Baby Soap

[Kimberly G Lewis]

Hello, I am making a Baby Soap and wanted to know if this is a good recipe:

 

[AliOop]

Hi Kimberly, most pediatricians recommend no soap for baby for at least the first six months - many say one year. But in any event, soap for young children should be extremely gentle. You will want the cleansing number to be as low as possible, and to minimize the number of ingredients to avoid potential irritants and allergens.

For that reason, I'd eliminate the coconut oil altogether, because it is very cleansing, which means that it will strip the natural oils off the skin. I'd also skip the yogurt, nutmilks, and banana, since all of those can be irritants or allergens.

If you are open to using lard, that makes a very gentle soap that is low on cleansing. Use sugar or honey to increase the bubbly factor beyond what shows in the soap calc. So something like this:

70% lard
25% OO, RBO, avocado oil, or blend
5% castor oil
2 T sugar PPO, dissolved in the liquid prior to adding the lye
Water replacers: oatmilk, AVJ, or vinegar.

Plan on curing the soap for 8-12 weeks as the lather will improve over the longer cure.

 

[artemis]

...avoid potential irritants and allergens...


...Water replacers: oatmilk, AVJ, or vinegar.

Similarly, I would also avoid oatmilk unless Baby is already doing well with oats.

 

[AliOop]

Similarly, I would also avoid oatmilk unless Baby is already doing well with oats.

Good point!

I forgot to mention that lowering the SF to 2% or 3% would also help the lather; with such a low cleansing number, a higher SF isn’t needed, IMO, and will only dampen lather.

 

[Kimberly G Lewis]

Hi Kimberly, most pediatricians recommend no soap for baby for at least the first six months - many say one year. But in any event, soap for young children should be extremely gentle. You will want the cleansing number to be as low as possible, and to minimize the number of ingredients to avoid potential irritants and allergens.

For that reason, I'd eliminate the coconut oil altogether, because it is very cleansing, which means that it will strip the natural oils off the skin. I'd also skip the yogurt, nutmilks, and banana, since all of those can be irritants or allergens.

If you are open to using lard, that makes a very gentle soap that is low on cleansing. Use sugar or honey to increase the bubbly factor beyond what shows in the soap calc. So something like this:

70% lard
25% OO, RBO, avocado oil, or blend
5% castor oil
2 T sugar PPO, dissolved in the liquid prior to adding the lye
Water replacers: oatmilk, AVJ, or vinegar.

Plan on curing the soap for 8-12 weeks as the lather will improve over the longer cure.

Hello,

Thank you!