Best Baby Shampoo Guide: Best, Better, And Not A Fan

The best baby shampoo is one that is gentle on your baby’s hair and scalp and devoid of potentially harmful ingredients and misleading marketing claims.

Some of my favorite options include gentle shampoo-and-wash products, castile liquid washes, and soap bars. They can work well for washing baby hair and the whole body.

In this guide, I grouped the baby products into Best, Better, and Not A Fan to make it easier for you to choose based on the safety of ingredients.

What Makes A Baby Shampoo Safe?

For this guide, I’ve looked at a multitude of baby head-to-toe products with the goal of finding as many safe options for you as possible. Generally speaking, the ingredients are not as bad as I expected. Yet, there are some ingredients avoiding which will make your choice safer:

• Fragrance (also natural fragrance and essential oil blends): a mixture of multiple ingredients, many of which have allergenic potential.
• Linalool, Limonene: fragrance ingredients and recognized allergens.
• PEGs, Polysorbates, -eth: ethoxylated ingredients that may contain trace amounts of carcinogenic chemicals used in the manufacturing process, like 1,4 dioxane and ethylene oxide.  
• Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine and Cocamidopropyl Betaine: may contain impurities with allergenic potential.
• Phenoxyethanol: may contain ethylene oxide and phenol contaminants that may cause adverse reactions; a core allergen in some concentrations; French authorities recommend limiting it to 0.4% for children under three and avoiding it in diaper-area products.
• Caprylhydroxamic Acid: may be irritating for damaged skin or eczema (source).
• Propylene Glycol: may contribute to allergic and irritant contact dermatitis.
• Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride: manufactured with a chemical classified by EU as a “suspected carcinogen.”

That does not mean every product containing one of these ingredients is automatically dangerous. It simply means that, when cleaner options exist, I prefer those for babies and kids. For safest shampoo options for grownups, read my guide to Best Shampoos Without Harmful Chemicals.

Best Baby Shampoo Options

The products I placed in the Best category contain no ingredients of concern. In this guide, I provide a detailed explanation for five baby shampoo and washes in this category.

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Best Baby Shampoo Bar

Crunchi Littles™ 3-in-1 Bathtime Bar can be used on hair, face, and body. It is essential oil-free and contains organic oils, oat flour, shea butter, and chamomile extract. I appreciate the simpler ingredient list, plastic-free packaging, and organic oils and extracts. It is great for you if you want to be extra careful and use only organic ingredients on your baby. Organic oils and extracts are less likely to be contaminated with pesticides, herbicides, and potentially harmful solvents. Be mindful that this is not a tear-free product, so avoid the eyes and rinse well.

Best Baby Castile Soap For Eczema

Dr. Jacobs Castile Soap for Baby Eczema is a shampoo and wash certified by the National Eczema Association. The ingredient list is short and includes aloe vera and vitamin E. It does not have any essential oils in the formula. I wish glycerin and aloe vera were organic though. It’s great for parents who prefer to see the National Eczema Association seal of approval and like the convenience of the iHerb retailer. Heads up: Like other soap-based products, this product is not tear-free. Be careful around the eye area.

Best All-Purpose Baby Soap

Motherlove Baby & All® Soap – Simply Unscented is an all-purpose foaming castile soap that you can also use as an infant, baby, and toddler shampoo and body soap. It is certified organic and made with organic oils and shea butter as well as organic rosemary flower extract. There are no essential oils in the formula. Like with other soap-based products, avoid the eyes.

Best Foaming Shampoo For Newborns

Mustela Foaming Shampoo for Newborns is a lightweight foam shampoo for a baby’s hair and scalp. It is formulated to minimize cradle cap, exfoliate flakes, and soften the baby’s scalp. This is achieved by avocado polyphenols in the avocado fruit extract and a mild non-drying surfactant such as coco-glucoside. The formula has no essential oils. I wish the ingredients were organic though to reduce the risk of residues of potentially harmful solvents and pesticides.

Best Soap-Free Baby Wash And Shampoo

Pure Haven Baby Wash & Shampoo is my favorite soap-free liquid baby shampoo and wash option in this guide. Instead of soap, the gentle cleansing ingredients are coco-glucoside and decyl glucoside. Plus, it contains organic aloe vera and organic chamomile oil. It is pH-balanced, mild, and practical for everyday use.

I also feel confident recommending Pure Haven because I have a high level of trust in the company’s formulation standards, manufacturing practices, and overall product integrity. To me, that matters just as much as the ingredient list. It’s best for parents who want a one-stop toxin-free shop where I have reviewed every ingredient in every product for safety.

