What’s the best baby shampoo for some scrub-a-dub-dub cleaning fun? Organic baby shampoo, of course!
Conventional shampoos—including those designed for babies—contain ingredients even rubber duckies would avoid: detergents (which can be toxic if swallowed or splashed in the eyes), phthalates, synthetic fragrances, and parabens.
Not to mention the other zillion ingredients ending in -eth, and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives.
Natural baby shampoo is the safest baby shampoo money can buy so let’s throw a quick reveal party for our best brand who not only use safe ingredients we can understand but are also backed by recognized certifications and testing.
Soon, we’ll be rolling out our Brand Rating System. This will vet brands against a range of criteria from chemical use to climate impact associated with the formulations they use. You can learn more here.
We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.
Only The Best Non-Toxic Baby Shampoo For Bath Time
Considering you’ll find Earth Mama’s natural shampoo for babies in many hospital NICUs, it’s safe to say that’s some good ‘poo, filled with organic ingredients that are suitable for even the most fragile baby skin and immune systems.
ATTITUDE‘s baby shampoo and body wash combo is as close to tear-free as you can get without chemical fillers. You can choose between solid bars and refillable aluminum bottles to keep bath time eco-friendly.
Index: Natural Baby Shampoo Brands
- ATTITUDE Jump to brand
- Bubbsi Jump to brand
- Hank’s Garden Jump to brand
- Earth Mama Jump to brand
- Green People Jump to brand
- Atlanta Body Culinary Jump to brand
- Babo Botanicals Jump to brand
ATTITUDE
ATTITUDE’s Baby Shampoo & Wash
Parents know babies can have some serious attitude, so why not let a brand by the same name help you?
ATTITUDE gives you a choice between solid bars (which contain 92.4% naturally sourced ingredients and comes in FSC-certified compostable paperboard) and a liquid shampoo (which is 97.9% naturally derived and comes in a recyclable aluminum bottle). Or better yet, refill it using one of their 67.6 oz bulk refill boxes. The liner bag of these is still plastic but contains far less overall plastic than bottles.
Both options come in either an unscented option or a scented one, though their fragrances are not all-natural (since they contain no essential oils which admittedly can be too harsh for baby skin) so best stick to the unscented options.
Either way, both products are fully vegan, dermatologically tested, and EWG Skin Deep Verified™ as non-toxic.
Reviews rave about how excellent both products are for even problematic baby skin. Many mamas claim it even helped their baby’s eczema.
About ATTITUDE
As adults, we love Canada-based ATTITUDE for their natural sunscreens, which we’ve used for years, but they’re just as safe and protective for our mini mes.
They’ve been on a mission to replace much of their plastic packaging with eco-friendly alternatives over the past few years and manufacture their PETA-certified cruelty-free and vegan products in a sustainable smart factory. They source minerals from conflict-free channels and plant one tree per produce sold through Eden Reforestation or One Tree Planted.
Bubbsi
Bubbsi’s Baby Shampoo & Body Wash
If bath time feels like a chore and you struggle to get your little one excited about the experience, Bubbsi is here to bring the giggles with cute squeezable bottle made of food-grade silicone. This means it’s non-toxic, durable, and reusable. All you have to do is refill with a value pouch or bottle.
The formulas used in their organic baby skin and hair products contain COSMOS by Ecocert-certified organic coconut oil that’s cold-pressed to deliver natural hydration, and organic shea butter to gently clean and protect skin and hair. They do contain small amounts of safe synthetic ingredients, used when there is no better natural alternative, such as the preservative that keeps products fresh and free from bacteria.
Nearly 1400 ingredients banned in EU cosmetics are excluded, including all parabens, phthalates, sulfates, mineral oils, synthetic fragrances and dyes, harsh chemicals, potential carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, common natural irritants, allergens.
About Bubbsi
Bubbsi was born out of a desire to create truly clean and efficacious skincare products that can be fun and not too serious.
Sweta, the founder, launched Bubbsi following a lightbulb moment when using coconut oil to soothe her daughter’s eczema. She used that discovery to launch a range of organic coconut oil-based products for some of the most common skincare concerns—which you can browse by on their website.
Hank’s Garden
Hank’s Garden’s Baby Shampoo
Using local, biodegradable ingredients, Hank’s Garden is able to create the safest, cleanest, and finest products for your family and home—bottled in recyclable aluminum that’s clean for the planet, too.
Aromatherapy is at the heart of every product. Alongside lavender, one of several 100% pure (non-irritating) essential oils in very diluted concentrations, there’s also organic jojoba oil which is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory and helps to keep the scalp healthy and clean. It’s gentle and safe enough to be used on newborns and treat cradle cap.
We should, however, point out that because this contains essential oil, it is not a no-tear formula, so take care not to get it in your baby’s eyes.
About Hank’s Garden
The ingredients and essential oils used in all the products are locally and ethically sourced. To help reduce their carbon footprint (beyond Etsy’s carbon neutral shipping), a deposit is offered on all reusable bottles and containers. Metal and glass bottles with pumps and sprays are available for refilling, or you can send your containers back.
