything on your skin you could not or would not eat'; soap and cosmetic products included.

Good Luck!

I use regular baby wash for my two kids (3 and 7 months), but with my 3YO, I mix the baby wash with water in an empty foaming soap dispenser from Bath & Body Works. I add a quarter size amount of baby wash to the dispenser, then fill it up the rest of the way with water. Then I let my 3YO shake it up to mix it, and it comes out foaming. A little bit in the dispenser mixed with water goes a long way! If you don't have any of those dispensers around, I think Target sells foaming soap in the same kind of dispensers. I will say that I have tried this with the Johnson's Buddies Foaming Soap/Hair and Body Wash dispenser and it kept getting stuck, so that didn't work well. :(

S.,
My boys all had sensitive skin and when I would put soap in the tub on a regular basis they would get dry itchy skin and sometimes get red irritated itchy patches. What I would do (especially in the wintertime) was put some food coloring in an empty shampoo bottle and fill it up with water. That seemed to entertain them, and I would only use ivory bar soap on a washcloth to clean the really dirty areas. You would be amazed but actually the water does most of the cleaning-not the soap!

We use California Baby body wash/shampoo. I use "Super Sensitive" for my son who has lots of allergies. It is expensive but you can buy a huge bottle.

Hi S.!
I agree with Ann H. with alot of things. I use Aveda Shampure for my kids hair and body. My hubby and I also use the same shampoo and it works great!

The Shampure from Aveda is not labled "tear free" but the kids have never fussed even if they accidentally get it in their eyes!

Hi, I didn't read all the answers, but I will tell you what we use for our oldest boy. It is Johnson's Buddies easy grip sudzing bar. It says it lasts twice as long as regular soaps, and it does! It is a bar of soap with a non-slip grip and the grippy thing makes it sud a lot, thus saving soap. We pay abouot 97cents for one bar and lasts us a couple of months. Plus it teaches them how to wash themselves with less slipping! It is great! We buy it at Meijer near the kids shampoo. Hope it helps. Oh, I don't know if it is tear free, but most Johnson's products are, we have not had any problems.
p.s. my neighbor uses the bars for her kids as handsoap, we use foaming. I can see her logic though! :)

I use Cetaphil because my dd has sensitive skin. I use it as a shampoo and body wash. It is a little expensive, but you don't use much and it lasts a long time, it also is a great skin conditioner. I buy it at Costco and I pay about $15 for 2 big bottles which lasts us about 6-9 months.

Hi S.:

I used Johnson and Johnson head to toe body wash for my son up until he was 8 years old. You can buy it in a large bottle and yes, it works for all over and is tear free. I think it cost about 4.00 for a large bottle. Good Luck.
A.

Johnson and johnson head to toe (yellow bottle) or the pink one that has moisturizer in it.

I have 2 kids (almost 3 and 16 months)

I am on my 3rd bottle of baby soap.

So I bottle lasts us about a year.

I bathe the kids every other day.. but I only use abit of soap.. their bodies are small. and too much soap is drying to the skin.

Aveeno Baby is great mild soap. I'm sure you can get it in a large bottle at Sam's or Costco.

I really love the Huggies brand oatmeal bath liquid soap. It can be used for hair and body. It very thick and you only need a very small amount. You can always find coupons for it online as well. It's the best I've found so far and my son always smells so good!! :)

I've always loved the smell of the Johnson's bedtime bath. So I get that when its on sale...if its not I found most stores have their own brand of it that is cheap and does the trick.

I know this a late response but I thought someone may be interested since this is pretty local. My kids have responded well to handmade soap and we love the soaps from momandpopsoapshop.com which are made in Grand Rapids, MI. We found them at a craft show and have had great luck with them for sensitive skin and eczema. They will make whatever kind of soap you want - Neat! The bars last a long time too so well worth the money.

I use the ALDI store brand baby wash. tear free - very little perfume, and a big bottle for about 1 dollar. I have twins and go through a LOT. it seems to last forever. They also have a good store brand baby shampoo for about the same price.

the catch? you have to go to an aldi store (which, BTW, is saving our butts in this economy!)
www.aldi.com to find a location.

Hi S.,
I have an almost 2 year old (she will be 2 in March) and I have always used the Johnson & Johnson Head to toe. It is tear-free, and its a body wash and shampoo all in one. I have found it works good. You can get it in a 28 fl oz container, that has lasted us well we have had it for a couple months already. And if you look online you can get coupons for a $1 off, or look in the paper for the coupons. I find that it is cheapest at Wal*Mart. I thinks if I remember right it is only like $5 a jug...maybe a little more but not too much more.
Good luck.

J.

I use a kid soap by Suave. It's tear free and for body and hair. Also, I usually only bathe my kids everyother day in the winter.

I still use baby soap on my son. (he's 2 years old) I love gerber grins and giggles soaps and lotions. The soap is all in one, hair and body wash.

I use avenno baby wash. It's good for the skin adn tear free. I use it for hair and body. Costco usually sells it if you are looking for big bottles or two packs.

For my 5 year old I am still using Johnson's baby wash (for hair and body). Comes in a big bottle with dispenser, works well and is gentle.

My sister in law uses Dr. Bronners http://www.drbronner.com/