Baby lotion chemicals - am i being paranoid?

"Jamie Clark" wrote in message
...
There are chemicals everywhere. Even natural or organic products have
chemicals in them. Johnson & Johnson has been making and selling baby
lotion for a long long long time. Generations of families have used it.
I would think that if it wasn't safe, that it would have been noticed by
now.

She asked a question, and I gave her MY answer. Yes, I think she is being
paranoid.
--


I'm not really entering the debate as such, but talc is still for sale. One
of my midwives that came on the home visit told me I shouldn't use it as it
was linked with respiritatory probs such as asthma (from the particles
flying about and cervical cancer (paticles "going up"). It wasn't the reason
I stopped using it, but it did make me wonder what else was on sale that
could be deemed as hazardous to babies.

Lucy

wrote in message
...
On Nov 15, 8:08 am, "Linda" wrote:

apparantly Johnsons No More Tears Baby Shampoo doesn't
"not hurt" eyes, it just anesthetizes the eyes so they don't feel the
sting
of the soap that is still going straight over their eyes.

It doesn't anesthetize them. If you touch your cornea at the same
time, you'll still feel it. There ARE nonionic surfactants with
detergent properties that DO anesthetize mucous membranes such as the
cornea, but those aren't in baby shampoos. (They're in spermicide and
various detergent products.) The nonionic surfactants in baby
shampoos do, however, counteract the sting of the other ingredients
without actually numbing the eyes as they would be from an opthalmic
exam with anesthetic.

That wasn't good
enough for me so I went and found a different product which is just
gentle
and doesn't sting to begin with.

What product is that, and what are its ingredients?

Robert

Hi Robert - I'm sorry I should never have said it as a definite statement as
I don't know all the innante details. What I should have said is that there
is enough controversary around it, and that because it's easy to find other
solutions I wouldn't risk it.
I use Gaia Natural Baby, I'll check the ingredients for you if you're
interested and let you know (I can't right now)

On Nov 16, 1:52 pm, "Lucy-lu" wrote:
"Jamie Clark" wrote in message

...

There are chemicals everywhere. Even natural or organic products have
chemicals in them. Johnson & Johnson has been making and selling baby
lotion for a long long long time. Generations of families have used it.
I would think that if it wasn't safe, that it would have been noticed by
now.

She asked a question, and I gave her MY answer. Yes, I think she is being
paranoid.
--

I'm not really entering the debate as such, but talc is still for sale. One
of my midwives that came on the home visit told me I shouldn't use it as it
was linked with respiritatory probs such as asthma (from the particles
flying about and cervical cancer (paticles "going up"). It wasn't the reason
I stopped using it, but it did make me wonder what else was on sale that
could be deemed as hazardous to babies.

Lucy

And witness all the cold medicines for infants being recalled after
decades of use because they had never been studied in babies or
children in the first place. Probably some of the medications will
eventually end up back on the shelves once some good data comes out,
but some won't.

As for the original question, yes, I think you're being paranoid. But
even from a traditional western medicine dermatology perspective, a
lot of Johnson's products aren't the most baby-friendly out there.
Most pediatricians and pediatric dermatologists recommend the
fragrance-free, sensitive skin versions of grownup skincare products
for babies. Dove fragrance free sensitive skin bar for soap, a nice
bland fragrance free moisturizer (vaseline, aquaphor, eucerin, aveeno,
lubriderm), and any brand of fragrance-free laundry detergent. And
you don't pay premium "baby" prices for them. One dermatologist I
worked with recommended using Crisco (if it goes from their hands into
their mouths, no biggie!). I'm skeptical of some of the "natural"
lines of baby products as they have lots of different and sometimes
potentially irritating ingredients in them.

Kate, ignorant foot soldier of the medical cartel
and the Bug, 4 years old
and something brewing, 4/08

On Nov 16, 11:38 pm, "Linda" wrote:

That wasn't good
enough for me so I went and found a different product which is just
gentle
and doesn't sting to begin with.

