The school year has two enemies. We shrink both.

Two things collide in late summer. Ragweed pollen peaks in August and stays high into October across most of the country — right as classrooms fill up. At the same time, twenty-odd kids come back from twenty-odd different summers and share a room for seven hours a day.

What helps: Thievery is our take on the classic four-thieves blend — clove, cinnamon, lemon, eucalyptus and rosemary — in a squalane roll-on that lives in a pocket, and in a hand spray that lives in a backpack. AllerEase is built for the other half of the problem, blending peppermint, lemon and lavender for the stretch when everything is blooming at once.

What also helps, honestly: a soap a kid will actually use. Handwashing is the single most effective thing in the building, and a dinosaur in a bar of soap gets a six-year-old to the sink faster than any reminder will.

Back-to-school shopping doesn't have to be boring. Add some Rinse goodies to the list — natural soaps and fun bath products that keep kids clean and healthy without the harsh chemicals found in commercial brands. Our products are handmade, naturally derived, and designed to make hygiene something kids look forward to instead of avoid.