Study says you shouldn't bath your kids every day

I save the soap for really grubby days and just use water and a soft washcloth or sponge on the others. Water is the universal solvent!

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We use both Derma-Med products and organic SLS free products (Kiss My Face is a good one).

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I have only ever used Burt's Bees 'Baby Bee' line of products on my son and they are big on ensuring their products have only what's necessary in them.

www.burtsbees.com

Quoted from their site: "There are ingredients that you will never find in any Burt’s Bees product. Things like petroleum which can be toxic. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which is a harsh, aggressive ingredient used in certain beauty products. And when was the last time you saw a farmer growing Propylene Glycol? Rather than loading our products up with harsh chemicals or unnecessary fillers, we offer you only the good stuff."

I *ADORE* these products! Their website has a full disclosure of what's in their products and lots of great info ... as you will see ; )

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Hi Kristin - California Baby makes products without SLS: I actually blogged about one of their packages suncare packages at http://www.childofleisure.com/2007/05/carry-on-suncare-for-little-ones/

I also use some of their bath bubbles, which are cool - they include a bubble wand so kids can blow bubbles too, which my daughter loves. I know they are available at Whole Foods in the US, not sure about Canada, or if they ship to Canada addresses... You can check them out directly at http://www.californiababy.com

I don't bathe my daughter every night. Although the routine of it is nice, she doesn't need it, especially in the winter - kids don't perspire the way adults do (although they do get into more dirt!). Now that it's summer and she's perspiring a little more and playing outside more, she'll probably get more baths but even now, I gauge it from day to day. It dries her skin out if we do it every night, even when I use oils (which I don't like to do in the tub because they make it slippery). What we do more frequently is a "washup" with a wet washcloth and mild soap to get off some surface grime and wipe her hairline which is where she perspires most, but we realized that not only didn't she need a full-out bath every single night but that it was actually drying out her skin, even with the gentler products. Because there are other parts of her bedtime routine (go potty, brush teeth, pick bedtime stories and have Mommy & Daddy each read one, sing a lullaby, say prayers) we haven't found skipping the bath to be detrimental to settling down at night.

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My oldest child was covered with eczema when she was a baby almost 50 years ago. Even back then, the doctor said to avoid soap - just rinse her off.

We weren't nearly as germ conscious then of course but when Rochelle (now 12) developed a yeast infection (more easily cured than the eczema), her pediatrician said the same thing.

Mud? That's why we had a garden hose.

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Okay, that particular article goes against EVERY SINGLE article I have read by dermatologists and the recommendations of my son's pediatrician and allergist! The issue is the chemicals in the soaps for the authors of the article, but for eczema bathing more often and using gentle soaps or none or at all with massive amounts of grease afterwards is the best treatment since eczema is related to hydration of the skin.

I know we did not bath our oldest for two months when he was first born (it was winter and his umbilical cord took 8 weeks to fall off) and then rarely after that since he did not like it and yet his got very bad eczema that was contained and improved after baths everyday or every other day.

If you are concerned about the ingredients of soaps and lotions for your babies check out: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/splash.php?URI=%2Fbrowse.php%3Fmaincat%3DSKIN%2BCARE%2B%2528BABY%2529
It has ingredients and relative safety of various skin products.

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If Cass has a really good flareup going on I don't feel good about using much of anything in the bath. The thought of her absorbing unnecessary product through those itchy spots doesn't seem right to me.

An extended playtime in plain old bath water will make a dent in most of the grunge.

Jan from www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com

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My daughter is only 10 months old, so I don't know how we'll do it even one month from now, but until now she has only gotten a bath once a week.

we only use a drop of baby shampoo and no soap, it's enough to get her clean. She has the most peachy skin ever and has never had problems with dryness or sensitivity, which I think genes have a big part in but probably also some due to the fact that we're not so strict with bathing and soap.

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My son has my sensitive skin, so we go with an on/off schedule for baths. We might use soap twice a week unless he was having a muddy day. We haven't had any problems so far.

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http://www.aubrey-organics.com/index.cfm

Aubrey Organics, unlike other "all natural" companies, actually provide 100% natural bath and body care products. We only use Aubrey in our home -- soap, lotion, shampoo, deodorant, sunscreen, etc.

Burt's Bees is also a pretty good brand with only a few suspect ingredients found here and there. Beware many of the others. Simply using an organic ingredient or two does not meant that they are not ALSO using parabens, laureth sulfates, etc.

The Skin Deep website (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php) is THE source to check when looking at the safety of your bath and body products.

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arbonne ... great baby line

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Karen, Arbonne is full of bad ingredients. We love the way that the rep tried to sell it as "all natural". Read the labels. Carcinogens, skin irritants, all of the "wrong" ingredients. Suave Naturals is actually BETTER for you than Arbonne (and about 1/10th the price!). If you want natural, you'll have to stick with something like Aubrey Organics, Burt's Bees, California Baby, etc.

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Wow, great recommendations, folks, thanks! I'm going to check them out.

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We don't bath our children every day because of eczema (on multiple doctors' advice) but my daughter's skin is often much better the day after we do bath her. The reason is that we apply much more moisturizer on the nights she has a bath than on the nights she doesn't.

Our first really cool doctor recomended Dove (without perfume). He was pretty adamant that we avoid baby products.

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I've used Aubrey's since Maya was born and I love it. Highly recommend. They make good suntan lotion too.

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When my two were babies, I would bathe them everyday because that was part of our night time routine. It helped them sleep. Now that they are a little older, they are down to bathing every other day. When they get to be stinky, then they'll go back to bathing daily. I still have them use baby bath and baby shampoo (they are 5 and 6) and so they never have problems with soap.

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The best investment we ever made for the family's skin was a shower filter. You can get one at a good health food store for about $40 and refill once per year at about $22-$25 (casing lasts for years). The filter removes chlorine, etc. from the water and skin gets much less dry and irritated. Aubrey Organics makes excellent products, and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps (castile soaps) are very gentle. They make one with no fragrance. I find that using plenty of filtered water at a moderate temperature (NOT HOT) and as little soap as possible (dilute with a puff or natural sponge)is helpful for sensitive skin.

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