We’ve blogged before about the top 10 mildest body washes that use a special surfactant called sodium cocoyl isethionate. This chemical doesn’t strip skin of natural oils and it rinses away better so it’s less irritating. So it must be best thing to wash your baby with, right? WRONG!
According to the Mayo Clinic, water and a clean, soft cloth will get the baby’s skin as clean as it needs to be. This seems counter-intuitive since one would think that cleansers would remove potentially dangerous bacteria. But any additional boost in cleansing that you do get from using detergent products is out-weighed by the risk of irritation or infection.
Just think of all the money you’ll save on baby wash!
Reference: CosmeticsDesign
Image credit: http://pixabay.com/
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But about when the babies are taken out in public and exposed to germs and even people coughing?
Any baby wash that removed harmful pathogens would also remove the beneficial bacteria that reside in and on the baby’s body and protect him/her from illness. Also it would probably be pretty harsh and remove protective oils. Don’t let your baby play in open sewers, you’ll be fine.
Incidentally, if someone coughs on a baby and the kid is going to get sick, that’s going to happen right away. It’s not going to do any good to give the kid a Silkwood treatment 6 hours later.
Also, of course, there are the benefits to the immune systems of being exposed to lots of different things.
I hear you Jillian! The importance of soil-based organisms in developing the immune system are highly understated. Current research is starting to confirm these ideas. If anyone is interested, a quick search of the “hygiene hypothesis,” or “old friends hypothesis,” can yield some fascinating studies.
Lets take this post to the next level, shall we? If babies are clean with water and a wash cloth, why not “grownups?” I’m pretty sure Ashenburg tackles this question in her book, “The Dirt on Clean.” I remember two dermatologists being quoted that washing our hands is really all we really need to stay clean– at the most basic level.
As a minimalist, I cannot think of something finer… ;D