A while ago, a client who dealt in baby and mother products sent us a sample for us to evaluate.
The client said, "This is a sample I made elsewhere. Please help me assess it. What are the differences between your products?"
After our engineers received the sample, they carefully examined it and found a problem that shouldn't exist in baby products - the edges were sharp and had a rough texture.
Let's talk about what we found.
This sample had a similar overall shape to our product, with some slight differences in shape, and the color was good. But the biggest problem: When you run your hand along the edges, you can clearly feel that the edges were not rounded.
If you use your fingers to drag across the edges, you can even feel a slight scratching sensation.
Our engineers said immediately, "This product, if used by babies, is risky."
Why is a sharp edge in baby products a "big problem"?
First, baby skin is much thinner than adult skin. The epidermis is very thin and the barrier function is not yet fully developed.
When touched by an adult, it feels only "a little rough". But for a baby, it might be a scratch.
During daily use, a baby's skin will frequently come into contact with the product edges. If the edges are not rounded, repeated friction at the same location can easily cause red marks and skin peeling.
Second, babies like to chew and bite.
During the oral drive period, babies put everything in their mouths. Mother and baby silicone products are always chewed by babies.
A product with sharp edges may cause injuries to the oral mucosa or gums when babies chew. Such injuries are often not noticed by parents immediately.
Third, babies' movements are uncontrollable.
Adults use things with care, but babies don't. Babies may pull hard, or poke around randomly. Unrounded edges make the product a safety hazard for babies.
Why does the problem of sharp edges occur?
Reason one: The mold processing is not up to standard.
The shape of the edges of silicone products is determined by the mold. If the parting surface of the mold is processed roughly, or the edges are not rounded enough, the product will be sharp.
Some factories, in order to save mold costs, use cheaper processing methods, and the mold accuracy is not sufficient, so the edges cannot be made well.
Reason two: The grinding process is cut corners.
After the silicone product is molded, it needs to go through the grinding process to clean up the joint lines, burrs, and flash.
Grinding is a "tiring and dirty" job - full of dust, boring, and time-consuming. Some factories, in order to meet production quotas quickly, rush through the grinding process and do not clean up the burrs and flash on the edges before shipping.
Hongxianda's approach
At Hongxianda, we regard baby and mother products as one of the highest-standard categories.
At the mold stage: The edges of all baby and mother products must be rounded enough, without sharp corners.
At the grinding stage: The grinding process for baby and mother products has an additional fine grinding step to ensure smooth edges.
At the quality inspection stage: Every batch of baby and mother products will be inspected by quality inspectors. Those that do not meet the standards will be directly rejected.
At the material stage: All baby and mother products use food-grade silicone, platinum sulfurization, and do not contain any harmful substances.
We often say: When making baby and mother products, what we are doing is not making products, but being honest.
Babies can't speak, but their skin "speaks". Whether the edges are scratchy or not, babies will know as soon as they use it.
If you are looking for a supplier of baby and mother silicone products, welcome to visit Hongxianda. You can hold the sample in your hand and slowly run your hand along the edges.