The Truth About Celebrity Baby Products
Katie C Writes:
I just got married AND I have a new baby. My friends told me to try “The Original Little Sprout line of baby products but, even though my husband Tom says we can afford it, I wonder if it’s really worth the money. What do you think?
The Right Brain Reciprocates:
As a rule, we find that cosmetics for celebrities (baby or otherwise) are over-hyped and over-priced. The Original Little Sprout line doesn’t appear to be much different.
We looked at several products including their “2 in 1 Soft & Clean BABY SHAMPOO & BODY WASH” ($13.98 for 8.5 oz) and we weren’t impressed. While their website assures us that “An exquisite mixture of SOOTHING BOTANICALS leave your Little Sprout’s hair & skin ultra soft, nurtured & clean” a review of their ingredients reveals a pretty standard baby shampoo type formula. And as we’ve said MANY times - botanicals don’t really do squat!
Here’s how they list their ingredients (complete with their spelling errors!):
Aqua (WATER,Cocamidoproplye Betaine (FROM COCONUTS & BEETS), Sodium sweetalmondphoacetate (FROM ALMONDS) Sodium lauroyl Glutamate (MILD CONDITIONER & ANTIOXDIDANT) Decyl Glucoside (GENTLE SURFACTANT) Sunflowerseedamphoacetate (from SUNFLOWER OIL) peg 150 distearate, methylisothiazolinone-mild preservative,Methylchlorothiazolinone (E.U. APPROVED PRESERVATIVES).
It`s hard to fully decipher their ingredient list because of multiple spelling errors and their use of incorrect ingredient names. (they even misspelled “anti-oxidant.” As scientists, it’s hard for us to support a company that can’t even spell the names of their ingredients correctly. We hope they’re not that sloppy when formulating their products!! But we digress…)
Basically, it`s a baby shampoo. Instead of sodium or ammonium lauryl and laureth sulfates (which most shampoos use) this product uses the same basic ingredients as other baby shampoos: amphoacetate, decyl glucoside, and glutamates as primary cleaning agents and PEG-150 distearate to thicken and boost foam.
Is this a good shampoo for babies? Yes, it appears to be. Is it in any way better than a regular baby shampoo that costs much less? Not technically speaking. We do have one good thing to say about their formula, however: it`s fragrance free. So if your baby is particularly sensitive to fragrance, then this product could have an advantage. But it`s really rare for that to be a problem. For the most part, they`re trying to mislead you by cashing in on a fear of chemicals that’s based on bad science. They even make a big deal out of their products being paraben free when there’s no proof that parabens are bad in the first place (Go read our post on the perils of parabens for the true story on that topic!)
The Bottom Line:
Do you need to be cautious about the products you use on infants? Certainly! But you don’t need to spend a lot of money to be careful. On the other hand, if you`re the kind of person that wants to impress other women by using the same thing on your baby that Angelina Jolie uses on little Maddox, or if your goal is to be like Courntey Cox, Debra Messing, Brooke Shields, and other Hollywood types who are Little Sprout Devouts, then go for it. But The Beauty Brains would rather skip the extravagant celebrity-hyped products and start saving for college!
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Erika Says:
Happy New Year!
Cynical Girl Says:
What happened to the days of J&J shampoo. No wonder kids are so spoiled! Back in my day, I was washed with a rag on a stick and I was lucky!
Anne (in Reno) Says:
Seriously, sunflowerseedamphoacetate? Have they changed chemistry since I was in college? Because that sounds like somebody just got bored and made up a name for sunflower oil.
Left Brain Says:
Yes, sunflowerseedamphoacetate is just ridiculous. Chemistry has not changed since you went to college. Actually, there is some rationale to the name. Following the proper nomenclature from the Cosmetics, Toiletries & Fragrance Association there is a name for a modified coconut oil called cocoamphodiacetate. It’s a “source based” name. This company has taken that idea and just made up their own name. But that’s what small companies can do. They break industry rules however they like and no one does anything about it because they are so small. Big companies have to follow the rules.
Jan Says:
What I think is worse is that the same parents who want to buy the most expensive baby shampoo and toys for their babies and toddlers are seen a few years later whining about how their kids always demand more, more, more and are not satisfied with anything that is not the latest “hot product”. They can’t see that raising them with “the sky is the limit” when they are very young causes them to turn into kids that “need” all the expensive toys later, and new decor for their bedrooms, and professional manicures when they are 8 (these last 2 are real examples of a little girl in my family).
corinneyb Says:
I’m with you, Jan. A new salon opened up here that is specifically for the “tween set” - haircuts, manis, pedis, etc. I didn’t have a professional pedicure until I was in my 20s! We always painted our nails at home, and I have fond memories of it, too!
come on Says:
Katie C. is can’t be a chemist, or she is a chemist who can’t read. She has clearly have never used Little Sprout products because they have a fragrance- maybe she is missing a nose? Was curious about the spelling errors she mentioned so we looked at the back of my son’s Hair and Body Wash label… guess what? Katie’s is so far off it’s frightening.Think Beauty Brains is need of glasses.
Anne (in Reno) Says:
Um, ok Come On, how about the fact that they linked to the official website? I scrolled through and saw misspellings there too. But the point is, to me at least, this is an overhyped and unnecessary product for your kid. Hope he likes it. Although I have to say I didn’t see anything about fragrance-free on there either.
Chris Says:
I personally use these products on my childeren and BELIEVE ME they smell fantastic and I think the price is fair. Look I’m no chemist but I do work in the cosmectic feild and and smart to know that the “ingredient names” are not made up just to “hype” the product.
There are regulations for ingredient lists and what can be claimed on products. That regulation is fair for small medium or large companies.
I think the products are great and not over hyped. I first dicovered them when I received these for my baby shower and have been using them ever since!
KEEP THE GOOD JOB UP! I AM YOUR LOYAL CUSTOMER!
Jessica Says:
As a cosmetic chemist I use The Original Little Sprout products based on how the products perform. I am not much of a blogger but on this occasion feel an alternative opinion would be useful to mothers who chose products based on performance values. My family and I are avid users of the Original little Sprout brand due to how they leave our skin and hair feeling softer than other products, without residue or buildup. We also really enjoy the fragrance of the products. My daughter loves it even as a “big girl”, she is four, and we our six month old’s skin remains soft and without reaction which is important to us as parents. We do not select cosmetics based on how low prices are but rather in how they work. Regards, Jessica,
thebeautybrains Says:
Thanks everyone for your comments. This kind of discussion makes the information on this blog much more useful.
Come on - The “fragrance free” claim was only based on the single product reviewed. If you look at the ingredients for the product example we gave (the 2 in 1 shampoo and body wash) the formula does not have a fragrance. The product you looked at is not the same thing. Other products in their line clearly have a fragrance.
Chris - These ingredient names are “made up”. Since you work in the cosmetic field, you know then that the official names for ingredients are listed by the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Fragrance Association (CTFA) in their INCI dictionary. This is the manual that all cosmetic companies (no matter what size) are supposed to follow. None of the words in parenthesis on this label are supposed to be included. And neither are the spelling errors. If they are so sloppy in this detail, it makes you wonder where else they’ve been sloppy. Especially at the prices they are charging.
Jessica - It’s nice to hear from another cosmetic chemist. As you see from the post we said these are probably good for babies. But lots of products work well for babies (like J&J Baby Shampoo) and they are not going to cost nearly as much.
Feel free to use whatever products you want. If cost is not an issue for you these products will work well. We’re just saying you could get products that are just as good (and maybe even better) for less money.