Babyganics – 8 Products Tested and Reviewed by a Mom

By: Chelsea, from the YouTube Channel: MommysTrying

Over the past 2 years of having a child, I seemed to have collected up to 8 items from the Babyganics line! I didn’t mean to but I figured I should give a formal review of all the products. This is what I’ve found out.

This is NOT a sponsored post. Just a Mom sharing info that isn’t listed on a product description label.

Babyganics Background

The company was founded in 2002 and merged with SC Johnson around 2016. It was started by two Fathers (one is the Founder and CEO while the other is President of the company) who wanted natural products for their own children. This ultimately became the company’s mission: to provide convenient plant-based, organic when possible, products that parents look for that’s also safe for baby. Some of the types of products they offer include things like: laundry essentials, alcohol-free hand sanitizer, insect repellent, sunscreen, bath and skincare essentials, dish and hand soap, etc.

2016 Lawsuit Against Babyganics

You may or may have not heard of the lawsuit filed against Babyganics in 2016. I won’t get into the specifics of that on here and you’re welcome to look it up yourself but the main take away after that was that the company carefully labels which ingredients in their products are certified organic.

Qualities the Company Prides Themselves to Have

• Babyganics chose to have biobased products that are third party tested and earned a USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) certification and approval which they display on their labels to prove this.

What makes a product classified as a biobased product is if the chemicals come from a plant or animal feedstock.

• They also made their own blend of oils called NeoNourish® Seed Oil Blend that includes 5 seeds oils of: tomato, sunflower, cranberry, black cumin, and raspberry seed oils that they put into almost everything they make.
• There’s also an option to see a full list of their active and inactive ingredients in each one of their products if you’re interested in this on their website.
• You can recycle all of the Babyganics containers. So, that makes me feel like they took the time to not only consider the environmental effects in the type of ingredients they use but also in their packaging materials.
• They don’t have samples or travel-sized items available (except their “on the go” alcohol-free foaming sanitizer) but they do have a fast e-mail response time where my inquiry was answered within 15 hours of sending a question.

The 8 Items I Tested:

1. Teething Gel Pods, 10 single use pods
2. Alcohol-free foam sanitizer, available in: a large pump bottle, small on the go bottles, and a large sanitizer refill bottle (16 oz)
3. Multi-surface cleaning spray , 32 oz
4. Sunscreen lotion, SPF 50+
5. Natural Insect Repellent Spray, 6 oz
6. Eczema lotion, 8 oz
7. Wipes, available in an 80 or 800 count
8. Diapers, available in sizes Newborn – size 6

1. Teething Gel Pods

• Single-use 10 count gel pods for $7
• Each pod is individually packaged and it comes with cotton applicators to apply it onto your child’s gums
• Ingredients listed right off of the package: coconut oil, clove oil, stevia
• Recommended for infants older than 4 months old
• You can apply this up to 4x a day or as directed by a Dentist or a Physician
• This is advertised to be Benzocaine free
  • Benzocaine is an ingredient that the FDA warned parents to not use on their children, especially children under the age of 2, due to the possibility of them getting a rare but deadly condition (methemoglobinemia) and side effects from it. This comes from the fda.gov website updated in 2017

Tips for the Gel Pods:

• My family and I have been applying this to my daughter for nearly 2 years now and it still works. But, I do have to admit it’s difficult to truly gauge if this item alone eased her pain or if the comfort from her parents cuddling her helped calm her down.
• I usually put some of this on my daughter’s favorite teether so she can place it where she needs relief.
• This was usually the emergency teething relief I’d pack if she was going to Grandma’s house since it was easy to use and apply.

2. Alcohol Free Foam sanitizer

• Available in:
  • A pump bottle: 8.45 ounces per bottle
  • “On the go” bottles: 1.69 ounces per bottle
  • Large refillable bottles: 16 oz per bottle
• About $17 / 25 ounces = $0.68 / ounce for the large pump bottles
• Available in: Mandarine scented or unscented
  • Mandarine fragrance is made up of: mandarin orange, orange, and grapefruit peel oils
• Since this is alcohol free the germ killing agent in this is called benzalkonium chloride (0.1%)
  • According to the NCBI in 2019 benzalkonium chloride has antimicrobial properties against bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
  • Since this is an alcohol free hand sanitizer Babyganics wants to make it clear that this does not fight against the COVID-19 virus.
• I know testing to see if this item truly does work is pretty unrealistic for an average Mom to do. So, it really just gives me peace of mind that there is some sort of baby safe sanitizer on the market that my daughter can use.
  • At the time my daughter was an infant, this was the only sanitizer available for children. And, being a germophobe myself I wanted to make sure I had something like this available.

