Skincare & bath
Every product in this category we have reviewed, and where each one stands with us. We don’t sell anything: add the ones you want to a list, then send them all to your Amazon cart or buy each one where it’s sold. In a hurry? The cheat sheet below is the short list.
- Reviewed
- 39
- On a cheat sheet
- 26
- Brands
- 27
★ Start here · the cheat sheet
Calendula cream for dry, irritated skin, on one page
A winner for each way people buy it, then what to skip. Calendula has more real clinical evidence behind it than most "natural" skincare ingredients, but it is a soothing, moisturizing ingredient — not a proven cure for a skin condition that isn't improving.
4 winners1 thing to skip7 of these products are on it
Cheat Sheet: Calendula cream for dry, irritated skinthe winner for each cut
- Best for whole-body dry patches
Badger Organic Calendula Baby Balm for Dry SkinFive organic ingredients: olive oil, castor oil, beeswax, chamomile oil and calendula flower extract. Thick enough for dry patches anywhere on the body. - Best for chapped cheeks and noses
Earth Mama Organics Earth MamaSunflower oil, beeswax, coconut oil, shea butter and calendula flower extract, all organic, with no fragrance on the panel. Marketed for chapped, dry faces rather than full-body use. - Best lotion for everyday moisturizing
Weleda Baby Calendula Comforting Body LotionA lighter, faster-absorbing lotion for routine daily moisturizing. It contains an added fragrance (Weleda lists Parfum plus limonene, linalool, geraniol and citral), so pick the unscented lotion below for fragrance-sensitive skin. - Best unscented lotion
Earth Mama Organics Earth MamaThe manufacturer calls it unscented, with no artificial fragrance, and its twelve-ingredient list shows no fragrance or essential oil; Calendula officinalis flower extract is among them.
Skip"Calendula" as a product name, with no calendula extract or oil in the ingredients
What to know about skincare & bath
The full guide →If you change one thing here, make it fragrance-free. Nothing in this category is dramatic on its own — the case for paying attention is arithmetic: a baby goes through thousands of wipes, and a lotion gets applied daily for years, to skin thinner and more permeable than an adult's. Be particular about daily products and relaxed about occasional ones.
Common risks
- "Fragrance" or "parfum" — a legal stand-in for an undisclosed mixture
- "Unscented" read as if it meant fragrance-free
- Parabens, PEG compounds and propylene glycol, where alternatives are easy
What to look for
- Fragrance-free — the single filter that does the most
- A short ingredient panel on anything used daily
- A comparable-price option with a shorter panel, where one exists
The free change
Filter for fragrance-free first. It costs nothing and removes most reactions.
"Fragrance-free" means none was added. "Unscented" can mean a masking fragrance was added to cover a base smell. The second is not the first.
Brands in this category
27 brands. The ones with a product on a cheat sheet come first.Every brand, A–Z →
Earth Mama OrganicsOn a cheat sheet
California BabyOn a cheat sheet- The Honest CompanyOn a cheat sheet
- EOOn a cheat sheet
- Babo BotanicalsOn a cheat sheet
BadgerOn a cheat sheet- California NaturalsOn a cheat sheet
- erbavivaOn a cheat sheet
- everyone for every bodyOn a cheat sheet
- GroViaOn a cheat sheet
- INNERSENSEOn a cheat sheet
- Jackson ReeceOn a cheat sheet
39 reviewed safer skincare & bath products
Cheat sheet winners first- Badger Organic Calendula Baby Balm for Dry Skin★ Best for whole-body dry patchesFive organic ingredients: olive oil, castor oil, beeswax, chamomile oil and calendula flower extract. Thick enough for dry patches anywhere on the body.Why it won, on the cheat sheet →Amazon Badger site
- Earth Mama Organics · Earth Mama, Organic Baby Face Nose & Cheek Balm★ Best for chapped cheeks and nosesSunflower oil, beeswax, coconut oil, shea butter and calendula flower extract, all organic, with no fragrance on the panel. Marketed for chapped, dry faces rather than full-body use.Why it won, on the cheat sheet →Amazon Earth Mama Organics site
- Weleda Baby Calendula Comforting Body Lotion★ Best lotion for everyday moisturizingA lighter, faster-absorbing lotion for routine daily moisturizing. It contains an added fragrance (Weleda lists Parfum plus limonene, linalool, geraniol and citral), so pick the unscented lotion below for fragrance-sensitive skin.Why it won, on the cheat sheet →Amazon