Earth Mama
Earth Mama’s USDA Certified Baby Shampoo
Leave it to Earth Mama to produce the best organic shampoo for babies. Made with Oregon Tilth-certified organic herbs and oils, it’s Castile-based, calming, and self-foaming sans SLS or synthetic surfactants—or triclosan, parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and artificial fragrance.
It’s actually been the soap of choice for many hospital NICUs, and rated highest on EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database.
We’re admittedly not thrilled about the plastic bottle, but we weren’t the unlucky person sliced by a glass nipple butter jar that was broken during transport. That’s why they switched to BPA-free plastic. While we don’t love any type of plastic, we do appreciate a brand that listens to its customers.
About Earth Mama
Melinda is the Earth Mama behind the brand. Between juggling kids, working as a nurse, and tending to her plants, she somehow found the time to create herbal alternatives to many of our toxic everyday products. Most products are Leaping Bunny-certified and Non-GMO Project Verified.
Earth Mama Organics partners with rePurpose Global to become Plastic Neutral Certified, recovdering as much plastic waste from the environment as they use.
They also proudly feature pregnant women as models and share information about the stigmatized postpartum depression.
Green People
Green People’s Baby Shampoo For Eczema
Green People offers baby wash in unscented, Berry Smoothie, and Lavender Burst varieties. For all three, organic aloe vera juice is one of the foundation ingredients, which is especially suited to sensitive scalps and babies prone to dermatitis, psoriasis, and eczema.
They’re vegan, cruelty-free, and free from SLS and the like (although not all Green People products are).
About Green People
When Charlotte Vohtz’s young daughter started suffering from eczema and allergies, and when her search for a natural alternative to synthetic shampoo turned up empty, she created her own company committed to products that are healing for people with sensitive skin.
They’re a member of the Soil Association and 77% of all their ingredients are certified organic and some fair trade. Any palm oil used is from certified organic sources in the Philippines or Ecuador. Neither country is home to Orangutans, so the palm oil plantations are not putting the species in danger.
Their plant-based packaging is carbon-neutral and made from renewable sugar cane (recyclable in the UK) and Green People also donates 10% of their profits to charity.
Atlanta Body Culinary
Atlanta Body Culinary’s Natural Baby Wash
With Atlanta Body Culinary, you can expect a product that’s made to order which not only means custom and fresh, with less chance of waste.
California Bebe is the name of their best chemical-free baby shampoo and body wash. It contains only pure natural ingredients, such as Dr Bronner’s baby Castile soap, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, coconut oil, almond oil, and various other organic botanicals.
Baby-safe scents have been chosen to leave your bubs smelling fresh and these include vanilla, lavender, chamomile, and oatmeal.
About Atlanta Body Culinary
The owner of Atlanta Body Culinary’s Etsy store is vegan, animal-lover Celine and she loves making her products and adding her own twists. She’s also a passionate label reader and encourages everyone else to become one.
That’s why all of Atlanta Body Culinary’s personal care and beauty products for the whole family are entirely natural (10 ingredients or less!), vegan, and cruelty-free.
Babo Botanicals
Babo Botanicals’ Shampoos For Babies
Babo Botanicals’ EWG VERIFIED baby products include a Sensitive Baby Shampoo & Wash and Sensitive Newborn Foam Baby Wash, both of which are fragrance-free—because who needs to cover that wonderful natural baby smell? Provided they have a clean eco-friendly diaper, that is…
They contain mostly organic, easily-recognizable ingredients like skin soothing aloe vera, moisturizing shea butter, and calming chamomile, which come together as part of their certified organic Nutri-Soothe™ Herbal Blend. They do contain palm oil derivatives, and we’re not certain what their sourcing policies for this are.
Paediatrician-tested, they’re also free of many allergens, formaldehyde, and all of those dangerous three-letter acronyms nobody understands (MEA, DEA, TEA, and SLS). It does come in a plastic bottle, but you can now refill and reuse it thanks to their new bulk refill pouches.
About Babo Botanicals
Babo Botanicals makes some of the most natural, gentle, and effective baby products using ingredients sourced mostly from a certified organic farm in New York. They donate a portion of their proceeds to an urban farming program that educates children on health, gardening, the environment, and nutrition.
What About Tear-Free Organic Baby Shampoo?
A quick PSA. You’ll notice that among all our picks for organic baby shampoo, “tear-free” isn’t mentioned.
We understand a parent’s desire to keep those crocodile tears from rolling down those chubby cheeks, but unfortunately, while pH can be adjusted to minimize tears, it usually requires the addition of polyethoxylated surfactants (like cocamide MEA) or eye anesthetizing agents that are also found in pesticides to anesthetize insects. Seriously.
Maybe this is just our opinion, but all the tears in the world are better than an anesthetic that literally numbs your baby’s eyes and can cause organ toxicity.