Parents, this is one of the “go to” items you can just place in your child’s diaper bag. You would be grateful you packed it.

3. Multi-Surface Cleaning Spray

• 32 oz bottle for about $5 = $0.16 / ounce
• This is my go-to spray when I’m cleaning off markers, crayons, or anything leftover from my daughter making a mess just because it’s gentle on the surfaces it cleans
• DON’T BE FOOLED by other websites that state this spray has antibacterial fighting properties in it, it does NOT. I contacted the company myself to clarify this. It is just a plain multi-surface cleaning spray.
• It’s not very good cleaning your dirty stove or your kitchen faucet, but hey, like I said it’s not made to do that type of dirty work.
• Formulated without: ammonia, bleach, phosphates, phthalates, sulfates, fragrances, dyes.
• Can be used on hard surfaces and glass
• Advertised: to have plant-derived cleaning power, non-allergenic, and dermatologist tested

4. Sunscreen lotion

• 6 oz bottle for $10 = $1.67 / ounce
• Offers: SPF 50 protection and UVA/UVB protection,
• For children over 6 months old
• Directions:
  • You’re supposed to apply it 15 minutes prior to sun exposure but we all know that never works.
    • I have tried to apply it 10 minutes prior once but I couldn’t tell any noticeable differences.

• It’s also recommended to reapply: after 80 minutes of swim time or sweating, right after towel drying, or at least every 2 hours.
  • • I’ve never reapplied this just because my daughter has only been out in the pool for 2.5 hours maximum.

Coming from a Mom who has used this one sunscreen all summer long with little to no shade available in my front yard my daughter has never gotten a sunburn. There were instances where she had noticeable tan lines and that made me admit to myself that I should have reapplied it on her to prevent that.

5. Natural Insect Repellent Spray

• 6 oz bottle for about $10 = $1.67 / ounce
• Advertised to be DEET free
• Directions:
  • Spray it onto your hands then wipe it onto your child
  • Reapply every 90 minutes
  • Once indoors bathe your child and wash the clothes they were wearing
• Feels very oily when you apply it on yourself along with a hint of citronella
• I honestly didn’t have high hopes for this one just because of all the natural ingredients listed on the bottle such as (listed straight from the bottle):
  • Soybean oil – 95.25%
  • Rosemary oil – 1.5%
  • Citronella Oil – 0.95%
  • Geranium Oil – 0.75%
  • Cedarwood oil – 0.70%
  • Peppermint oil – 0.60%
  • Lemongrass oil – 0.25%
• An example summer night where I tested this out:
  • My family and I made a point to walk to a pond to feed geese when it was hot and muggy.
    • I made a point to apply it to myself – just my legs and not my arms to see if there would be a difference.
    • I applied it all over my daughter.
    • My husband didn’t apply it all to be the control group – thanks for sacrificing yourself honey!
  • There were so many bugs out around that pond that my husband was getting eaten alive, no joke. I didn’t get any bug bites on my legs (where I applied the spray) but I did get one bug bite on the inside of my arm (where I did NOT apply the spray). And, my daughter didn’t get bit at all! My husband and I were shocked at the results!

6. Eczema lotion

• 8 oz bottle found around $10-18 = $1.17 / ounce on average
• For use on mild to moderate eczema or as directed by a physician
• Good for face and body use
• Recognizable ingredients include: 1% colloidal oatmeal, shea and cocoa seed butter, and their 5 seed oil blend
• Made without: cortisone, steroids, parabens, sulfates, phthalates, or fragrances
• Thicker than regular lotion but doesn’t last long
• Fragrance-free but the smell reminds me of old wood shavings
• Really dried out my skin in less than 2 hours later to the point where my eczema started to crack and itch worse

7. Wipes

• Available in a small 80 count pack for $4.19 / 80 ct = $0.05 / wipe or in a large 800 count for $30 / 800 = $0.38 / wipe
• Marketed to be:
  • Formulated without parabens, sulfates, phthalates, artificial dyes or fragrances
  • Formulated with plant-derived ingredients
  • Non-allergenic
  • Pediatrician and Dermatologist tested
  • Contains ingredients such as: their NeoNourish® 5 seed oil blend: of tomato, sunflower, cranberry, black cumin seed, and raspberry seed oils
    • Also includes olive, avocado, and flower extracts
  • Fragrance free but has a cleaner like smell to it
• Store at room temperature
• Sticker seal to close package, one wipe comes out when you pull one out
• No pattern on the wipe itself
• You really have to keep your grip on it as you use it or it’ll slip off your child
• Strong durable wipe to the point of where your finger can’t even pierce it
• Not too moist, dries out if left out
• Doesn’t do well wiping messy hands after a snack where crumbs will fall right off of it instead of staying on it
• I personally wouldn’t choose to use these wipes as an everyday wipe

