Ask Mama Em- Laundry

Hi MamaEm!
The question about hair products sparked this email! I'm expecting our first child in 7 weeks and am starting to look for all those last minute (aka actually useful, not another cute onesie!) items. I'm trying to find an organic/gentle laundry soap for all of his clothes/blankets etc. Do you have a brand you like? I'd love something that is somewhat easy to find as I don't really want to have to order online.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I love following your blog - just gets me more and more excited to meet our little one!
All my best,

Sarah


Hi Sarah!  Congrats on your upcoming baby!  Pregnancy is such a magical time.  Hope you're still feeling well as you continue to count down the days.  You are so close!

I included some info on Charlie's laundry detergent hidden in my pre-baby post about diapers, but it's been quite a while since then.  I still love, love, love Charlie's!  I use the liquid detergent, but it comes in powder form.  I don't know where you're located, but you can find a retailer on their website.  I totally understand what you mean about not wanting to have to order it online, but one of the gallon bottles of this stuff lasts us months (we still have 3/4 left in our second bottle since we started using it in October- so I'd say it will last a family of 3, cloth diapering included, about 5 months!).  The cost of shipping will be more than made up for by the savings in product.  I did the math, and this is by far the cheapest option I've found.  I love it when the safest, most natural option is also the cheapest!

We don't use any fabric softener because it's so toxic, but we do use dryer balls.  They got us through a dry Chicago winter with minimal static, which impressed me.  I love that the Nellie's dryer balls have the option of scenting the laundry with natural lavender essential oil and nothing else, but we don't even keep our balls refilled.  Now that I've weaned myself off of super-scented soaps, the smell of clean laundry smells like just that- clean, unscented fabric.

Wishing you a joyful, quick birth!

Best,

Em

Ask Mama Em

Hey Em,
Love your blog! I wanted to ask if you have any preferences or recommendations for shampoos for either you or Tye that are organic or "better" :) Thanks, Zainab


Hi Zainab!  What a great compliment!  Thank you so very much.  I find it amazing that other people think my life and my thoughts are interesting enough to read about (besides my mom!).  


For Tye, we use California Baby Calming Shampoo & Bodywash.  I love the gentle, all-natural essential oils used to fragrance it.  The price seems expensive for such a small bottle, and I had a hard time putting out the money initially, but it's so super concentrated that I think it's worth it.  In six and a half months, we've barely made a dent in the bottle.  That could also be because we don't bathe Tye daily.  In fact, for her first six months, we only bathed her once every 5-7 days (making sure, of course, that her diaper area was well-cleaned between baths).  Babies that young don't get dirty, and frequent baths can irritate skin because they strip away the skin's natural protective oils.   We are constantly hearing people say that she has beautiful skin, so I think it worked well for Tye.  Now that it's summer, I'm sure she'll be needing more frequent baths- after swimming, sunscreen, dusty dirt, or just mama's sweat from being pressed together in the carrier (poor girl!).  


When Tye was first born, she had some dry skin, so we used California Baby Calming Everyday Lotion.  I don't know yet if Tye has sensitive skin, but she wasn't sensitive to anything in this gentle lotion, also scented gently with essential oils.  Tye doesn't need lotion any longer, but I've stolen this from her and use it almost daily I love it so much.  It's my absolute favorite for the gentle scent and thick but non-greasy texture.  I make sure I don't use anything on my skin that Tye shouldn't eat, and I trust this to pass that test.  I've only tried these two California Baby products, but I love both and I especially love the story of the creative mom behind the company.  


I'm in the middle of switching hair care products for myself right now.  I've been using Aveda products, which is the most natural of salon brands and free of parabens and sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates, but not organic and not as natural as I'd like.  I'm doing some research on the Skin Deep database (an awesome resource that ranks the toxicity of personal care products) to see which products are safest, but I'm finding it somewhat depressing!  That's how I learned that Aveda's signature "pure-fume" fragrance is actually not any safer than other conventional fragrances.  Bummer, since I love the way Aveda products smell!  Overall, Aveda scored decently (4s and 5s out of 10, 1 being safest and 10 the most toxic), but I'm still on a shampoo search.  I've heard of many women who "no-poo," meaning they use baking soda to shampoo and apple cider vinegar and water to rinse.  I'm curious, but nervous to try it, especially with sweaty workout hair.  


I'll let you know what hair care products I decide to test out.  I'm also always open to suggestions!  My hair is super fine, meaning each strand is very skinny but I have a lot of it, and the ends need a good deal of moisture because it's so long.  My roots, on the other hand, get sweaty after my runs and need a shampoo after workouts.  If I don't work out, I wash my hair every two or three days.  I will say, I'm going to try Tye's California Baby wash on my hair and see how it goes!  I already stole her lotion...


Thanks again for the note, and let me know what you think!


Xoxo,


Em


Do any of you readers have a solution to my haircare conundrum? Please don't be shy and help me out!  Thanks!