Body care products for kids Part 1: Simple Lotion

I have written several posts on skin care recommendations for babies and young children, and seeing as I have had some requests for recommendations for body care products, I thought it was a good time to revisit the topic.

There are some differences between baby & children and adults that should always be kept in mind when selecting children's body care products. Babies & young children are growing and developing rapidly, and it's important to minimize exposure to chemicals which can interfere with that development. Compounds that are potentially harmful are those which can mimic or inhibit the activity of biochemical messenger molecules, which trigger biochemical reactions within the body. Hormone-mimicking compounds are of particular concern as children are highly sensitive to hormonal changes.

Babies and young children also have thinner, more delicate skin than adults, and their sebaceous glands have not fully developed yet. Sebaceous glands produce sebum and oil, which helps to maintain the barrier function of the skin and protect it from drying it out  (read more about skin biology here). Without these developed sebaceous glands, there is a much lower amount of protective sebum present. As a result, children's skin can easily be stripped and dried out, especially by exposure to dry weather and washing in overly warm water with soaps meant for adults. Eczema and inflamed, itchy patches of skin are a common result, especially during the winter months.

At the same time, the livers of babies and young children are not as developed as adults, and thus, they cannot metabolize chemicals as efficiently as an adult. Combined with thinner, more delicate skin that can easily absorb anything that is applied to it, and a much lower ratio of surface area to total body mass, this means that the effect of anything that is absorbed into the body of a child is greatly magnified compared to the same amount absorbed by the average adult.

Skin and body care products for children should always be as simple as possible, and wherever possible, free of synthetic fragrance, dyes and preservatives. Many worried parents turn to green/eco products, with their promises of "chemical-free" and "all natural". Not surprisingly, there are hundreds of green/eco companies who are trying to cash in on this fear. However, as I have said many times before, just because something is natural does not automatically mean it is good for you or good for the health of your children. Over the past couple years, I have pointed out products that are "all natural" but contain compounds that children should not be exposed to (see here, here and here).

Here are a few recommendations for body care products designed specifically for children, all of which are from Nature Clean, a Canadian company based in Markham, Ontario.

Treehouse Unscented Body Lotion by Nature Clean* (in Canada, available at Loblaws, Real Canadian Super Centre, and numerous health food stores; $7.99 CAD)

I have mentioned before in this post that a simple body lotion formulation is the best thing to choose for anyone who has sensitive skin, and this includes babies or children. A simple lotion is an emulsion composed of water, a fatty component, a surfactant that allows formation of a stable emulsion, and a preservative system that allows the lotion to resist microbial growth for an extended period of time. Beyond that, any other ingredient is an extra and its presence should be weighed carefully for its perceived advantage and any potential risk. This includes plant extracts and essential oils, any of which can cause skin reactions.

My top choice for a simple lotion is Neal's Yard Remedies Create Your Own Face & Body Lotion, which is a simple base lotion. As it is a base lotion, it contains no additional plant extracts, fragrances or dyes. The big plus is that it contains food grade preservatives, levulinic acid, sodium levulinate and potassium sorbate. However, it is expensive and hard to source: in Canada, one must place a special order through the distributor.

Treehouse Unscented Body Lotion by Nature Clean

After the NYR lotion, I have been using this lotion from Nature Clean. It is a much thinner lotion and not nearly as emollient, but it is also less than half the cost of the NYR lotion and it is readily available at our local supermarket. Little M is prone to outbreaks of atopic eczema, but by applying this lotion nightly after his bath since the cold weather set in, we have been able to effectively prevent the flare-ups of red, flaky patches that are the forerunner of full blown eczema (read more about combatting eczema in this post, which also includes a review of the NYR lotion).

This is a fairly simple formulation, composed of water, and a straightforward list of fatty components that are from natural sources. It contains two plant extracts, ginger root and bisabolol. Bisabolol is the major chemical constituent of the essential oil of German chamomile and is known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties.

alpha-(-)-bisabolol

It also contains two vitamins, vitamin E and panthenol (also known as provitamin B5). It does not contain any parabens, synthetic fragrance or dye.

It contains phenoxyethanol as the preservative, which is the only potential negative about this lotion. Phenoxyethanol has gained in popularity in the past few years as a replacement for the parabens but has come in for some controversy recently as being a depressant of the central nervous system and an irritant that may cause vomiting and diarrhea, if ingested in large enough quantities (see the original FDA report that sparked this controversy).

Phenoxyethanol

On balance though, I would say that the presence of phenoxyethanol is probably not a significant concern since the amount of phenoxyethanol absorbed through the skin is too small to trigger the symptoms noted in the FDA report. However, I will continue to keep an eye out for simple lotions that contain a food grade preservative and are easier to source than the NYR lotion.

If you are looking for an affordable and effective simple body lotion that is readily available, this one is worth checking out.

*Ingredients: Water, glycerin, cocoglycerides, olea europea (olive) fruit oil, cetyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate, cetearyl alcohol, caprylic/capric triglyceride, sodium stearoyl lactylate, zea mays (corn) starch, theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter, zingiber officinale (ginger) root extract, hydroxyethylcellulose, tocopheryl (vitamin e) acetate, panthenol, bisabolol, phenoxyethanol and ethylhexylglycerin.

If you have any questions about the chemistry, please let me know! And don't forget to check out my Chemistry 101 page in which I explain how to interpret chemical structures.

Next up in the series: toothpaste and hair conditioner/detangler for children.