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Honest Company’s Infant Formula Review

The Honest Company's infant formula is better than most organic brands sold in the U.S.

As soon as The Honest Company’s infant formula hit the market, we were flooded with emails asking, “Is this the Good Stuff?” After putting the Honest formula through our research and review process, our answer is…sort of.

Essentially, Honest’s formula is the same as the rest of the Jessica Alba product line: definitely well-intentioned, definitely better than most conventional stuff, not quite Sneaky Stuff, but not quite Good Stuff. When it comes to this formula, here’s what we discovered:

The Good

  • It’s mostly milk. I like that Honest’s formula’s first ingredient is actual organic milk. The only other American-made formula I recommend to clients, Baby’s Only, has brown rice syrup (a sweetener) as its first ingredient, so this is a plus for Honest.
  • It contains lactose. It’s also great that Honest formula contains lactose as a sweetener, which is most similar to breast milk, but which many companies have stopped using because it’s pricier than other forms of sugar. (Unfortunately, Honest also uses corn syrup to sweeten this formula—more on this below.)
  • It skips some synthetics. The synthetic nutrients found in Honest’s formula are less in number than is the case for other organic formula brands. Some of these additives are not allowed in organic products in Europe, so it’s nice to see an American brand leaving them out.
  • It doesn’t contain hexane residue. The biggest plus to Honest formula is that the DHA they use is actual fish oil rather than hexane-extracted oils from algae and fungus (as is the case with most formulas, even organic ones).
  • It’s free of carrageenan. Honest’s formula is free of carrageenan (which is found in some organic formulas). Derived from seaweed, carrageenan helps stabilize formula, but numerous animal studies suggest that it leads to intestinal inflammation and colon tumors. The European Union has outlawed the use of carrageenan in all infant formula.

The Bad

  • Corn syrup. The biggest bummer about Honest’s formula is that it contains corn syrup (cleverly called “organic glucose syrup solids”). Honest uses mostly lactose to sweeten their formula, but I assume they blend with corn syrup because the latter is much less expensive.
  • Soy. Honest formula also contains soy oil and soy lecithin. I’m not into soy for babies, since it is a source of phytoestrogens, which may have negative health implications. Worth noting: Baby’s Only also contains soy, as does HiPP. Holle is the only soy-free formula, which is part of the reason it’s our number one formula pick.
  • Synthetic preservatives. Honest formula contains two synthetic preservatives that some experts say should not be allowed in organic products: beta carotene and ascorbyl palmitate. Baby’s Only doesn’t contain these two, and nor do the European brands we recommend. I’m not convinced these are particularly harmful in the concentrations present in formula, but they aren’t natural and their effects are unknown.

Whichever Formula You Choose…Filter Your Water!

Tap water may be contaminated with chlorine byproducts, weed killers, insecticides, solvents, lead, BPA, phthalates…the list goes on. Fluoride is present in infant formula, and when combined with fluoridated tap water, infant exposure levels can exceed safe amounts. Invest in a good carbon water filter.

What Are the Best Infant Formulas?

After all the research I’ve done (I’ve written about formula here, here, and here), there are only four I would consider feeding my baby, and yes, Honest is among them. In order of preference, the best infant formulas, in my non-doctor opinion, are:

  1. Holle (in particular the Lebenswert variety)
  2. HiPP
  3. Baby’s Only
  4. The Honest Company

While difficult and expensive to obtain, the European formulas win out because they are both made with milk from grass-fed cattle, and have a simpler and more natural list of ingredients. I still consider Baby’s Only the best widely-available formula in this country, but Honest is a pretty close second, only losing out because of the corn syrup and palm oil it contains.

Baby’s Only remains our top choice amongst American formulas.

We feel that HiPP formula is superior to anything you can get in the U.S.

Holle remains our #1 choice for infant formula.

