LOS ANGELES -- After you give your baby a bath, the fragrance of the baby product may smell beautiful after you apply it on your baby’s skin. However as you wash their hair, get them all lathered up with soap, and then afterwards, apply a copious amount of lotion and baby oil to their skin, you could very well be exposing your baby to toxic chemicals. Studies have shown that these chemicals are linked to cancer, autism, learning disabilities, infertility, allergic reactions and skin irritation, as well as other health complications.
Take Johnson’s baby shampoo. The product description states “as gentle to the eyes as pure water,” yet it isn’t as mild as you’re led to believe. In 2009, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found two chemicals in the shampoo that are linked to cancer: 1, 4-dioxane, which is added to create suds, and quaternium 15, a preservative that kills bacteria by releasing formaldehyde. Most recently, Johnson Baby powder has been scrutinized regarding their baby powder causing cancer to 10,000 women, due to Johnson and Johnson caution people to avoid the powder coming in contact with their eyes and to avoid inhalation. There’s nothing about talc particle’s ability to stay on the skin for years and travel to your ovaries. Nor does it state anywhere on the bottle that talc causes inflammation and the perfect environment to grow cancer cells. Yet, the big corporation admitted to being aware of the dangers of their baby powder as outlined in the 1982 study. And decided they didn’t need to warn their loyal customers of the dangerous side effects of using their line of baby powder products. Most importantly, using baby powder on your baby is probably worse than using it on yourself. The American Academy of Pediatrics has warned parents against using baby powder specifically with talc. This mineral easily becomes airborne and can be inhaled by infants, causing their mucous membranes to dry up. This effects breathing and can lead to wheezing in babies. Some reported cases of pneumonia in infants have also been traced back to the use of baby powder, but you’d never see that on the warning label.
The medical community and environmental health advocates concerns are phthalates. These are a group of chemicals known as endocrine disruptors, phthalates affect the body’s hormonal system and can cause harm at critical times of development like during infancy and puberty. Babies are especially vulnerable. According to a study published in the journal Pediatrics, 81% of babies were found to have high levels of phthalates in their systems after using shampoo, lotion and powder. And the more products they were exposed to, the higher the levels.
Another group of chemicals that are commonly added to products are parabens. Parabens are preservatives, added to many water-based products to prevent bacteria from growing. And like phthalates, they are hormone disruptors; they mimic estrogen in the body and have been linked to breast cancer and reproductive problems.
What you can do?
The best way to avoid exposure is to buy all natural, USDA approved organic products. If a product uses a non- phthalate fragrance, the label may state where the fragrance was derived from, like from an essential oil, for example. Avoid products that contain quaternium 15, or words with the letters PEG at the beginning or ETH at the end. Use a diaper cream that doesn’t contain micronized zinc oxide and use mineral-based sunscreens without nanoparticles, also known as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. There is a new baby skin care line called MOMiN. MOMiN is 100% natural; USDA approved organic baby skin care products. MOMiN is GMO free, the packaging is recyclable, and it is made in the USA. “MOMiN is not only great for humans, but it is also great for the planet,” stated Frank Wilson. For more information on MOMiN visit: www.mysmilebaby.com
Contact
Frank Wilson