- Earth Mama Organics · Earth Mama, Simply Non-Scents Baby Lotion for Dry Skin★ Best unscented lotionThe manufacturer calls it unscented, with no artificial fragrance, and its twelve-ingredient list shows no fragrance or essential oil; Calendula officinalis flower extract is among them.Why it won, on the cheat sheet →Earth Mama Organics site
Babo Botanicals, Detangler Instantly Smooth Berry PrimroseOn a cheat sheetSafer hair detanglersAmazon 
California Baby Calendula CreamOn a cheat sheetCalendula cream for dry, irritated skinAmazon California Baby site 
California Baby Calming Hair Detangler SprayOn a cheat sheetSafer hair detanglersAmazon California Baby site 
California Naturals Kids No-Knot Detangler Spray DuoOn a cheat sheetSafer hair detanglersAmazon - Cheat sheetSafer hair detanglersBest overall — fine hair: California Baby Calming Hair Detangler SprayOpen the sheet →
EO Hand Sanitizer, French Lavender Essential OilsOn a cheat sheetSafer hand sanitizersAmazon 
EO Hand Sanitizer, Unscented Travel Size 2 oz 6-PackOn a cheat sheetSafer hand sanitizersAmazon 
Erbaviva Organic Lip Balm & Cheek BalmOn a cheat sheetCalendula cream for dry, irritated skin
everyone for every body · Everyone Hand Sanitizer SprayOn a cheat sheetSafer hand sanitizersAmazon 
GroVia Reusable Cloth Diapering WipesOn a cheat sheetSafer baby wipesAmazon 
INNERSENSE, Sweet Spirit Leave-In Conditioner Fragrance-FreeOn a cheat sheetSafer hair detanglersAmazon 
JOONYA Unscented Baby WipesOn a cheat sheetSafer baby wipesAmazon 
Jackson Reece · Kinder by Nature Water-Based Baby WipesOn a cheat sheetSafer baby wipesAmazon 
Molly's Suds Sensitive Clean Baby WipesOn a cheat sheetSafer baby wipesAmazon 
MRS. MEYER'S CLEAN DAY Hand Sanitizer SprayOn a cheat sheetSafer hand sanitizersAmazon 
OsoCozy Flannel Cloth Baby WipesOn a cheat sheetSafer baby wipesAmazon 
SEEN Leave-In Conditioner, Fragrance FreeOn a cheat sheetSafer hair detanglersAmazon 
SoCozy · SO COZY Kids Curl Leave In Conditioner + Therapy SprayOn a cheat sheetSafer hair detanglersAmazon SoCozy site 
The Honest Company Face and Body LotionOn a cheat sheetCalendula cream for dry, irritated skinAmazon 
The Honest Company Hair DetanglerOn a cheat sheetSafer hair detanglersAmazon 
The Honest Company Hand Sanitizer SprayOn a cheat sheetSafer hand sanitizersAmazon 
The Honest Company Multi-Use Baby WipesOn a cheat sheetSafer baby wipesAmazon 
WaterWipes Sensitive+ Newborn & Baby WipesOn a cheat sheetSafer baby wipesAmazon 
zYoung · 2 Pcs Stainless Steel Lice & Dandruff CombA pick in our guideHead liceAmazon 
ATTITUDE Baby Lotion for Sensitive SkinA pick in our guideSafe baby skin careAmazon ATTITUDE site 
California Baby Eczema CreamA pick in our guideNatural skincare for your child's eczemaAmazon California Baby site 
Earth Mama Organics · Earth Mama, Belly ButterA pick in our guideEarth Mama Organics reviewAmazon Earth Mama Organics site 
Fairy Tales Rosemary Repel Daily Kids Shampoo– Kids Like the SmellA pick in our guideHead liceAmazon 
LiceLogic Repel Lice Prevention ConditionerA pick in our guideHead liceAmazon 
Mambino Organics Oh Baby! Belly Butter for Pregnancy & PostpartumA pick in our guideMambino Organics reviewAmazon 
Mustela Certified Organic Hydrating CreamA pick in our guideSafe baby skin careAmazon 
ATTITUDE Detangling Spray, EWG VerifiedReviewedWe looked at it; it is not one of our current picks.Amazon ATTITUDE site 
California Baby Calming Hair ConditionerReviewedWe looked at it; it is not one of our current picks.Amazon California Baby site 
Earth Mama Organics · Earth Mama Belly Oil for Dry SkinReviewedWe looked at it; it is not one of our current picks.Amazon Earth Mama Organics site 
Earth Mama Organics · Earth Mama Calendula Baby OilReviewedWe looked at it; it is not one of our current picks.Amazon Earth Mama Organics site 
Phillip Adam Fragrance Free Leave In Conditioner Spray and DetanglerReviewedWe looked at it; it is not one of our current picks.
Skincare & bath: common questions
What is the one change worth making?
Fragrance-free. It is the most common irritant in personal care and the line on a panel that hides the most, since "fragrance" can legally stand in for an undisclosed mixture.
Should I avoid phenoxyethanol?
Some families choose to on newborn skin. That is a preference call rather than a settled verdict, and we would rather say so than manufacture certainty.
How much does any of this really matter?
For daily products, enough to be particular — thousands of wipes and years of lotion, on thinner skin. For occasional exposure, not much. Where a shorter-panel option exists at a comparable price, take it.