New Baby - Non-bio washing?

Mrs_Soup

We were using non-bio before having a baby and are still using it now they are 9 and 12. Never really liked the idea of bio. I wouldn't buy two kinds- juts wash everything in non-bio.

Fire_Fox

jobbingmusician wrote: »

I wonder if you understand what bio powder is. It is powder full of little enzymes which eat dirt. There are plenty of recorded issues of people handling bio powder, the powder getting into breaks in the skin, and people having serious reactions to this.

If bio powder can cause reactions in healthy adults, would you really use it on clothes which come into contact with a baby's skin? I wouldn't.....

Let's not scapegoat 'biological' products/ enzymes or those that use them. No product is one ingredient. No skincare regime is one product or one contact. All too often the last is more "the straw that broke the camel's back".

An undiluted product causing visible problems on damaged skin is not uncommon. But it is not evidence that the same product will cause problems when used 'as directed' on a healthy skin barrier.

Enzymes are certainly capable of triggering contact dermatitis in susceptible people. As are numerous fragrance ingredients, common modern detergents, true alkaline soap .... in adults, children and babies. Soaking the skin in 'pure' water (ie. bathing) is proven to weaken even a normal skin barrier.

A 'little one' can easily have a stronger skin barrier than someone in their 'golden years' BTW. Depends on genetics, diet, lifestyle throughout the life course, topical routine, hormones and other factors. Even if we have - or had previously - a patch of eczema/ dermatitis our entire skin barrier (head-to-toe) is weakened not just that area.

To end on a positive note! An increasing body of research indicates that, for a newborn at genetic risk of atopic ezcema/ hayfever/ asthma/ food allergies, it is key to apply an emollient mosturiser once or twice a day. This can hugely reduce the risk of developing all of these conditions.

HTH.

suki1964

Bio here for my grandkids clothes but only Persil as I myself am allergic to anything else

I think its like everything, you know know its going to cause a problem until it does

JuzaMum

We have excema in the family so use non bio anyway. When DS3 arrived I received a free bottle of non bio fabric softner in the Bounty Bag. DS3 and hubby both ended up with excema flare ups after using it. It took several years for hubby's skin to get back to normal. DS3 suffered so several years too but obviously can't compare.

alleycat`

Same as anything it's horses for courses.

Growing up i had Eczema (i've thankfully grown out of it) and my Son has it slightly too.
Some Bio powders caused me, and to a lesser extent him, issues where as others have not

I tend to think it's more the stuff that they chuck in them to make them "smell" that causes the issues over the biological agents (but i have neither the time, energy or the skin to sacrifice to do a proper test).

By and large we use Non-bio because it's consistently caused little or no issues. Most likely this is because they tend not to "fragrance" them to high heaven (as it's marketed at an audience).

I'm pretty sure that if Surf Bio didn't wish to make me smell like a "tropical breeze" it'd be equally equitable to my skin.

Kynthia

I used bio for my second child. I read quite a few articles staying that most people who believe they are allergic to biological washing powder are actually allergic to an ingredient in that brand and may be fine with a different brand, and that's there's only a small chance it's the enzymes. Most countries don't have non-biological so all the babies in those countries wear clothing with biological detergent.

anotheruser

jobbingmusician wrote: »

I wonder if you understand what bio powder is.

Yes, I did and do but thank you for your condescending post.
You could have saved time and just wrote the answer "I used non-bio".

As I don't use old fashioned powder, there's very little chance of any getting into breaks of skin.

TripleH

Use vinegar as your fabric conditioner? I used to react badly to cheap washing powder when at Uni (poor student) someone suggested using white vinegar as fabric conditioner. (Aciduc vinegar turning alkali wadhing powder residue into a salt plus water - for all budding chemists).

When dried they loose any faint vinegar odour they might have had after the wash, smell fresh (especially if air dried) and i didn't have the scratching.

Prothet_of_Doom

just_trying wrote: »

Me, never caused them any problems.

At aged 13, in 1980, the cause of my Skin rashes was found to be biological washing powder. My mother was mortified.
My own daughter can NOT wash in detergents, and soap brings her up in a rash. She never realised that I only put half the amount of washing liquid in with her clothes until she left to go to university.

So for me, the opposite is true.

Rambosmum

I use bio for everything, including 2 newborns, nappies and clothes. I have really sensitive skin but only react to certain colorants used in washing detergent (specifically the orange and purple used by surf!).