Is the Seedlings Young Living Line Good?
I have seen this line everywhere, with every YL rep with children telling everyone that this is the best and safest baby care line on the market. I am going to be quite honest, I have never really looked at these products or even looked into the claims beyond the price tag. Which honestly, was super alarming to me and I didn’t bother trying to see if it was even worth it. It’s time now that I dug into this line and see what the hype is about and give my honest opinion on the products as a certified aromatherapist.
Seedlings Line
The seedlings line has a few products in this line however that at a glance I thought all had the same base oils of Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), Bergamot (Citrus aurantium), Coriander (Coriandrum sativum), Ylang ylang (Cananga ordorata) and Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens). However there are a few variations with some of the products, with entirely different essential oils in the diaper rash cream and the tush balm. So I will be going over each product and seeing how they differ and if the oils in them are truly baby safe as advertised. Since this line is specific to babies, and encouraged to be used on even newborn babies because it is so gentle I hope to see the ingredients reflecting that.
Seedlings Baby Oil: retails for $27
Ingredients: Caprylic/capric triglyceride, Prunus armeniaca (Apricot) kernel oil, Carthamus tinctorius (Safflower) seed oil, Opuntia ficus-indica (Prickly pear) seed oil, Mixed tocopherols, Lavandula angustifolia† (Lavender) oil, Coriandrum sativum† (Coriander) seed oil, Citrus aurantium bergamia† (Bergamot) peel oil (Furocoumarin-free), Cananga odorata† (Ylang ylang) flower oil, Pelargonium graveolens† (Geranium) flower oil †Premium essential oil
At a glance this product doesn’t contain anything unnatural, so true to their word it is at least an all natural product. However, looking at the essential oils in this product have me a little worried. Ylang ylang is a main concern, as this is actually a very irritating essential oil and has a topical max of .8% and is noted to not be used topically under the age of 2 as it is such an irritating essential oil. This actually seems to be a popular essential oil for YL to use in baby products and it seems to contradict the gentle for you baby marketing that they use.
While it does seem like they at least follow dilution rates, as Ylang ylang is one of the last ingredients listed, it still is a concern for me especially in a product that will remain on the skin. On top of that Bergamot is also a listed ingredient and is listed much higher up. It states that it is foruocoumarin-free though which means it won’t cause a phototoxic reaction. I am quite impressed with that to be honest, they did ensure that this would be safe for babies
It is hard to judge the product without really knowing the dilution rates, however we can guess based on the order they are listed on the product. While Ylang ylang seems to respecting the topical max it is still a concern for me especially on newborns. There is a possibility for a reaction or irritation to occur from using Ylang ylang and personally it’s something I wouldn’t use on any of my babies.
Seedlings Baby Wash and Shampoo: retails for $33
Ingredients: Water, Sodium laurylglucosides, hydroxypropylsulfonate, Glycerin, Decyl glucoside,Glyceryl caprylate, Xanthan gum, Sodium chloride, Levulinic acid, Sodium levulinate, Glyceryl undecylenate, Lavandula angustifolia† (Lavender) oil, Caprylic/capric triglyceride, Coriandrum sativum† (Coriander) seed oil, Euphrasia officinalis (Eyebright)extract, Calendula officinalis (Marigold) flower extract, Citrus aurantium bergamia† (Bergamot) peel oil (Furanocoumarin free), Citric acid, Cananga odorata† (Ylang ylang) flower oil, Pelargonium graveolens† (Geranium) flower oil†Premuim essential oil
The Baby wash is much the same, with different base ingredients as it is a soap/wash. Nothing in this screams unnatural to me and again they seem true to their word on that front. However I do still have a concern with the Ylang ylang and this is seeming to be a theme in most of these products. At least with the wash it is not staying on the skin though.
Seedlings Baby Wipes: retails for $13
Ingredients: Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sapindus Mukorossi Fruit Extract, Glycerin, Phenethyl Alcohol, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Calendula Officinalis (Pot Marigold) Flower Extract, Glyceryl Caprylate, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil*, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Leaf Extract, Caprylic/capric triglyceride, Coriandrum Sativum (Coriander) Seed Oil*, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Peel Oil-Furocoumarin Free*, Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower Oil*, Pelargonium Graveolens (Geranium) Flower Oil* †Premium essential oil
This one is going to be a hard pass from me to be honest, when properly diluted/emulsified I don’t take much issue with using essential oils in a wipes solution. However, they still have the Ylang ylang in this mix and that would only exasperate or worsen any diaper issues that are going on. Ylang ylang is not to used on broken skin, to be honest very few essential oils are beneficial at all on broken skin, and I worry that this would only irritate little ones even more or even cause irritation on such sensitive areas. If you want to use essential oils in a wipes solution it’s important to pick soothing or beneficial oils such as Lavender for skin issues or tea tree for fungal issues. Ylang ylang would be too irritating in this case, even with topical dilutions being followed.