Honest Formula is better than most organic brands sold in the U.S.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stay sane,

 

 

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Related posts:

Review of Holle Lebenswert Infant Formula The Honest Company by Jessica Alba: Good, Bad, or Sneaky? Honest Review of Beautycounter Anti-Aging Products Safe Baby Formula Guide Where to Buy European Infant Formula
Maia James

View Comments

    • While I don't love that it's the first ingredient in Baby's Only, they have independently tested their brown rice syrup and it is free of arsenic.

      • Holle does not contain added rice syrup! My baby loves it and we have never had any problems with it. No spitting up and no gas or colic. I love that is is organic and from boidynamic farming. Glad I found it on http://www.organicbabyfood24.com :-) USA needs to be a lot more strict on what they allow in our foods, especially baby formula!

        • How can you be sure the formula is not a fake. I am so afraid of buying it online from place I am unfamiliar with because I wouldn't know if it were fake.

          • Hi Lark-
            Yes, this is a concern, which is why I am in the process of talking with a bunch of sellers, asking for proof of purchases from the manufacturers, etc. I am hoping to have an official recommendation within the next week!
            Maia

          • Lark/Maia -
            THIS is my exact concern, I too want to make sure it is a legitimate product. Ordering from some random European company, and not able to get my hands on it in any other way to even "know" what the package and milk should even look like. I've done a lot of blog reading and research, and quite a few people have said they get it from: http://www.biologisch24.com/
            Maia - Is this one of the companies you are checking into? I would LOVE to have your official recommendation. I have a month old baby, so I'm definitely nervous branching out of the "box" anyway, let alone buying from overseas and having it shipped in. Also, I've read concerns about the product getting x-rayed in customs and absorbing that, do you have any thoughts on that? Thanks!!

          • Hi Gigi-
            I am trying to go with the companies listed right on Holle's website first--since clearly these ones are "official." I will look into the one you suggested, too. I am having a hard time scheduling all these calls with time differences, etc., but I know people are eager for an answer so I am trying to make it happen quickly!

      • Have you looked into simple truth infant formula? Is it the good stuff? My husband and I are going to adopt so breast feeding is not an option.

    • I've been ordering Hipp from artisana.co.uk which has come through in the past within 5-6 weeks but this time is taking even longer and I ordered on March 29 and now apparently their website is "down for maintenance" and you can no longer access their Facebook page...shady
      My baby has done so well with it but this has been way too long!

      • We ordered HiPP from Artisana too and they were great. Our last order was placed on March 16th and we still have not gotten it. I don't think we ever will since the company has gone out of business and there are lots of people posting on Google that they never received the infant milk they paid for around the same time. I've had to initiate a chargeback with my CC company. You may want to look into doing the same!!! I hate that this has happened to so many moms who want to do what is best for their babies :(

    • Is this a legitimate website to buy hipp? Hippformulausa.com I when to their org website and they don't list America or United states . I'm interested in purchasing some.

  • that is my hesitation with baby's only....they say it is free of inorganic arsenic. also the protein ratio of whey and casein is exactly that of cow's milk which can be hard for little ones to digest. we are trying honest and it may end there. now he is extremely constipated and spit ting up too. there honestly is not a good choice here in the us.

  • Thank you for this article. Is it very informative. We tried the Holle but unfortunately it made my son very gassy (maltodextrin) and it is very thin so was contributing to his reflux. We then switched to the Baby's Only and he seems to like this one. I choose the lactose free version as the calcium/phosphorous ratio is more similar to the infant formulas. I don't love the casein to Whey ratio, but there will always be a downside to either you choose. Such as the Palm Oil, a little scary to think that may lead to malabsorption?! Why is it in EVERY formula!! Ugh!