8. Diaper

(This is actually 1 of the 20 diapers I’ll be including in my upcoming diaper review video, so make sure you look out for that!)

• Available in a 58 ($26) count or a 136 count ($63) but both come out to be around $0.45 per diaper
• Available in sizes newborns to size 6 (0-35+ lbs)
• Wetness line indicator available in sizes Newborn to size 2 diapers
• Formulated without:
  • chlorine, latex, petroleum based lotions or fragrances
• Formulated with their NeoNourish® Seed Oil Blend
• Physically, there seems to extra fluffy material on the side of the diaper
  • You can translate this as the company has poor quality control in the factory they make these out of, or, maybe someone could argue that these are great biodegradable diapers because they’re already falling apart

Biodegradable claims

If you Google “best disposable diaper for the environment” or “best biodegradable diaper” more than likely you’re going to find Babyganics in the top 8-10 list on most websites. But why? What makes a diaper considered to be biodegradable? Sure, this diaper is latex and chlorine-free. And, maybe most websites consider this biodegradable because it contains their NeoNourish 5 oil seed blend in it. But, is it true?

I called the company myself and asked them this question, straight up: “are your diapers biodegradable? Or, are they made up of any materials that are better for the environment?” Their reply was……..”no, our diapers are not biodegradable“. They don’t recommend you to place human feces in the recycling bin so it’s not compostable and they try to use as many renewable resources when making the diapers as much as possible. That’s it. That’s the answer.

So, for other websites to falsely state that this diaper is one of the best biodegradable, eco friendly, green, etc. diaper was very surprising to me. It made me wonder what exactly does it take to consider something to be biodegradable? There has to be certain guidelines and regulations met to claim this right? Or, is it more on the marketing side? And, where are these other websites getting their information from to place something in that type of category.

Info straight from their website if you happened to be interested in the specific materials they use to make their diapers:

Q: What materials do you use to make your diapers?

A: Super absorbent core blend is made with renewable, plant-based material that reduces the amount of synthetic SAP gel needed.

Our diapers use totally chlorine free (TCF) untreated fluff pulp. We use a super soft, non-woven polypropylene for the top sheet, back sheet, stretchy side wings and cuff for your baby’s total comfort.

Then we use a polyolefin for soft and stretchy tabs and closure for a secure hold. Oh, and non-latex elastic leg closure for a comfy, leak-reducing fit.

My Daughter Developed a Rash While Using These

Again, I’ve tried 20 different diapers. This was the only diaper that gave my daughter a rash on the side of her hip when we were using these.

The only explanation I could think of as to why she may have had a reaction to this one in particular may have been their NeoNourish oil blend. One of the five seed oils that are in the blend include tomatoes which my daughter has a food sensitivity to. But, that oil blend is supposedly only in the core of the diaper, not in the side tab where her rash formed.

I checked the diaper over to see if there was any bunched up material, if I tightened the tabs too much, if the material had a rougher or thicker spot on it, etc. I tried all I could to physically look over the diaper to see if it would have come from the diaper itself. The rash started to slowly go away once we started a new brand of diapers and I haven’t seen her break out from another rash like that one since.

This diaper works GREAT by the way

• I’ve used this as an overnight diaper for my daughter and it never leaked.
• Once there is urine in there you can’t even physically tell that anything is in there you can just feel that the diaper feels heavier.
• Never had any blowouts or leaks throughout the day.
• The core of the diaper is very soft, thick, and goes up pretty high in the front of the diaper.

All In All

Out of all the 8 Babyganics products I’ve tried out over the past 2 years the ones that have made a good impression on me and I would recommend other families to get would be their diapers, natural insect repellent and their alcohol-free hand sanitizer.

Thanks so much for sticking around and reading all of this! I hope you found this information helpful and it gave you a little more insight into what Babyganics has to offer. If you’ve tried other Babyganics products that I didn’t mention here let me know in the comments and maybe I can try it out too!

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