it might be the Sodium Laureth
Mustela Bebe Foam Shampoo is good, pricey but the bottle lasts a long time.

Have you tried the Aveeno baby wash? We like that for our little one :)

Mustela, California Baby and Burt's Bee's are all good.

I use Aquaphor Baby Wash on Daniel, who has very sensitive skin but he doesn't really have much hair. Nick still uses baby wash to wash his hair and it works fine.

I'd go to the dollar store and pick up what they have. The generic/cheaper brands sometimes have less perfumes and extras in them.

I second the baby wash idea too (if he doesn't have a problem with that). I think I used baby wash on my kids hair for quite a while.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have never heard of these other brands. We will give them a try. We do use Cetaphil as a wash, but I wanted a mild shampoo with the no more tears element.

I use the Aquaphor wash on Dan's face and head and it doesn't bother his eyes. It isn't like Cetaphil wash, which, if I'm not confusing it with something else, is creamy and not very foamy. The Aquaphor wash could definitely be used as just a baby shampoo and you can find it pretty easily. I can get it in my grocery store.

Also, the Aquaphor wash bottle does say that it's 'tear-free'.

Sheila,
Baby shampoos are not at all "mild" as we think. There is an additive to prevent tears.
I'm a hairdresser, years ago I attended a permanent wave class where we used baby shampoo in place of the wave solution, let it set overnight, neutralized it the next day. Viola! One of the tightest perms you could have imagined.
The outer layer of children's hair is different, slicker, tighter. Around the age of 12-13 it starts to change. Think of the outer layer of hair as fish scales, the older we become the "looser" or "lifted" from the hair shaft they become. That is why the older we are the less shiny our hair is...look at the shine of a childs hair...beautiful because that outer layer is slammed shut.
Lesson over :)
Baby shampoo can be very harsh.

Deborah, I know they are not mild. In fact, they are rather harsh, in part to fight cradle cap. Your usage for curl sure demonstrates that doubly so!!!

But I wanted the no more tears element mostly and it has been decades since I shopped for infant stuff and then only J&J had it. I would like to avoid regular shampoo and the stinging. He is a wiggly cutie.

Thanks for the info everyone. I shall go shopping with some alternatives.

You really want to avoid using 'no tears' shampoos on children. They include a mild anasthetic--which over time, can damage the child's ability to produce tears as needed. We're SUPPOSED to tear when something gets in our eyes--that's how our eyes protect themselve.

"no tears" shampoos maybe a convenience for adults who don't want to hear a lot of crying, but they're really not the best choice for the child's optical health

Some like the Avon Baby shampoo also.

The notion that baby shampoo puts an additive in it, that numbs the eyes is taken from one of those "send this to everybody" emails that circulate.

This urban myth is addressed on the Johnson & Johnson website under the FAQ section.

It says: "The assertion that chemicals are added that numb the baby's eyes is totally false. The reason JOHNSON´S® shampoo formulas do not irritate the eyes is the mildness of the formulation, which has undergone extensive clinical testing and has proven to be as gentle to the eyes as pure water."

Amphoteric surfactants are how the shampoos keep tears away. It is Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Potasium Laureth Sulfate that are the irritants and they are not put in baby shampoo or in the expensive adult 'salon shampoo'. Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Potasium Laureth Sulfate are always in the El Cheapo shampoos.

Here is an explanation I copied:

The active part of shampoo comes from a family of chemicals known as "surfactants". Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Potasium Laureth Sulfate are two of the most common. These handy little molecules have one end which is hydrophilic and another which is hydrophobic. The result is that one end grabs oil from the hair and then hitches on to the water for a short ride into the drain. The problem with suractants is that, when they get into the eyes, the keep doing their job. The tear film on the eye is mostly water with a bit of oil and it acts as a protective barrier. Surfactants pretty much remove this protection. It gets worse though, they do a fine job of stimulating nerves in the eye. This hurts.

No Tears shampoos also contain surfactants, but they piggyback a larger molecule on the surfactant to keep it from getting into the sensitive tissues in the eye. The substance is called and Amphoteric Surfactant. The molecule still holds the same oil/water binding properties, but it is too big to get through tissue etc. The result is... well... no more tears.

Here is a link that might be useful: J&J FAQ

The best Shampoo that I know is Hair Resource. It is made through the method of fermentation and all the ingredients are gain through that process. It is safe for new born babies as well for the adults. Irritation and redness are history, you can use their products on most allergic persons.
www.hairresourceus.com