Aubrey Organics Kids Line: Product Review

I picked up some Aubrey Organics Kids shampoo, bath soap (liquid) and lotion at Whole Foods in my quest to replace my Arbonne Baby Line with safer products. Aubrey Organics is free of parabens, phthalates, PEGs, dioxanes and sodium laurel sulfate.  My first place of reference in deciding which products to try was the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Database. The Aubrey Organics line was rated a 2 out of 10, considered a low hazard.

I like the scent of the shampoo and body wash and it lathers nicely. In a nutshell, it gets the job done.

I did not like that these products were not tear-free. I also prefer an all-in-one shampoo and body wash, but it was not a big deal.

The lotion was also nice and smooth. You do have to shake well before each use and the scent of the lotion was very strong. My husband cannot tolerate it its so strong. And in my first trimester with baby number two, the smell got to me at times too.

The price was in line with most similar products, about $9 for an 8oz bottle.

All in all, it’s a good product line, but could be better. I give it a B- for not being tear-free or an all-in-one wash and for the strongly scented lotion.

President Bush signs product safety bill to protect children

Yeah! Yesterday Bush signed a bill into law that would ban lead and phthalates from products aimed at children under the age of 12. This includes toys, clothes, bath products, etc.

The major provisions of the bill are:
• Increase funding for CPSC over five years — starting at $118 million in fiscal 2010, and ending at $136 million. For fiscal 2008, CPSC received $80 million
• Create whistleblower protections for employees of manufacturers, private labelers, retailers and distributors
• Require third-party testing of certain children’s products
• Authorize CPSC to inspect manufacturers’ proprietary laboratories
• Require CPSC to make new safety rules for toys
• Create a public database for consumer complaints
• Ban children’s toys or child care articles containing more than a trace amount of certain phthalates, and ban other phthalates on an interim basis pending a review
• Ban lead beyond a minute amount in products for children under 12

The number of toy recalls has been astounding and it’s great to see Congress finally take action.

I look forward to the day when I can also buy shampoo for my daughter without having to scrutinize and read between the lines on the product labels. While banning phthalates is a big step in the right direction, we still have a long way to go in this department — parabens and dioxanes anyone? Yeah, me neither.

But for today, great job Mr. President! I hope to see more like this from Congress to help protect Americans from other harmful substances.

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Boon Frog Pod: Product Review

We LOVE the frog! We had no problems installing it on our porcelain tile and no problems with it staying put, even with it loaded up with toys, shampoo, etc.

The frog holds an amazing amount of toys – you’d be surprised. It has a removable storage basket that allows you to easily dump out the toys and scoop them up. It has a great handle to make this a snap, plus you can rinse them in hot water before hanging the basket up on the frog!

The frog’s toes are a great place to hang washcloths and loofas. And there is a shelf for shampoo, bubble bath and conditioner behind the frog’s head.

There are 2 installation options – suction cups for a lighter load and sticky strips for heavy loads. I would encourage you to try the suction cups first. We had a heavy load (I thought) and the suction cups held just fine for over a year. We just remodeled our bathroom so we will see if the cups work as well on the new tile. I hope so, because my husband threw the sticky strip installation piece away!

Hints on installation – per Amazon’s reviews, many people did have some trouble getting the frog to stay on the wall. Make sure you follow the instructions exactly, including leaving the base piece on the wall for the appropriate amount of time (24 hours if I recall) before attaching the frog itself.

I highly recommend the Boon Frog Pod for helping keep bath toys and necessities organized and in a modern, stylish and fun way! My daughter also loves the frog, so it’s a hit all the way around!

Amazon has the Frog Pod at a good price.