Baby wash for dry skin

Cetaphil Baby 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash has the best record for dry skin: 33 of 37 parents said their baby's skin felt softer or less dry. Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Bath Wash has the highest share at 15 of 16, from a smaller group of parents. Pipette Baby Shampoo & Wash is the exception at 8 of 18, while the rest sit well above it.

  • 262 store reviews counted
  • Target shoppers
  • Aug 2013 to Oct 2026

Updated . How we count

Did it help dry skin? What parents said
  1. CeraVe Baby Wash & Shampoo 13 said either way

Share of parents who stated an outcome for dryness. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

Cetaphil Baby 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash Best record Cetaphil Baby 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash 33 of 37 say it left their baby's dry skin softer See price & reviews on Amazon
What stands out

Dryness complaints cluster on one wash: 25% of Pipette reviews say it dried their baby's skin, against 5% for Cetaphil and 8% for Aveeno Cleansing Therapy.

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points parents repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1 Cetaphil Baby 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash

Cetaphil Baby

2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash

Best for a scent parents like

33/37 say it left their baby's dry skin softer

More parents weighed in on this wash than on any other here, and 51% of its reviews praise the scent. 9% find it too strong, and 6% say it stung their baby's eyes.

What parents praise

  • Smells nice 51%
  • Gentle 22%
  • Lathers well 13%
  • No tears or stinging 5%
  • Good value 3%

What parents complain about

  • Scent too strong 9%
  • Skin reaction 6%
  • Stung baby's eyes 6%
  • Too expensive 4%
Where parents said it
  • Target 33 of 37
  • Brand site 2 of 2 shown, not counted
2 Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Bath Wash

Aveeno Baby

Calming Comfort Bath Wash

15/16 say it left their baby's dry skin softer

Nearly every parent who mentioned dry skin was happy (15 of 16), though it's a smaller group. 45% of reviews praise the scent and 16% mention softer skin.

What parents praise

  • Smells nice 45%
  • Gentle 23%
  • Lathers well 10%
  • Good value 6%

What parents complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where parents said it
  • Target 15 of 16
  • Brand site 2 of 2 shown, not counted
3 Baby Dove Fragrance Free Moisture Wash

Baby Dove

Fragrance Free Moisture Wash

20/22 say it left their baby's dry skin softer

20 of 22 parents said it helped dry skin. Reviews call it gentle (31%) and good value (10%), and a few find it thin or watery (5%).

What parents praise

  • Gentle 31%
  • Lathers well 10%
  • Good value 10%
  • No tears or stinging 5%

What parents complain about

  • Thin or watery 5%
Where parents said it
  • Target 20 of 22
  • Brand site 2 of 2 shown, not counted
4 CeraVe Baby Wash & Shampoo

CeraVe Baby

Wash & Shampoo

12/13 say it left their baby's dry skin softer

A smaller group weighed in, and 12 of 13 said it helped their baby's dry skin. 35% of reviews call it gentle and 18% say it lathers well.

What parents praise

  • Gentle 35%
  • Lathers well 18%

What parents complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where parents said it
  • Target 12 of 13
  • Brand site 1 of 2 shown, not counted
5 Aveeno Baby Cleansing Therapy Moisturizing Wash

Aveeno Baby

Cleansing Therapy Moisturizing Wash

23/27 say it left their baby's dry skin softer

Target parents mostly say it works, at 23 of 27, and reviews copied from Aveeno's site come in at 8 of 8, which we show but don't count. Complaints are scattered: 8% say it dried skin and 8% mention a skin reaction.

What parents praise

  • Gentle 13%

What parents complain about

  • Skin reaction 8%
  • Too expensive 5%
Where parents said it
  • Target 23 of 27
  • Brand site 8 of 8 shown, not counted
6

Pipette

Baby Shampoo & Wash

8/18 say it left their baby's dry skin softer

Parents were split, and it has the weakest record here at 8 of 18. 25% of reviews say it dried skin and 28% mention a skin reaction. Reviews copied from Pipette's site are kinder at 4 of 5, which we show but don't count.

What parents praise

  • Gentle 20%
  • Lathers well 15%
  • No tears or stinging 8%
  • Smells nice 5%

What parents complain about

  • Skin reaction 28%
  • Thin or watery 10%
  • Stung baby's eyes 5%
Where parents said it
  • Target 8 of 18
  • Brand site 4 of 5 shown, not counted

Share of 40 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

Where these numbers come from

The 6 products ranked here carry 7,862 reviews at Target. We read the newest reviews of each product (up to a thousand per listing), kept the ones that talk about dryness, and counted up to 40 per product, posted between Aug 2013 and Oct 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (4 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Target also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. We show them on product cards but never count them, because brand-site reviews run more positive than store reviews of the same products.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

We count what parents report. Nothing here is medical or safety advice: for a sick baby, call your pediatrician, and for car seats, a certified child passenger safety technician can check the install.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most parents here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. Cetaphil Baby 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash Target (79 reviews counted)
  2. Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Bath Wash Target (31 reviews counted)
  3. Baby Dove Fragrance Free Moisture Wash Target (39 reviews counted)
  4. CeraVe Baby Wash & Shampoo Target (17 reviews counted)
  5. Aveeno Baby Cleansing Therapy Moisturizing Wash Target (40 reviews counted)
  6. Pipette Baby Shampoo & Wash Target (40 reviews counted)

Questions buyers ask

Which baby wash is good for dry skin?

Cetaphil Baby 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash has the best record (33 of 37), followed by Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Bath Wash (15 of 16) and Baby Dove Fragrance Free Moisture Wash (20 of 22).

Can baby wash dry out my baby's skin?

Some parents said so. 25% of Pipette reviews say it dried their baby's skin, far more than for the other washes here. Many parents also keep baths short and lukewarm and use just a little wash.

Is Cetaphil Baby 2-in-1 good for dry skin?

Parents mostly say yes: 33 of 37 said it left their baby's skin softer or less dry. If stinging eyes worry you, see our page on baby wash that doesn't sting eyes, where parents who wrote about eyes were much less happy with it.

When should I ask the pediatrician about my baby's dry skin?

Ask your pediatrician about dry patches that crack, bleed, ooze, or don't improve, or about any rash. At bath time, keep a hand on your baby and never leave a baby alone in the bath, not even for a second.

HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through the "See price & reviews on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.