Better Baby Shampoo Options

These products are decent options, but they contain ingredients I like less for babies, such as:

• Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
• Cocamidopropyl Betaine
• Caprylhydroxamic Acid
• Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride

If one of these already works well for your family, I would not panic. I simply think the products in the Best category are stronger choices overall:

• Attitude 2-in-1 Baby Shampoo & Body Wash (Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride)
• Babo Botanicals Sensitive Baby Shampoo & Body Wash Fragrance Free (Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride)
• Coterie First Wash Ultra-Gentle Hair + Body Wash (Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride) 
• Lillydoo 2 in 1 Shampoo & Body Wash (Cocamidopropyl Betaine)
• Pipette Fragrance-Free Baby Shampoo + Wash (Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride)

Not A Fan Baby Shampoos

The main dividing line between Better and Not A Fan categories is the presence of:

• Fragrance (also natural fragrance)
• Phenoxyethanol
• Ethoxylated Ingredients (PEGs)

While many parents use these products without obvious problems, I simply think there are better options available than the following:

• Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture 2-in-1 Body Wash & Shampoo (PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, PEG-150 Distearate, Fragrance, and Cocamidopropyl Betaine)
• Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Shampoo & Wash – Original (Phenoxyethanol, Natural Fragrance)
• Everyone 3-in-1 Kids Soap (Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Phenoxyethanol, Limonene)
• Mill Creek Botanicals Baby Tear Free Conditioning Shampoo (Phenoxyethanol)
• Up & Up Baby Bath Wash and Shampoo – Fragrance Free (Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-150 Distearate)

If you’d like to know my verdict on Aleva Naturals, California Baby, Hello Bello, Honest, Parent’s Choice, and many more baby shampoos – click here to receive my email right now!

Bottom Line: What Is The Best Baby Shampoo?

The best baby shampoo is not always a traditional liquid shampoo in a bottle. Some of the gentlest options for washing baby hair (and body) are shampoo-and-wash products, castile washes, or simple soap bars. The ingredients used are more important than the form of the product.

Thus, to make sure you are using a safer baby shampoo, avoid the following ingredients:

• Fragrance (as well as Natural Fragrance)
• Ethoxylated Ingredients (e.g., PEGs)
• Phenoxyethanol

To take it a step further, choose a baby shampoo formulated without:

• Cocamidopropyl Betaine
• Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
• Caprylhydroxamic Acid
• Propylene Glycol
• Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride

For a soap-free liquid option, consider Pure Haven Baby Wash & Shampoo.

And if you prefer a plastic-free soap bar, Crunchi Littles™ 3-in-1 Bathtime Bar is my favorite choice.

Baby Shampoo FAQ

Can A Shampoo-And-Body-Wash Product Be Used On Baby Hair?

Yes. Many baby shampoos are sold as shampoo-and-body-wash products. The ingredient list matters more than the exact product name.

Can Soap Bars Work As Baby Shampoo?

Yes. Some families use gentle soap bars to wash baby hair and body. I used bar soap on my son’s hair and body for years without problems. That said, it is reasonable to follow the manufacturer’s instructions as to the product’s application. In addition, soap bars are not tear-free, so avoid the eyes and rinse carefully.

What Is The Safest Baby Shampoo For Newborns?

For newborns, I usually prefer very simple products with short ingredient lists and no fragrance. Pure Haven Baby Wash and Shampoois my favorite liquid option and Crunchi Littles™ 3-in-1 Bathtime Baris my favorite bar option in this guide.

Is Tear-Free Baby Shampoo Safer?

Not necessarily. “Tear-free” only means the product is designed to sting the eyes less. It does not automatically make the formula safer overall. If you are specifically looking for a tear-free shampoo, make sure to also read my post about numbing agents in tear-free baby shampoos.

Is Organic Baby Shampoo Always Better?

Not necessarily.

First, there is no such thing as a truly “organic baby shampoo.” A shampoo contains many ingredients, and not all of them can be organic. Instead, some baby shampoos are made with organic oils, extracts, butters, and other plant-based ingredients.

That said, I generally prefer products made with organic ingredients when possible. Organic ingredients are grown without most synthetic pesticides and are processed under stricter standards that limit the use of certain solvents and other chemicals. As a result, they may contain fewer unwanted residues.

However, organic does not automatically mean safer. An organic baby shampoo can still contain ingredients that may irritate sensitive skin. That is why I look at the entire ingredient list, not just whether a product is marketed as organic.

When everything else is equal, I usually favor products made with organic ingredients. But the overall formulation matters more than an organic claim on the label.