Toxic Tubby Time

Its 7pm, your little one is in the tubby, do you know what is being absorbed into their skin?

Most people never think twice about the safety of their cosmetics, lotions and washes, thinking that they the consumer is somehow protected by the oversight of our wonderful Food & Drug Administration. Companies wouldn't knowingly put harmful chemicals in their products, would they? The government would stop that, wouldn't they? aaaahhh.....NOPE! Guess what, the FDA has ZERO, repeat ZERO control over what is sold to us the consumer. We are at the mercy of the goodness of the manufacturer. And we all know how good someone will be when they are trying to make a buck.

According to a new report out by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetic Use, covered by US News, the Washington Post, and WebMD, the boogers, spit up, dirt and gosh knows what else you are trying to wash off in the tub are probably the least of your worries. After testing many name brand cosmetics, such staples as J&J Body Wash and Lotion, among other brands, the CSCU has found that manufacturers are including two potentially harmful and carcinogenic chemicals in their products, formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane. This is in addition to mineral oil, parabens and sodium laurel sufates, found in almost every mainstream cosmetic.

A copy of the official report from CSCU is available here. According to the report, a whopping 61% of the items tested contain BOTH formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, and all were mainstream brands such as J&J, Aveeno, Huggies and Pampers. It isn't fully understood how skin absorbtion of chemicals relates to the cancer risk, but regarless, we shouldn't be playing a guessing game and just assuming that small doses of this junk is ok. What does assume mean? It makes an ASS of U and ME!

I never used these types of products on our son, I made the decision early on in my pregnancy that both he and I would only be exposed to natural, if not organic, bath and body products. I happen to love California Baby, available at Whole Foods and Target, but I also love just using natural nut oils from the grocery for moisturizers. I think its important in cases like this to play it safe and watch out for your family's best interest, because it's pretty obvious the government is not.