From the time The K Man was just two months old, we’ve been using Mustela products. It started when a friend gave us a gift set filled with all kinds of goodies to try from the Mustela Bébé line.
Made in France, Mustela is a complete line of hypoallergenic bath and hygiene products that is sensitive enough for newborns. Every product in the line smells fantastic! It’s like they bottled that delicious new-baby smell. We quickly became fans of the gentle shampoos and cleansers; our favourite is the Foam Shampoo for Newborns.
Not that it makes a difference to me if products are endorsed by celebrities, but if that matters to you, rest assured that Molly Ringwald herself – all 16 candles of her – has a testimonial on the company’s website.
I thought these products were on the pricey side until I used them for several months and discovered how concentrated they are and, therefore, how long they last. And if you stack them up against other premium baby toiletries, they’re really on par.
THE GOOD
I love that all Mustela products are alcohol-free. This is a must in my books for anything baby-related.
I’m not sure how, but there seems to be a magically unending supply of this shampoo. We used the same bottle on The K Man’s hair for 19 months and we’re still using the same bottle we bought for Miss Q 15 months later. Mind you, I stopped using it as often once I discovered a shampoo/body wash combo by a fantastic Canadian company called Substance – which, incidentally as I write this post and try to insert the link, it appears the company’s branding has changed to “Matter.” Doesn’t matter…
The K Man never suffered from cradle cap, so whether the primary benefits of the Foam Shampoo were lost on him, we’ll never know. Miss Q, on the other hand, had what I’d call mild to moderate cradle cap that affected mostly behind her ears, her eyebrows and that area on her head where the soft spot is. Yellow, crusty, yucky cradle cap. Paired with another Substance Matter product, the Mustela shampoo did the trick. In just a few weeks, those flakes came right off, never to be seen again.
The shampoo – as its name suggests – comes out of the nozzle as a foam. If you haven’t had your baby yet, I assure you this is a big bonus. While you try to bathe your newborn by yourself, chances are you don’t have two free hands with which to rub a regular shampoo together to create a nice lather. This saves you a step and makes applying it to your babe’s head really easy.
THE GAFFE
As I mentioned, the Mustela Foam Shampoo smells great. Unfortunately, that’s because there are added perfumes. I mean, parfumes (excuse my French). I much prefer naturally infused aromas, like essential oils. It’s doable, so I don’t quite understand why some companies are still manufacturing artificial scents. I didn’t know as much about toiletry ingredients with my son (trust me, he’s just fine), but – as Maya Angelou would say via Oprah – when you know better, you do better. So, when it comes to a newborn’s delicate skin, I think it’s better to err on the side of caution and choose products that are as natural as possible. That’s why I ultimately stopped using this shampoo on Miss Q and made the switch to Substance. Or Matter. Or whatever the hell they’re called.
Availability in smaller cities and towns might not be great. I can only speak for my area, outside of Toronto’s city limits, and I can’t find it anywhere. Babies ‘R Us used to stock it, apparently, but the demand around here wasn’t big enough.
THE GEARS
3.5/5 (the product loses the most points for added perfume, but kept a decent score because it really does do what it says it will)
So…where can you buy it?
- eBeauty.ca (really well-priced here!)
- SnuggleBugz
- Babies ‘R Us
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