Tantrum Children's Hair Products
I have tried many different products over the years for my children and am conscious that there is a huge market geared at making money out of parents in particular. Although I do realise that children have differing needs as they grow up, I also am aware that not all products need be soley for children do they? I've learnt to decide more what it is I need and go for a product that provides that, whether or not it states " For Kids" at the top.
Children's suncream is one of them. Quite often we pay over the odds for a child's suncream when in actual fact a 50+, 5****, dermalogically tested "adult" one is often cheaper and just as good. As I found out with Style At Every Age's brilliant and informative post, just because it is labelled kids doesn't mean it is the best - Nivea kids suncream is actually only a 3 star UVA product, as is the Johnsons kid's one! Not good.
Children's suncream is one of them. Quite often we pay over the odds for a child's suncream when in actual fact a 50+, 5****, dermalogically tested "adult" one is often cheaper and just as good. As I found out with Style At Every Age's brilliant and informative post, just because it is labelled kids doesn't mean it is the best - Nivea kids suncream is actually only a 3 star UVA product, as is the Johnsons kid's one! Not good.
So on to hair - I have an 11 and 9 year old boy and a 5 year old girl - all with differing needs . The 11 year old washes his own hair . He needs a product that multi tasks - hair and body wash - speed is everything! The 9 year old has sensitive eyes and skin so I have to be a little careful what I put on him. The 5 year old has long, tangled hair so conditioner is a must.
I have tried the brand name children's products and not found them worth the extra money, although at a push the L'oreal range smells great and does a good job. However , it still makes my 9 year old's eyes red and sore.The supermarkets own brand don't do my little girl's hair much good if I'm honest. I've tried adult's shampoo, but we have the " It's in my eyes!!" problem too often then! This has led me to doing a little more research into what is in the products we use with our kids and consequently deciding to go down the Paraben Free route where possible with my children. Here is a quick explanation to what parabens are :
Parabens are chemicals used as preservatives, and that’s why they are found in so many products. They are used to fight bacteria and fungus, are widely available, and cost very little to manufacture and use. Nearly all of the parabens used as preservatives are man-made and not naturally occurring.
If you want to read more, this site is useful and not too biased.
Having made this decision I also wanted to get something easily available and not horrendously priced. So my first try is the children's range by Tantrum. This range was born out of the Salon based in London . See here for more details. I was able to get a shampoo, conditioner and a hair and body wash for £3.00 an item, all from Sainsburys. The children have used them a few times and so far, so good. The smell is great, conditioner takes out the tangles and it doesn't irritate the eyes or skin. Good job. My eldest son even commented that he liked the smell as it smelt like Haribos and gets his football mud off without scrubbing! The price could do with a bit of work - some buy one , get one free offers and I'd stock up big time!! We have only used this for a few weeks now so a final verdict is yet to be made, but the signs are good. It is a product for children, but I think in this instance there are factors that need to be considered that make that more of a necessity for me. The most important thing is , it got the thumbs up from all 3 kids - that's got to mean something!
Here are a few links to sites that sell Paraben Free products if you are interested in looking a bit further.
I am Natural
My Pure
Green People
Faith in Nature
What hair products do you use on your children?
What is your opinion on the whole Parabens issue?
