The soft, sensitive skin of our babies deserves extra special care.  So many body products contain chemicals that aren’t as safe as we’d hope.  You can see how your products rank on the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Database.  More than 74,000 common products are evaluated for their safety including their risk to contributing to cancer or development of allergies.  It’s a pretty impressive resource!

The site also provides tips for specific chemicals to look out for and avoid in each age group.  For example, in babies, be sure to avoid diaper creams that contain BHA, Boric Acid, or fragrances.  Better yet, make your own diaper cream by making plantain salve!

Similarly, it is quite possible to make some of your own products for baby’s bath time.  Today I’d like to share a simple recipe for calming and cleansing baby bath herbs.

In the U.S., we’re a little obsessed with bathing babies.  Many babies experience a bath on their first day or life, although there is some evidence that this should be delayed to benefit breastfeeding rates and because the substance covering baby’s skin at birth (vernix) is a helpful moisturizer and protective substance.

However, you’re eventually going to want to bathe your baby, and an herbal bath blend can be used to enchance the one or two baths you do give your little one a week (many more baths than this can lead to dry skin).

You can use a number of herbs that are both calming and cleansing to make your own herbal bath blend.  Herbs that work particularly well include:

• chamomile
• lavender
• roses
• calendula
• comfrey
• oats

You can use all of these in an herbal bath mix, or pick your favorites.  After all, you might as well enjoy these herbs too by having a baby + me bath!

For my current blend, I combined the calming and relaxing scents of chamomile, lavender, and roses with the cleansing and nourishing power of oats.

Bath herbs are extremely easy to use.  Just fill a cotton bag with about an ounce of the herb mixture.  Hang the mix over the faucet so that water pours over the herbs as the tub is filling.  When the tub has filled, toss the herbal bag into the bath to let the herbs continue to work their magic in your bath.  You can even use the bag as a wonderfully aromatic washcloth.

Simple,  luxurious, and non-toxic (!) for you and your baby.

Love the idea but don’t have time make your own?  Check out my Etsy shop – I made extra!

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