The Baby "Beauty" Product You Will Want For Yourself

For the first year or two of my daughter's life, I used only one brand of popular body and hair wash for her. It was bland and comforting, inasmuch as it had almost ZERO smell, because I wasn't too crazy about some of the other options out there. 

There’s Nothing Like a Good Brow Job

And then I tried the body wash from the folks who make those ubiquitous, stylish muslin swaddle blankets, Aden + Anais.

I Found It! The Holy Grail of HEALTHY In-Salon Keratin Treatments

Mum + Bub is the name of the line, which came out in early spring and after a few months of use, I am obsessed. I can't bathe my child enough, using the Hair + Body Wash. I inhale the very faint, but totally irresistible scent of Australian sandalwood on my munchkin's scalp. Somehow it's just a great change from the usual powdery or fruity smells out there in the baby arena.

I steal the lotion for my own arms and legs—it's not greasy, and it's totally hydrating and it has that same fabulous, light scent. You won't feel like it's a baby product, I promise. 

Then there's the pot of Soothing Ointment. When my daughter's nightly requests for dabs of Vicks VapoRub on her chest (even when she didn't have a cold!!) became oddly constant, I switched to the Mum + Bub ointment which has a similarly pleasing consistency, a less piquant fragrance, and harnesses the power of "freshly fermented paw-paw fruit" (whatever that is!) to heal, smooth and soothe.

Hair Removal: It Ain’t For Sissies (Video)

Even if you hate the idea of anything scented near your baby, trust me—this is divine! And the fact that my daughter likes to manhandle the pump to squirt out handfuls of the stuff while she's in the bath is both great fun for her and a source of constant consternation from me. I don't want to run out so fast! More deets of interest to health-minded mommas: The line is free of: phytoestrogen, parabens, added hormone-disrupters, petroleum oils, phthalates, dioxanes from sulfates, gluten and soy, petrochemicals, DEA, and artificial colors. The body wash is $16 for a pretty big container. I think it's a great gift, for yourself or for a friend. A simple way to make the everyday bath routine a bit more pleasurable!