To any organic minded parent, choosing safe body care products for your baby should be as essential as organic foods. Those sweet smelling bath care products for your babies may contain some very nasty chemicals, from skin irritants to more serious chemicals that have been link to hormone disruption, even cancer. These toxins are especially unhealthy for kids as their thinner skin (till age 20) leaves them more susceptible to these toxins.
Don’t Trust “Gentle” or “Natural” Labeling
The biggest part of the issue stems from the FDA, suprise suprise, not having any saftey requirements for body care ingredients. Cosmetic businesses are able to use any marketing claim (besides USDA Organic) without any need for proof. A study by the (EWG) Environmental Working Group released in 07 shows that, typically, children are exposed to over 60 chemicals a day from personal care products. Out of those, 27 have not been check by the government for health or safety. Another study by the EWG shows that over 35% of products labeled natural had a medley of artificial preservatives, and almost 80% contained ingredients linked to allergies and skin irritation.
What to do? Go Organic
Find baby products that have the USDA organic seal and don’t contain the chemicals with the “eth” suffix (such as sodium laureth sulfate), a red flag for 1,4-dioxane (a chemical linked to cancer). And in general, look for organic baby products that are fragrance free as these are less likley to contain allergens.
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