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A1will

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I understand that for the first few months or so, most mother's do not use soap on their baby. My sister just had another child and I want to make some very gentle cleansing soap for her, for when she is ready to start using it.

I was looking for some tips/advice on what to avoid.

Is fragrance a bad idea? I was thinking it might irritate sensitive skin.

I hear that OO makes a very gently cleansing soap. And was considering using that in a high percentage. Maybe mostly OO with a tiny amount of castor and a small amount of tallow/palm oil (to make the bar a wee bit harder).

Any advice/feedback/tips would be awesome.
 
I've mostly seen 100% olive recommended for children's skin but it takes longer to cure. However, eventually it will be a hard bar so you wouldn't have to add tallow or palm if you really didn't want to use either one. I made 100% olive with buttermilk for the liquid and it turned out really nice. Although, I preferred the lather after over a year but that's just because I'm not crazy about olive's lather. I think goat milk would be even nicer for a child's skin so you might consider it.

I wouldn't use fragrance but this is just my opinion. BTW, my sister gave me an unscented goat milk soap sample made by a lady she knows. (I love it and it makes me wonder why I've never used regular goat milk in soap. I've added a little goat milk powder but have never used the liquid.) Okay - back on topic. What I meant to say is the soap smells fine without any fragrance added.

Hopefully, someone else will come along and give better advice.
 
yes I only have done castile for babies to use but I know some have done Bastile also with maybe 5% castor and 5-10 coconut to up the bubbles.
 
Castile is a great suggestion for babies, and give it the longest possible cure. If you want a little extra lather, you can use up to 8% castor oil in the OO bar and will still end up with a lovely hard bar ...... I'd avoid CO or any fragrance, but have used GM or rooibos or green teas instead of water to make baby soap.


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I read avocado oil is wonderful and soothing for a baby. If I were to use fragrance I would use a lavender, but I would read up on dosage in children and even then use the smallest amount (if I used any at all). :)
 
I would not add scent, their are so many allergens already out there for babies..
 
Pre-soap making days, my SIL recommended weleda calendula range as hands-down the best thing she used for her babies (I don't think she used the solid soap bar though). A quick look at their range shows that they use calendula extract and chamomile extract - Calendula is soothing, helps dry skin and is protecting, whilst chamomile is anti-inflammatory and good to help them get off to sleep.
It also looks like they include essential oils, but I'm not sure which ones. I think the addition of the extracts could be nice but I have yet to experiment that far! Good luck, hope you will share with us how it goes.
 
I definitely recommend staying away from any fragrances -- EO and FO. It's not worth the risk since you don't know (and can't know) a safe amount for such young tender skin. A handmade low cleansing soap will be perfect without it at this stage of life!
 
French milled soaps are supposed to be the mildest soaps. Essentially, you rebatch a soap, shredding it finely, warming it up with a liquid (milk, water), bring it up in temperature and then mold it. That is what I've read.

This site in Australia describes triple milling.
http://www.soapsolutions.com.au/
 
What are your thoughts on infused oils and herbal teas? I was thinking perhaps calendula infused oil and chamomile tea - would you still avoid them for babies? And after cold processing is there even any benefit left to either of those options?
 

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