Read The Label: Essential Ingredients In Newborn Baby Care Products
What is it that you look at when you pick up a product to buy it for your little one? Expiry date? Date of manufacture? Or the ingredients list?
Let us answer that question for you. A lot of us consider the first two factors while selecting a baby product so that we can determine the shelf life of the product before investing our money in it. Though the more important factor has to be that of the ever mystical ingredient-list.
We know how precious your little one is to you. It’s only fair that he/she gets the best. After all, babies have the most sensitive skin and their immune systems are still developing. So, they should come in contact with only the purest and mildest products. However, to make that distinction you require a working knowledge of ingredients.
We agree that it can be quite intimidating to see difficult-to-pronounce ingredients listed at the back of the baby product you want to buy. However, not all of them are harmful or non-essential.
To help you find your way around the maze of that ingredient list, we have compiled this primer with the help of the dependable and much-loved baby care brand, Johnson & Johnson. So, go ahead and give it a read.
Decoding The Label
Contrary to what you might’ve read or heard, not all chemicals used in baby care products are harmful. Rather, some of them perform quite specific functions which improve the efficiency of the product and make them safer.
Johnson’s, itself, has been practising a very stringent testing process of selecting its ingredients since its inception, over 125 years ago. However, now with the launch of the New Johnson’s, they have made this process even stricter by subjecting each ingredient is tested for 12 months and all its products pass through 8000 clinical tests that ensure they are safe and pure for baby’s gentle skin. Johnson’s baby is visibly pure and transparent and lists all its ingredients at the back of pack also on their website
When you are buying a baby care product, make sure that all the ingredients are listed, and that they are all essential. They shouldn’t contain any dyes or sulfates. Following the same logic, all of the ingredients used by Johnson’s in their products, serve a purpose. There is nothing in there that shouldn’t be there in the first place. Harmful chemicals like phthalates, sulfates, asbestos, dyes, parabens, and formaldehyde are not present in any of their products. Now, let’s look at some essential ingredients that should be present in all baby care products.
- Preservatives
Baby care products such as body wash, shampoo are often kept in warm and moist places like the bathroom. The environment in our bathrooms is quite encouraging for the growth of bacteria. Also, we apply most of baby care products using our hands and often dip our fingers into their container to scoop out the product. This allows the bacteria present in our skin to make its way into the product.
To keep these bacteria in check and prevent them from multiplying and infecting your little one, baby care products often contain preservatives. Preservatives are essential because they save the product from rotting and prevent the growth of bacteria.
- Fragrance
We know what you’re thinking – how is fragrance an essential ingredient in baby care products? Johnson’s, who are also leaders in baby care science and research, have revealed that the sense of smell plays a great role in the development of babies. It also found that scented products provide comfort to babies, and help in their sensorial development. They also improve the baby’s mood by evoking familiar memories and help them bond with parents.
However, fragrances, even natural ones, can contain common allergens, which can put the baby at the risk of developing allergies. To avoid this from happening, Johnson’s use only those fragrances that meet the highest standards set by International Fragrance Association (IFRA).
- Moisturizers
We have already established how the skin of babies is fundamentally different from that of adults. Mostly because it’s thinner than that of adults, which is why it’s also 10 times sensitive as well. To help maintain the skin’s natural barriers, it needs to be hydrated and moisturized properly. That’s why moisturizers are an essential ingredient.
- pH Balancers
Another way in which a baby’s skin differs from that of an adult is in terms of its pH level, and therefore, its more sensitive and prone to contracting infections, etc. To remedy this, Johnson’s products also contain pH balancers like sodium hydroxide and citric acid, so that they match the pH level of the baby’s skin.
- Mild Cleansers
What use would a shampoo or wash be if it wasn’t able to do its actual job? Not much, right? And that’s why mild cleansers are also essential ingredients in most baby care products. However, Johnson’s uses extremely mild cleansers, which like all other Johnson’s products must pass a series of 4 stringent allergy tests to earn their “clinically proven mild” tag.
The main purpose of this article was to educate you about what goes in the making of the products that you use on your precious, little one.
You can also choose to put your faith in a reliable brand like Johnson’s baby. Not only do they have a stringent testing process, but they also test their products on 5.5 lakh people globally to make sure that only the best and gentlest products enter the market. In case you need more information or if you want to add something to list, let us know in the comments section.
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