The dangers that hide in children’s products

It seems there are some serious, and harmful, chemical “monsters” lurking in far too many children’s bath products, including the most common products we all used on our babies (and often continue to use) and most major brands are all offenders.

And the two scariest ingredients, you ask? They are 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde (doesn’t that one conjure up some horrible images?). Both are known carcinogens and are unbelievably harsh on the skin, especially for young children.

1,4-dioxane is common in personal care products as a foaming agent. Many times you won’t see it listed by this name among the ingredients on the product label, so avoid ingredients called sodium laureth sulfate, PEG-100 stearate, polythelene, myreth, oleth and ceteareth-20.

Formaldehyde comes into play when common preservatives (like parabens) used in bath products release formaldehyde but, of course, this won’t be on the list either. Instead, look for and avoid names like quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea and diazolidinyl urea.

Sometimes it can be absolutely mind boggling trying to find safe products. Sometimes I truly don’t know what to look for and what to avoid, because it seems we need a chemistry degree to have the ability to read between the lines, and I think manufacturers count on that.

I have heard good things about both Gaia and Weleda organic natural body products, as well as the line of Burt’s Bees (often much easier to find at a local retailer). My daughter is currently giving Organix South TheraNeem a try, including the kid’s shampoo and body wash and conditioner. As far as I can decipher (without a chemistry degree) they don’t contain any of these scary ingredients. I also find it fairly interesting that they seems to work wonderfully (and make you smell fabulously citrus-y) but they don’t foam up as much as the common brands and aren’t as thick, a likely effect of what happens when you remove some of the “bad stuff”.

I know it will take extra effort, but there are many skin care and body products available that are safer options. So instead of labouring over labels and trying (sometimes in vain) to decipher the ingredients, Environmental Working Group has released its 2010 list and ratings of over 500 products. So you can look-up the products you have been using to see how they rate. EWG has done most of the work for us, so the answers are just a few clicks away. Believe me, it’s much easier to find one on the “best” list and just know you have a good product to keep you safe from chemicals.

But whatever you do, don’t settle for the old “stand-bys” just because they are easy to find and an ad campaign and some slick marketer appealed to your emotional side to sell a product. Because things aren’t always as they seem.

Sharon Wilson is the manager/founder of Earth Scents handmade soaps and candles. Please send comments queries to earthscents@hotmail.com