I use Gaia Natural Baby, I'll check the ingredients for you if you're
interested and let you know (I can't right now)

I am, thanks. I have a patent on a mixture such that it you use it as
bath foam, the foam doesn't sting eyes. However, if you shampoo or
wash your face with it, even it will sting eyes somewhat. Pretty much
the same can be said of the better baby shampoos if you took the anti-
sting ingredients out; they'd still be mild, but not zero eye sting.
So I'm very interested to learn of a shampoo whose surfactants
intrinsically don't sting eyes without the addition of the anti-sting
ethoxylates.

Robert

wrote in message
...
On Nov 16, 11:38 pm, "Linda" wrote:

That wasn't good
enough for me so I went and found a different product which is just
gentle
and doesn't sting to begin with.

I use Gaia Natural Baby, I'll check the ingredients for you if you're
interested and let you know (I can't right now)

I am, thanks. I have a patent on a mixture such that it you use it as
bath foam, the foam doesn't sting eyes. However, if you shampoo or
wash your face with it, even it will sting eyes somewhat. Pretty much
the same can be said of the better baby shampoos if you took the anti-
sting ingredients out; they'd still be mild, but not zero eye sting.
So I'm very interested to learn of a shampoo whose surfactants
intrinsically don't sting eyes without the addition of the anti-sting
ethoxylates.

Robert

Thats very interesting - good luck with it. To be fair - I use Gaia Natural
Baby Bath and Body Wash - they do have a shampoo available as well but I
have found this cleans my daughters hair quite fine and does the rest of her
too so this does us now at any rate. We obviously don't purposely put it in
her eyes, but she doesn't object when she her hair and face is washed and is
rinsed and it runs over her eyes etc

From the Back of the Bottle -

Gaia Natural Baby is free from sulphates, petrochemicals, artificial
fragarance, mineral oils, parabens, propylene glycol and animal ingredients.
Only the finest natural and organic ingreidents are selected to bring you
this beautiful range of gentle and effective products to care for your
precious little one's skin. All ingredients are derived from natural
sources:demineralised water, disodium cocoamphodiacetate (coconut), decyl
polyglucoside (sugar), cocoamidlpropyl betaine (coconut), vegetable
glycerine, almond glycerides, lactic acid, certified organic chamolile
extract, certified organic avacado oil, certified organic evening primrose
oil, sodium hydrocy methyl glycinate (plant protein), pure essential oils of
certified organic lavender, certified organic sweet orange, certified
organic chamomile, limonene and linalool.

There's probably stacks of spelling mistakes in there but hopefully it gives
you what you need. I really like the stuff and so does my DD.

I don't think you're being paranoid at all. I've been learning more
and more about these kinds of issues, and have found some interesting
things. There actually are a lot of chemicals in products out there
that can cause a variety of issues. Many products, even stuff made
for babies, can have formaldehyde in them. Formaldehyde is a known
cancer-causing agent. Unfortunately, most manufacturers use the
cheapest ingredients (in order to make a profit) and don't care that
much about the safety of the products. I have become a customer of a
company that does care about wellness and having safer products for
you and your family. If you're interested, feel free to contact me.
There are some great kids products and some good lotion that would be
perfect for your kiddo.

~Esther

www.littlefield.advancingwithus.com

On Nov 18, 9:10 pm, wrote:

Many products, even stuff made
for babies, can have formaldehyde in them.

That's the purpose of the sodium hydroxymethylglycinate in Linda's
Gaia Baby Bath/Wash -- a formaldehyde donor.

Formaldehyde is a known
cancer-causing agent.

I did an extensive reivew on formaldehyde's safety when I was with
National Medical Care, Inc., and the only evidence of its causing
cancer in humans is about a doubling of the incidence of the rare
brain cancer, astrocytoma, in pathologists, undertakers, etc. exposed
to high levels of it occupationally. I think it's pretty safe in the
amounts used as preservative, although some people have an allergic
reaction to it at concentrations maybe tenfold lower than bother most
people.

Unfortunately, most manufacturers use the
cheapest ingredients (in order to make a profit) and don't care that
much about the safety of the products.

Do you have evidence that other preservatives that would be as
effective are safer than formaldehyde donors?

Robert