  • I'm so tired and frustrated with this whole formula thing. No matter what you pick, you are somehow causing harm to your baby. I tried Baby's Only and my baby became horribly constipated and spit up like never before. I believe it's due to the whey/casein ratio. So I then went back to Earth's Best since I can't seem to find a way to order Holle or HiPP. He seems to handle Earth's Best completely fine but now I may be causing him to have colon tumors?!! For Pete's Sake! It's enough that I have guilt from not being able to produce my own milk for my baby but now this. So I'm wondering if I should give Honest a try, but wait, I'm STILL going to be causing him harm with most notably the added palm oil and soy. And I'm wondering what the whey/casein ratio is in that since I would hate to go through the constipation and spitting up large quantities all over again. UGH. Can't a lady and her baby get a break?! :/

    • elena-i feel your pain we tried honest for a week or so and have horrible constipation. i think its the corn syrup and palm oil. we should all get together and start a formula with no corn, soy, palm oil or sugars. I don't care if it was expensive i'd buy it!

    • I have been able to get Hipp through torafoods.com if that helps! We use Baby's Only when we forget to order since it takes a week or two :( and UGH the syrup solids that congeal in the bottle make me sick! And the fact that the #1 ingredient is organic brown rice syrup...yuck. Better than other options but still makes me feel guilty. I haven't been able to produce enough milk too so I really feel your pain. He gets about 1-2 bottles of formula a day. And yeah like the others said below, we have to give ourselves a break because there are so many things that are bad out there that we just can't avoid. We're doing our best.

          • WARNING - it seems organicbabyfood24 is trolling every blog and shilling their site. They also have a very bad reputation also! They're not in the US. I think they even copied BioBaby24...lol

          • I just ordered from organic baby24 and my order came packaged perfect and quicker than expected. Shipping isn't free like the U.S. sellers but you still pay less because the U.S. Sellers are over charging!!! I personally had a great experience ordering from organic baby and will order again in a couple of months when I start to run low and start on cereal/porridges.

      • Thanks, Angie!
        I just ordered some of the HiPP formula. The whey/casein ratio is like Earth's Best and how it "should" be - 60/40. I checked with Honest and they said theirs is 30/70, which seems really high on the casein side. Baby's only was high in casein and I really think that's why he was having so many problems. So we shall see! I have high hopes, I'll make sure and come back on here to say how he handled it.

      • I ordered from artisana.co.uk on Feb. 5th and still have yet to receive my shipment! Anyone else having this problem?

        • Did you ever receive your shipment? Mine hasn't arrived yet either and I ordered on 2/17. But it has taken 5 weeks before, I haven't panicked yet.

        • Did you ladies receive your formula? I had the same problem! Holle is by far *the best* formula for my daughter's severe GERD. I first ordered from Artisana via Amazon, and the next time skipped Amazon and ordered directly from Artisana. Both orders arrived in 10-14 days.

          I ordered 2 more shipments from Artisana in February and March (realizing I needed to start ordering more in bulk to make up for shipping time) and NEITHER shipment ever came. Great customer service, though. After 8 weeks of waiting, I just emailed them last week and they responded right away, offering me a refund or to reship the lost items. I opted for the refund, since I had TWO consecutive shipments fail to show up and the odds seemed high that it would happen again. I desperately want to find a way to get some more Holle. I am tempted to try ordering again, but I don't dare yet. And now EVERYWHERE is "out of stock" for Holle. Where has it all gone? Something is up, but I don't know what.

          Anyone else??

          • I decided to take the hit and pay the upcharge on the Holle formula by ordering on ebay, just to test it out to see how my son would react to it. He seemed to digest it well so then I ordered 10 boxes using http://www.biologisch24.com. However the first order did take 6 weeks to come in. I recently placed a second order about 2.5 weeks ago and am waiting. I'm now running low on supply that I do have left so I'm also looking for another option with faster delivery. I'm using Earths Best at the moment (I know it's the Sneaky Stuff, but that's the only other brand that my little one can stomach).

          • You may want to initiate a chargeback! They have gone out of business and its been months and our shipment has not arrived. There are TONS of mom's in the same boat just hoping the milk will come. I think if you wait too long you may lose the chargeback window too, so something to consider. I initiated ours a few days ago and we are waiting to hear back.