Seedlings Baby Lotion: retails for $26
Ingredients: Water, Caprylic/capric triglyceride, Glycerin, Glyceryl stearate, Coco-caprylate, Cetearyl alcohol, Sodium stearoyl glutamate, Glyceryl caprylate, Xanthan gum, Cellulose gum, Pyrus malus (Apple) fruit extract, Sodium levulinate, Lavandula angustifolia† (Lavender) oil, Glyceryl undecylenate, Sodium anisate, Astrocaryum murumuru (Murumuru) seed butter, Mangifera indica (Mango) seed butter,Theobroma cacao (Cocoa) seed butter, Carthamus tinctorius (Safflower) seed oil, Coriandrum sativum† (Coriander) seed oil, Sodium chloride, Citrus aurantium bergamia† (Bergamot) peel oil (Furocoumarin-free), Calendula officinalis (Marigold ) flower extract, Citric acid, Bixa orellana (Achiote) seed extract, Cananga odorata† (Ylang ylang) flower oil, Pelargonium graveolens† (Geranium) flower oil†Premium essential oil
Not much to say on this one, it’s pretty much the same. I am still not a fan of the Ylang yang though.
Seedlings Diaper Rash Cream: retails for $30
Ingredients: Coconut oil, beeswax, castor oil, mangifera indica seed butter, sunflower oil, safflower oil, cocoa butter, maranta arundinacea root, avocado oil, astrocaryum murumuru seed butter, glyceryl rosinate, kaolin, lavender† oil, tocopherol, tamanu oil, vitis vinifera seed, hippophae rhamnoides seed oil, glyceryl oleate, olea europaea (olive) oil unsaponifiables, picea mariana† leaf oil, helichrysum† italicum flower oil, calendula officinalis flower, chamomile, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) flower extract, plantago major leaf, stellaria media leaf
We finally have a product that doesn’t have Ylang ylang! With Lavender, Helichrysum, Black spruce and Chamomile I am actually impressed with this one. These oils are all soothing and healing to the skin and will not make the diaper rash worse. I am not sure why they couldn’t do this same mix with the wipes, or with all the products for that matter. I feel like if these are the oils that were used in all of the products it would be a really great baby line. I would use this on my little ones if I didn’t make my own diaper cream already.
Seedlings Tender Tush: retails for $40
Ingredients: Cocos nucifera (Coconut) oil, Theobroma cacao (Cocoa) butter, Olea europaea (Olive) oil, Prunus amygdalus dulcis (Almond) oil, Beeswax, Triticum vulgare (Wheat) germ oil, Santalum paniculatum (Royal Hawaiian sandalwood) wood oil†, Coriandrum sativum (Coriander) seed oil†, Chamaemelum nobile (Roman Chamomile) flower oil†, Lavandula angustifolia (Lavender) oil†, Boswellia carterii (Frankincense) oil†, Citrus aurantium bergamia (Bergamot) peel oil (Furocoumarin-free)†, Cistus ladanifer (Cistus) oil†, Cananga odorata (Ylang Ylang) flower oil†, Pelargonium graveolens (Geranium) flower oil††Premium essential oil
I honestly didn’t think it could get worse but this product really takes the cake. For something called tender tush I am less than impressed and I do not think this would be tender or soothing whatsoever. This is essentially another diaper rash cream however with this one they did include Ylang ylang and as I have already mentioned that is not an essential oil that you want to be applying onto broken skin. I wouldn’t recommend anyone use this, it could actually make the diaper rash worse. I am not sure what they were thinking with this product but I’m pretty disappointed.
Conclusion
This certainly isn’t the worst I have seen from YL, but I have some concerns with their choice of Ylang ylang and I am also a little confused on why they couldn’t swap that for the Black Spruce they had in the OG diaper cream. I am even more confused on why they have a second diaper cream and decided to include the Ylang ylang. Overall, I am just not a fan and I do not think this is worth the price point, even if you are a member. There are so many great products that are truly clean that will not break the bank and are actually baby safe. If you are a member you can save money on the price point, but you have to spend a certain amount to retain the membership so I don’t really think you are saving money at all.
On-top of all that I am questioning why there even is a baby line with essential oils. The use for essential oils is rarely needed for babies, and myself and many other aromatherapists encourage parents to wait until at least 6 months to use essential oils topically (at the very least) and dilution rates for babies should be followed. For children 6 months-12 months a .2% dilution is perfect and we just don’t know the dilution rate of this product since YL refuses to let people know those things. When using essential oils on someone so young you risk having adverse reactions; allergies, eczema, rashes etc and you could have lifelong issues because of that. In reality, we just don’t know how safe this product is because they will not share the most important parts of the formulation. I have my doubts that these products are diluted properly for babies though, considering they didn’t take the care to learn that Ylang ylang shouldn’t even be used topically on babies.
At the end of the day, this isn’t something I would use or recommend for babies. I personally think the risk isn’t worth the benefit and parents are better off finding some gentle unscented options for their babies. I definitely feel as though YL does not have the best interest at heart with this line, and that they failed to do their research in formulating safe products for babies.
If these are products you choose to use with your little ones, the risk is fairly small but still there and I suggest finding something that is unscented to use on babies instead. I would definitely advise avoiding the wipes and the Tush cream at the very least as those would most certainly cause issues or irritations.
Are there any other aromatherapy/essential oil products you want me to look over? Leave a comment or message me on Instagram and let me know. Make sure to check out my entire series on essential oils and kid lines here. Check out my Facebook and Instagram as well for daily essential oil safety/tips.
