Toxic Baby Soap and Shampoo

We've been talking about the nasty chemicals in baby's bath products here before. I've listed ingredients to avoid, ways to avoid parabens and phthalates. Now, the Environmental Working Group has released a report about the cancer causing chemicals present in many baby soaps and shampoos. Major brands such as Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo (how many of you grew up using this?) and Baby Magic lotion were found to contain toxic contaminants potentially harmful to babies and children.

According to the EWG:

"The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics commissioned an independent laboratory to test 48 products for 1,4-dioxane; 28 of those products were also tested for formaldehyde. The lab found that:

*17 out of 28 products tested – 61 percent – contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.

*23 out of 28 products – 82 percent – contained formaldehyde at levels ranging from
54 to 610 parts per million (ppm).

*32 out of 48 products – 67 percent – contained 1,4-dioxane at levels ranging from 0.27 to 35 ppm."

One of the most troubling things about this report is that these are not on the ingredients labels at all. According to the EWG, they are contaminants, not ingredients, so they are "exempt from labeling laws." Who thought that was a good idea? Who cares if it is an ingredient, or a contaminant? If it causes cancer, or any ill-health effect, it shouldn't be in there. Period.

So, sleepy parents, what can we do? Many of the ideas we talk about here on this blog regularly (use less products, buy natural, researched products, and avoid certain ingredients). The EWG adds:

"*Simplify: Select products with fewer ingredients and no synthetic fragrance or dyes, and use fewer products overall.

*Choose safety: Search EWG's cosmetic safety database, Skin Deep, to learn more about the products you use and find safer alternatives. Also check out EWG's Safety Guide to Children’s Personal Care Products.

*Read labels: Select products for baby and yourself that don't contain the ingredients listed above, which are commonly contaminated with formaldehyde or 1,4-dioxane.

*Take action! Can’t memorize these lists? Nobody can. If harmful contaminants and ingredients weren’t allowed in products, you wouldn’t have to. Tell Congress you want safe cosmetics for babies, adults and everyone in between."

Here's the ingredients the EWG said to avoid:

"Common ingredients likely to contaminate products with formaldehyde include quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea and diazolidinyl urea."

and

"Common ingredients likely to be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane include PEG-100 stearate, sodium laureth sulfate, polyethylene and ceteareth-20."

Here's the full product test results.

And according to the Washington Post, people are paying attention!

"Several Democratic lawmakers said the report is evidence that the nation's chemical regulation system needs to be changed.

"The fact that we are bathing our kids in products contaminated with carcinogens shows how woefully out of date our cosmetics laws are and how urgently they need to be updated," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.). "The science has moved forward; now the FDA needs to catch up and be given the authority to protect the health of Americans."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) called the findings "horrifying" and said she intends to introduce legislation that would require stronger oversight of the cosmetics industry."

Let's keep this momentum going! It's about time.