Aveeno Baby Wash and Shampoo

Bath time is supposed to be a calming ritual to get your little ones ready for bed. But for anyone who’s tried to juggle a squirming newborn or wrangle a toddler and big kid into the bath, it’s often more chaotic than calm. The good news is that Aveeno Baby Wash and Shampoo at least helps make the process run a bit more smoothly: it does a great job of getting your babe fresh and clean, the bottle isn't super slippery and it's easy to dispense what you need, without waste. Plus it's paraben free and formulated with skin-soothing oat extract.

To assess just how gentle this baby shampoo and wash is, we started out by testing its pH. The pH scale tells us how acidic or alkaline (basic) a liquid is, with pure water being neutral. Why does the pH of baby shampoo matter? Babies' skin barrier is still developing in the first year of life, and products that are harsh (too acidic or too alkaline) can break down the skin barrier instead of supporting the healthy development of it—and this could contribute to skin conditions, such as atopic dermatitis or eczema. Research suggests that a pH level around 5.5 (up to 7) is best when it comes to baby wash products, and Aveeno Baby Wash and Shampoo hit the mark with a pH of 5.5.

Next, our editors and parent testers focused in on ease of use, and everyone agreed that the wash and shampoo made bath time better. Not only is the bottle designed to easily open and close with just one finger and a bit of pressure, you can also get a good grip on it, even when wet. Parent testers also found that the product is simple to dispense—it has a thicker, gel-like consistency, so you can pour out the perfect amount without any waste—and it lathers really well.

Our parent testers were also very pleased with the results: they unanimously strongly agreed that their child's hair felt clean and soft after using Aveeno Baby Wash and Shampoo. They also felt it was an effective cleanser: All strongly agreed that it removed oil, dirt, mushy and dried up baby food and spit up from their kid's hair, and they felt it also did a good job of removing sunscreen and lotion. From our editors in the lab to parent testers at home, everyone liked the scent of this baby shampoo and wash. (It's worth noting that this product contains "parfum"—the chemical components of which aren't disclosed—so you can't really know everything that's in it.)

When it comes to value, editors and parent testers alike felt that Aveeno Baby Wash and Shampoo is well worth the price. Nearly all of our parent testers said it offers very good value for money overall (one outlier felt it offered good value), and we found that the mid-range price point of this shampoo and wash is a pretty good bargain considering its performance and quality—and that a small amount is enough to clean a kid’s body from head to toe!

FINAL WORD

Aveeno Baby Wash and Shampoo is an all-around great product, earning praise from our editors and parents testers alike. Our parent testers nearly unanimously rated the quality, ease of use and value for money as very good, and all said they would buy it again for their family and would recommend it to others. Best of all, the gentle scent worked well on normal and sensitive skin and left our testers' babes smelling sweet.