      • Cheapest and fastest out there is biobaby24. Trust me I did EXTENSIVE research! Located in NY!

    • You can order Hipp and Holle from artisana.co.uk. They offer free shipping to the US. They used to be a vendor for Amazon until some entity forced Amazon to drop European formulas. The details on why are sketchy. The bad news is that you will wait 3-5 weeks for your shipment to arrive. The good news is since you know that, you predict when to order it. I order 6 boxes of Hipp at once each month. They are approximately $25 each for 800 grams, which beats the price of most of the garbage formulas produced here in the US. Artisana accepts PayPal, so that makes paying very simple. My baby loves Hipp! He is very regular also. We started supplementing BF due to poor latch right out of the hospital. He was pretty gassy in those days, but now at 5 months it's a non-issue. He uses Hipp exclusively now, so it could have been my milk. The bottom line is if you're going to use formula, this is the way to go. It seems cumbersome, but once you order all you have to do is reorder from your history the next month. It takes 5-10 minutes to order a month's supply. But give yourself 5 weeks every time. Getting caught without it because you thought you had time is no fun!

        • I'm sure she does, Ali. So much spam in the comments here--I can't keep up with deleting it all! But the companies that are choosing to spam all my blog posts about formula have taken themselves out of the running in terms of who I will ultimately recommend to my readers! My number one concern is any sort of sketchiness from these formula importers!

  • I hear you mamas! I went through the same frustration in the start with my now 6 1/2 month old. I was only able to breast feed for a month due to my MS. I had a relapse an my neurologist urged me to stop breast feeding and switch to formula.. Very difficult to settle with especially because she latched beautifully and I was producing a TON of milk. BUT what good was I to her if I wasn’t healthy and present to take care of her. The road to finding the “perfect” formula(NO SUCH THING) for your precious little one is not an easy one. The fact that you are researching what’s in your baby’s food is a HUGE plus. So give yourself some credit mamas. You can drive yourself into a knotted ball of stress reading the “risks” associated with consuming harmful ingredients in these formulas. How to get to an end result and find the “perfect” formula is solely based on your baby. You can find the IT formula and your baby’s itty bitty digestive system will still not agree with it. So BREATH moms.. They will survive and they will thrive on one formula or another! You are not a bad mom by choosing one evil over another. You are doing the best you can and the fact that you are on this website now reading/researching is all we can do is moms. Is try our best!

  • Well said, Antonia! And Elena--I know, it's really hard to dig into the research and not start to get freaked out. But keep in mind that the risk of any of the worst-case scenarios is extremely low, whether your baby is fed formula or not! If you read the safety studies of all of the ingredients in many things we eat, you could freak yourself out--even if you're just talking well-browned toast (contains carcinogens, and my kids live on toast). The idea is to be informed and make the best choice...and then let it go and not lose your mind over it. Easier said than done, I know.

  • Aww thanks to all of you wonderful Mamas, makes me feel better to have support and empathy. And you ladies are right. I usually am not such an alarmist or worrier, but for some reason this one is bugging me. I need to just relax about it all and realize I am doing my best. He does handle the Earth's Best so well and I guess it's better than conventional formula. I asked Honest to give me the casein / whey ratio and it seems high on the casein side just like Baby's Only. So....I just need to be ok with it all and be happy that he is so happy and healthy. Good luck to everyone and no matter the reason for needing to use formula, it's all ok and good. :)

  • The struggle to find a good formula is real :( i recently started the Honest Company formula and baby seems ok so far, but its still too early to tell. I wanted to start HiPP few weeks back, I was SO happy that i finally found a site that sold it here in the US but then read that the aluminum content is high since the packaging is made of aluminum and it seeps into the formula, any thoughts on that? for that reason I decided to start Honest instead. Wondering if i made the right choice.

  • I'm interested to know what you think of Bellamy's Organics sold in Australia. Thank you for this article, it's made the decision on formula much easier!

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Published by
Maia James
Tags: Baby Formula
7 years ago

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