Adding a new ingredient to a baby shampoo isn’t typically a big deal. The babies certainly don’t care, and few parents will bat an eye. Except, Johnson’s baby shampoo has an unintended market in the window film industry.

Johnson’s added aloe and an extra vitamin to its baby shampoo in February. Since then, many tinters who use the shampoo in their slip solution have noticed a change in its performance.

Alex Kravchenko, owner of Protected by Alex in Front Royal, Virginia, recently had to restock his shampoo supply. He had seen many tinters’ posts about the change on industry Facebook groups, so he decided to make a post of his own asking if it was worth trying the new formula. Many commenters recommended alternatives, while others said they had no problems with the new formula.

Since Johnson’s baby shampoo now includes aloe, some tinters have started using generic alternatives.

The Ole’ Switcheroo

For Grant Lane, tinter at Bo & Mikes Detail in Nassau County, Florida, using Johnson’s baby shampoo is a bit of a family legacy.

“That’s what I, my father and grandfather have always used,” he says.

Lane says he didn’t know that the formula had changed at first.

“I did notice my slip solution had become much tackier,” he says. “I called a friend and mentor in the industry to see if he knew what was going on.”

The friend didn’t know either, Lane says, but the two of them worked together to figure out what caused the change. That’s when Lane learned Johnson’s had added aloe to the formula.

“I started looking up alternatives, and I found that the Dollar General and Walmart generic baby shampoo brands had pretty much the same ingredients as the original Johnson’s formula,” he says. “It worked, but I decided to try name-brand slip solutions too. I ended up liking Film-On better than baby shampoo.”

Business as Usual

Other commenters say the new formula works well for them. Stephen Shikles of Weathers Auto Supply Inc. says he didn’t know about the formula change until well after it happened.

“I could tell the solution was tackier than it had been, but I just chalked that up to the Mississippi humidity,” he says.

Lane says that adjusting the soap-to-water ratio made the solution less tacky, so he has continued to use the shampoo.

“It can go all week in the pump without any issues,” he says.

Making the Choice

The comments recommending a switch ultimately swayed Kravchenko’s decision, he says.

“Those people all have more experience than I, and I trust that they know what they’re talking about,” he says. “I took their advice and didn’t try to use the new formula.”

Instead, Kravchenko says he opted for one of the generic baby shampoo brands other commenters suggested.

“That works just fine for me,” he says.