Baby Dove Tip to Toe Wash: Rich Moisture and Sensitive Moisture formulas

There’s no smell quite like a freshly bathed baby, but parents vary on how much fragrance they feel comfortable with when it comes to products for their kids. Baby Dove Tip to Toe Wash Rich Moisture has a noticeable but pleasant classic scent, but if you’re averse to scented products, there’s also the fragrance-free Sensitive Moisture version of this head-t0-toe wash, which has a very faint clean smell.

Don’t forget to moisturize after bathtime! Check out our review of Baby Dove Lotion

To evaluate this baby wash, we first measured its pH. Not to get all high school science-y on you, but pH is a scale that indicates how acidic or alkaline something is. We care about pH when it comes to babies because their skin changes rapidly as they grow, and pH can affect their skin barrier; too high or too low can contribute to skin conditions like eczema. Research suggests a pH of around 5.5 up to 7 is best for baby, and in our tests, the Rich Moisture formula's pH measured 6.8, while the Sensitive Moisture measured 6.92.

How did the washes do when our editors and parent testers lathered up? Parents said Baby Dove Tip to Toe Rich Wash felt creamy to the touch and lathered and rinsed well, leaving no residue behind. Our editors agreed, though they noticed that the Sensitive Moisture formula was a bit less foamy. Both products came to the rescue for most of our parent testers to remove things like spit up, dirt, and dried up food from baby’s skin, and hair felt clean after bath time. And as a nice bonus, parents said it was easy to keep this wash out of their little one's eyes.

To really test this wash’s ability to cut through oily messes, editors in our lab smeared a tablespoon of peanut butter on their hands and then scrubbed up. Like most of the baby washes we tested, it took extra product and two rounds of lathering and rinsing to wash away the PB. A faint peanut scent was still noticeable after hands felt clean, though the fragrance in the Rich Moisture formulation made it less noticeable. After each of our washing tests, hands felt clean and soft—a good indication that the product cleanses well without stripping the skin.

Smart design is also a biggie for parents, who often find themselves performing tasks one-handed. The easy-to-use pump and wide bottle shape makes it a cinch for most parents to dispense just the right amount, even if you’re also holding on to baby. (It’s also easy to lock, too, in case you have a pump-happy toddler.)

FINAL WORD

Our parent testers and editors were impressed with both Baby Dove Tip to Toe Wash Rich Moisture and Baby Dove Tip to Toe Wash Sensitive Moisture, rating these two-in-one wash and shampoo products above average in quality, ease of use and value for money. They found the bottle and pump-style dispenser practical and the wash gentle and effective. Whether that classic Dove scent lingers after you dry baby off is up to you—either way, both formulas have earned the Today’s Parent Approved seal.