Cetaphil baby skin cleanser variants compared!

Baby skin care calls for the mildest products. As our pediatrician puts it, use only products that are as mild as water, those that wash easily, and those that are free from scents. Thus, we initially put off using the Mustela products we received as gifts during Miguel’s baby shower.

Comparing regular Cetaphil and Cetaphil Baby

A Review of Regular Cetaphil and Cetaphil Baby Skin Cleansers

When the nurses at St. Luke’s gave Miguel a bath, we observed that the Mustela baby bath that they used was lathering. It was mildly scented but perfumed nonetheless. So we bought a big bottle of Cetaphil cleanser which we used on Miguel until he was about a month old. It was only after that that we found out that there was a variant of Cetaphil called Cetaphil Baby. We decided to try the moisturizing bath and body wash thinking that it was an even milder variety.

Cetaphil Baby

Here are our observations from the first time we tried Cetaphil Baby:

It was lathering. Well, we thought it somehow defeated the purpose of using a mild cleanser. We had the impression that, because it was Cetaphil, it can clean well sans the lather.
It was hard to wash off. It cleaned mildly yet effectively but it took us an extra effort to wash it off because of the rich and moisturizing lather.
It was scented. It smelled quite nice. In fact, the fragrance lingered on Miguel’s hair for a long period of time.

However, there’s just something about scented baby products that we did not like so much. It somehow gave us the feeling that the product does not wash off well like there is still residue left on the skin.

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

As can be expected, we went back to using our bottle of regular Cetaphil cleanser. Here’s what we do love about it:

It cleanses mildly yet effectively. It need not lather when you use it. It can clean skin excellently but does not dry it. We also use it for washing our face and it leaves our skin squeaky clean without stripping off moisture. As a matter of fact, it felt like a moisturizer to the skin.
It can be used even without water. We believe this is the ultimate testament to its mildness. You can leave a thin film on your skin and, instead of irritating it, the product will nourish the skin.
It is fragrance-free. Again, we always had the feeling that an added scent is an additional chemical. There are natural or naturally-derived oils that can be added as scent but it’s still that — additional ingredients to the product. Hence, our love for products that are devoid of perfumes.

Our verdict

Well, we still believe both products are good. One is not superior to the other, it’s just that we have a preference on which variant to use depending on our baby’s age. First and foremost, we love the regular Cetaphil variant because it was easy to wash off. We did not really want to linger in washing a product off Miguel’s skin because we were afraid that he might get cold.

When Miguel would have grown bigger, we will begin using products like Cetaphil Baby and Mustela that lather well and are deemed probably by some as more cleansing because of their suds. Of course, when babies grow, they will eventually begin to smell of sweat especially when they play. They would need a product that will keep them smelling fresh for a long period of time.