Baby wash that smells nice

Johnson's Bedtime Baby Bath has the best record for smell at 35 of 36, followed by Baby Dove Calming Nights Body Wash at 25 of 26 and Johnson's Head-to-Toe Baby Wash at 32 of 34. Baby Dove Fragrance Free Moisture Wash is the fragrance-free wash, so its record of 19 of 23 mostly reflects parents glad it has no scent, and Johnson's Baby Shampoo has the weakest record here at 16 of 21. Cetaphil Baby 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash rests on the biggest group, 76 parents who stated an outcome, and the washes above it rest on smaller ones, so treat small gaps as ties.

  • 286 store reviews counted
  • Target shoppers
  • Aug 2018 to Oct 2026

Updated . How we count

Did parents like the smell? What parents said
  1. Johnson's Bedtime Baby Bath 36 said either way
  2. Baby Dove Calming Nights Body Wash 26 said either way
  3. Johnson's Head-to-Toe Baby Wash 34 said either way
  4. Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Bath Wash 36 said either way
  5. Cetaphil Baby 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash 76 said either way
  6. Baby Dove Fragrance Free Moisture Wash 23 said either way
  7. Johnson's Baby Shampoo 21 said either way

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

Johnson's Bedtime Baby Bath Best record Johnson's Bedtime Baby Bath 35 of 36 say they like the smell, or like that it has none See price & reviews on Amazon
What stands out

Johnson's is on this list three times, and its records range from 35 of 36 for Bedtime Baby Bath and 32 of 34 for Head-to-Toe Baby Wash down to 16 of 21 for Baby Shampoo. The brand name alone says little about the smell.

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 Johnson's Bedtime Baby Bath

Johnson's

Bedtime Baby Bath

35/36 say they like the smell, or like that it has none

Nearly every parent who stated an outcome liked the smell: 35 of 36. Reviews first posted on Johnson's own site agree at 10 of 10, which we show but don't count. Price splits opinion, with 13% of reviews calling it good value and 5% calling it too expensive.

What parents praise

  • Good value 13%
  • Lathers well 11%

What parents complain about

  • Too expensive 5%
Where parents said it
  • Target 35 of 36
  • Brand site 10 of 10 shown, not counted
2

Baby Dove

Calming Nights Body Wash

25/26 say they like the smell, or like that it has none

Close behind the leader, with 25 of 26 parents saying they liked the smell and 1 of 26 saying they did not. The smell is the draw here, and 14% of its reviews also praise the lather.

What parents praise

  • Lathers well 14%

What parents complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where parents said it
  • Target 25 of 26
  • Brand site 3 of 3 shown, not counted
3 Johnson's Head-to-Toe Baby Wash

Johnson's

Head-to-Toe Baby Wash

32/34 say they like the smell, or like that it has none

A familiar name with a solid record: 32 of 34 parents liked the smell, a touch below Johnson's Bedtime Baby Bath at 35 of 36, and just 2 said it was unpleasant, too strong or not what they expected. Reviews first posted on Johnson's own site agree at 10 of 10, which we show but don't count.

What parents praise

No repeated praise yet.

What parents complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where parents said it
  • Target 32 of 34
  • Brand site 10 of 10 shown, not counted
4 Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Bath Wash

Aveeno Baby

Calming Comfort Bath Wash

Best for a good lather

33/36 say they like the smell, or like that it has none

Parents liked the smell here too, at 33 of 36, and 21% of its reviews also praise the lather. A few reviews (5%) call it too expensive. Reviews first posted on Aveeno's own site agree at 9 of 9, which we show but don't count.

What parents praise

  • Lathers well 21%

What parents complain about

  • Too expensive 5%
Where parents said it
  • Target 33 of 36
  • Brand site 9 of 9 shown, not counted
5 Cetaphil Baby 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash

Cetaphil Baby

2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash

64/76 say they like the smell, or like that it has none

More parents weighed in on this wash than on any other here, and 64 of 76 said they liked the smell. The miss is a scent that is unpleasant, too strong or not what they expected, which 12 of 76 reported. Reviews first posted on the maker's own site run 9 of 9, which we show but don't count.

What parents praise

  • Lathers well 14%

What parents complain about

  • Too expensive 3%
Where parents said it
  • Target 64 of 76
  • Brand site 9 of 9 shown, not counted
6 Baby Dove Fragrance Free Moisture Wash

Baby Dove

Fragrance Free Moisture Wash

Best for parents who want no scent

19/23 say they like the smell, or like that it has none

This is the fragrance-free wash, so its record mostly reflects parents glad it has no scent: 19 of 23 said they liked the smell or liked that it has none. Still, 4 of 23 said the smell was off or not what they expected, and 15% of reviews call it good value.

What parents praise

  • Good value 15%
  • Lathers well 5%

What parents complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where parents said it
  • Target 19 of 23
  • Brand site 6 of 6 shown, not counted
7

Johnson's

Baby Shampoo

16/21 say they like the smell, or like that it has none

A shampoo with the weakest record here: 16 of 21 parents liked the smell, and 5 of 21 did not. Reviews first posted on Johnson's own site run 7 of 8, which we show but don't count.

What parents praise

No repeated praise yet.

What parents complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where parents said it
  • Target 16 of 21
  • Brand site 7 of 8 shown, not counted

Where these numbers come from

The 7 products ranked here carry 5,694 reviews at Target. We read the newest reviews of each product (up to a thousand per listing), kept the ones that talk about scent, and counted up to 40 per product, posted between Aug 2018 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. Johnson's Bedtime Baby Bath Target (38 reviews counted)
  2. Baby Dove Calming Nights Body Wash Target (28 reviews counted)
  3. Johnson's Head-to-Toe Baby Wash Target (38 reviews counted)
  4. Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Bath Wash Target (39 reviews counted)
  5. Cetaphil Baby 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash Target (79 reviews counted)
  6. Baby Dove Fragrance Free Moisture Wash Target (39 reviews counted)
  7. Johnson's Baby Shampoo Target (25 reviews counted)

Questions buyers ask

Which baby wash smells nice?

Johnson's Bedtime Baby Bath has the best record (35 of 36), followed by Baby Dove Calming Nights Body Wash (25 of 26) and Johnson's Head-to-Toe Baby Wash (32 of 34). Smell is personal, so treat gaps of a few reviews as ties. These counts cover just the parents who wrote about the smell.

Is there a fragrance-free baby wash parents like?

Baby Dove Fragrance Free Moisture Wash is the fragrance-free wash here, and 19 of 23 said they liked the smell or liked that it has none. Still, 4 of 23 said the smell was off or not what they expected. Reviews first posted on Baby Dove's own site agree at 6 of 6, though that is a small group and we show but don't count it.

Does Cetaphil Baby 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash smell too strong?

Some parents said so. 64 of 76 liked the smell, and 12 of 76 said it was unpleasant, too strong or not what they expected. More parents weighed in on it than on any other wash here, so its record rests on a bigger group.

What should I watch for at bath time?

Never leave a baby alone in the bath, not even for a second. This page counts what parents said about the smell and says nothing about how a wash suits your baby's skin. If your baby has dry patches that crack, bleed, ooze or don't improve, or a rash, ask your pediatrician.

Related problems

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