The Importance Chemical Free Baby Shampoo
The advertising world may have to change their “safe” and “gentle” slogans about baby products from now on.
Why?
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is an advocacy group consisting of non-profit health and environmental groups that are collaborating to put an end to harmful cancer-causing chemicals used in baby shampoo, baby wash and other cosmetic products. They recently published one of their findings: more than half of baby care products contained chemicals believed to be common causes of cancer.
Test Results
According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, they had commissioned a study to test children’s hair care and bath products and discovered that they contained amounts of cancer-causing chemicals; specifically, formaldehyde and dioxane. Some of these products are made by some of the leading multinational companies. The findings were that the products which were tested contained either 1,4 dioxane or formaldehyde, or both.
The study evaluated 48 baby bath products (e.g. bubble bath and shampoo) and of that number, 32 contained one of the chemicals while 17 contained both.
Please note that EarthTurns.com has ensured that all health and cosmetic products it sells are 100% safe and natural because no chemicals were included in their formulation.
To clarify, note that formaldehyde and dioxane are classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as potential carcinogens. These chemicals are not added to the products on purpose and hence are not listed on the product label. Rather, these carcinogens are produced as a result of the manufacturing process – they are by-products. For instance, in the case of formaldehyde, it comes about when the other chemicals break down over time; 1,4 dioxane on the other hand is produced from the combination of foaming agents with ethylene oxide or other petrochemicals.
Should Advertising Carry a Warning?
Advertisements about baby products and health care products traditionally highlight the “soft,” “pure” and “safe” qualities of these products so it is only logical that consumers put blind trust on what they’re buying for their children. But it looks like The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics just sounded off a wake-up call.
Think long and hard about ingredients in the baby products and health care products you buy on a regular basis. Soft and gentle may be more like “unsafe and harmful.”
Two top brands of baby shampoo and baby wash were among those evaluated by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and were two of the 17 products that were found to contain both formaldehyde and dioxane.
As stated earlier, these chemicals don’t figure on product ingredient labels, the argument being that they are not intentionally added to the formulation. These chemicals however are formed once the products go through the manufacturing process.
The attitude is therefore one of “shrug it off” since some argue that amounts of these carcinogens are highly negligible and therefore can’t possibly cause direct harm.
There is no ambivalence about the products sold by EarthTurns.com. Careful inspection of baby products like shampoo and conditioners and skin lubricants as well as household cleaners indicate that its products’ ingredients are 100% natural – only botanicals and other plant extracts are used – so the chances of having any chemical introduced into the formulation – harmful or not – are ZERO.
It’s so important to use chemical free baby shampoo and chemical free shampoo for your family.
Other Countries Take Definite Steps
While the US is still deciding on the issue, countries like Japan and Sweden have banned formaldehyde from personal care products outright. The European Union has outlawed 1,4-dioxane. A product recall was initiated.
It is unfortunate that the United States has not yet taken a firm stance against the use of these chemicals because every day, children are exposed to them and parents may not even be aware that this is happening.
Did you know that about 61 chemicals are present in baby and health products, exposing children and even adults unnecessarily? Of these 61 chemicals, 27 were discovered to be UNSAFE for kids. A statement issued by the Environmental Group (EWG) said: “77% of the ingredients in 1,700 children’s products have never been assessed for safety.”
Two factors support EWG’s statement:
- The exposure of children to chemicals from baby and other personal products include allergens and chemicals that could disrupt the hormonal balance and generate other toxins. This exposure does not yet include those chemicals found in products that have not been evaluated from a health perspective. About 75% of children are exposed to these harmful substances;
- A blatant contradiction between the actual products and marketing claims exists. Even products that say “unscented” or “natural” on the label have to be taken with a grain of salt. Because these products are manufactured artificially, preservatives and other enhancing agents like dyes are often added.
Perhaps it’s time to include the warning “keep out of reach of children” on children’s products!
If you routinely wash your baby’s hair with shampoo, bathe him and apply lotion on his skin every single day, think of the chemicals that this young, tender and vulnerable body is exposed to.
Adults Maybe, Babies… No!
As adults we are aware that the personal care products we buy may contain certain ingredients that are not safe over the long term. Out of habit, however, we continue to buy them and cross our fingers that nothing serious will happen to our bodies. If our grandmothers and mothers used the same products, why shouldn’t we use the same products? Household names and habits are hard to break. Instead, visit our personal care products section to buy chemical free products.
But as far as our children are concerned, now that’s a different story. We would be rightfully concerned and extremely curious about what those baby products contain.
Because children are especially vulnerable, we should be more vigilant about baby products. Perhaps we’ve learned to be more tolerant of ingredients in the products we use, but our conscience would dictate that we should have zero tolerance for these ingredients when it comes to our babies. A baby’s skin – to illustrate – is 30% more sensitive than an adult’s skin. Also, the barriers that prevent harmful chemicals from seeping into the brain are not fully developed until a baby reaches six months. Before that age, therefore, children are helpless.
EarthTurns.com is sensitive to this fact. It ensures that its products do not endanger the public’s health. It has deliberately selected baby products, adult personal care products and household cleaning products developed strictly from plants or plant extracts. EarthTurns.com has chosen the “made in the USA” criteria as a major factor for the sake of product integrity and authenticity and because it wants to stand behind its products.
Some of our chemical free products include:
- Chemical Free Shampoo
- Chemical Free Conditioner
- Chemical Free Face Wash
- Natural Sunscreen
- Chemical Free Moisturizer
- Chemical Free Cleaning Products
Should the Government Get Involved?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the most logical governmental body that should oversee the manufacture of personal care products. At present, however, it does not exercise this type of authority. Neither does it impose safety tests.
In place of strict legislation, a group called the Cosmetic Ingredient Review evaluates cosmetic safety. Ironically, this organization is funded by the cosmetic industry and it still has to review a significant number of products that are already being actively marketed.
Since we’re on our own for the time being, what can we do?
Buy baby products and other personal care products from EarthTurns.com, since we assure that our products are formulated from all natural ingredients prior to selling them online.
In addition to formaldehyde and dioxane, be on the lookout for the following substances that can potentially result from formaldehyde activity:
- Quaternium-15
- DMDM hydantoin
- Imidazolidinyl urea
- Diazolidinyl urea
As for 1,4 dioxane by-products, be alert to these ingredients:
- PEG-100 stearate
- Sodium laureth sulfate
- Polyethylene
- Ceteareth-20
Please note: none of the products sold by EarthTurns.com contains the above chemicals. Visit our Personal Care and Household sections to find the chemical free products for you and your family. Your baby doesn’t have a choice, but you do. Please only use natural, chemical free baby shampoo and chemical free baby wash on your child.