The product I am reviewing today is one for small children. Its an anhydrous product (that is, does not contain water) and the listed ingredients are:
How is baby skin different?
What is important to realise is that babies have very thin skin and as a result:
- they lose more water than adults (trans-epidermal loss per square cm) is much higher for babies than adults
- are more prone to skin infections
If you’ve ever been around a baby, you’ll know rashes of varying degree are an absolute staple of growing-up.
What do folks apply on baby skin?
The answer to this very much depends on geography, culture and the time of the year.
In India…
Its traditional to give babies an oil massage using coconut oil, ghee or something in between before bathing. If there is an after-bath follow-up its typically a Johnson & Johnson baby cream (or nothing at all).
In Europe
Pre-bathing oil massages are not common at all. There may be an oil added to bathing water but an after-bath baby cream is common
In parts of Africa
Argan oil (in Morocco) and Shea butter (in native-growing countries) are usually applied in unfiltered forms to babies
If I had a baby what would I apply?
Honestly, I would give the baby a massage with organic, homemade ghee (and yes, it would end up smelling like a fried samosa) but the benefits to the skin in terms of strengthening the barrier are unparralleled.
If ghee is not available, then certainly a petroleum jelly based product. Petrolatum (ie Vaseline) forms an occlusive layer on the skin of the baby, which reduces trans-epidermal water loss.
Should you buy this product?
The ingredient list is:
Ingredients I think are unnecessary and contribute little to helping skin barrier are
- Mango butter
- Cocoa butter
- Olive oil
- Coconut oil
- Argan
The ingredients I really like are: shea butter and jojoba oil. In my experience as a formulator, shea butter is one of the best ingredients for the skin: it contributes to barrier repair, softens and makes the smooth supple. Jojoba oil is in fact a wax and has a similar composition to mammalian skin, so is readily absorbed by skin.
This product would be much improved if it was made of three ingredients: shea butter, jojoba oil and vitamin E
Skin feel, smell and look of the product
As you can see from the photo, this product looks like a mess – there is no smooth surface that you would associate with other products. What I suspect has happened is that the product has melted and then reformed into a solid
It smells like cocoa butter, and its a pleasant smell.
The butter rubs in easily and leaves a relatively dry skin feel (that is because of the higher % of cocoa and mango butter in the product. It also means that despite having so many oils in the product, the final % of oil is likely to be under 35%).
There is a shine to the product as applied. Your baby won’t mind.
Would I buy this product again?
This is a completely hypothetical question for me because I don’t have a small baby at home to experiment on.
My twopence is therefore this: its an expensive product and this small jar will last you maybe about a fortnight, if you are applying a thin layer across hypothetical baby’s said body.
I would buy this if I wanted:
- fragrance and preservative free product. One of the main causes of contact dermatitis are ingredients in skincare, including fragrance and preservatives. This product eliminates that risk
- to be sure about the purity of the product I was buying. With the ECOCERT Cosmos Organic label, I feel confident that the product should be of superior quality.
The product itself is maybe not the best because it has too much mango and cocoa butter: both of those butters are inferior to shea butter in my opinion. However, there is no doubt that the product will form an occlusive barrier on the baby’s skin, preventing TEWL, which is a basic minimum for such a product.
Where can I buy this?
Available to purchase at juicy chemistry at this link (Rs 700ml for 75g)