Green Personal Care Products for Green Kids

The first step on my “go-green” journey came when my son was an infant. I started to do research about the baby care products we used and quickly realized that I wanted something much more kid friendly.

In this case, I wanted more than a “no tears” product — something without an ingredients list filled with items I couldn’t pronounce. My son is now 9, and over the past few years, there seems to have been an explosion in the amount of green kids personal care products available.

When I first started doing my research, I came across a company named California Baby. The products were a bit pricey, but I quickly adopted the attitude that if we don’t pay a premium for safer products now, we will most definitely pay the price later, from a health perspective.

We started off by simply using the combination shampoo and body-wash product, and quickly expanded to lotions, diaper spray, bug spray and sunscreen. In 2004, the Environmental Working Group launched the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. I was relieved to see that, for the most part, the California Baby products we used were ranked well.

Our foray into eco-friendly personal care products for the kids didn’t stop at skincare. We also researched toothpaste. Over the years, we have tried several different brands, including Burt’s Bees, Tom’s of Maine and Jason Natural. The only one that received a thumbs-up from the kids is the Tom’s of Maine toothpaste. Their favorite flavor is Silly Strawberry, and Tom’s of Maine sells two different varieties: fluoridated and fluoride-free.

And it’s not as hard as you might imagine to get the kids interested in earth-friendly personal care products. I model what I want them to do with their personal care choices by buying earth-friendly and kid-friendly products. My daughter is particularly influenced by friends and the media, so she’ll see things she wants to try. I’ve let her pick out small bottles of shampoo at the store and she always returns to California Baby. The same with toothpaste: Glitter Crest toothpaste looks cool, but Silly Strawberry tastes better.

The benefit that we as parents have is that the kids have really only known these products — we started when my son was an infant. My husband and I are pretty open about the environmental impacts of items, and in turn my kids are turning into green police, informing their friends of their eco-friendly decisions.

As my children get older, I will continue to use the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database to research new products. Items like deodorant, skincare for teenagers and even makeup for my daughter will need to be as equally eco-friendly as the products they use now.

If you have children, what green personal care products do you love?