New Concerns Raised About Chemical in Leading Baby Shampoo

If you've been following our posts about the toxic substances contained in many popular skin and hair care products, then you also know about the efforts made by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics to create public awareness and to push for stricter laws and regulations in the cosmetics industry. Their latest update is on a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of the Dermatology Nurses’ Association. The article raised concerns that a chemical preservative used in America’s leading baby shampoo may be causing increased rates of allergic contact dermatitis and mild to open sore skin irritations.

Here's more from the CFSC latest update:

"The paper states that quaternium 15, a chemical preservative that kills bacteria by releasing formaldehyde, “is the most sensitizing formaldehyde-releasing preservative and has been repeatedly shown to be a strong allergen that can cause contact dermatitis.” Quaternium 15 -- found in many baby products including Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, Mr. Bubble Bath and Huggies Baby Wash -- is considered by the North American Contact Dermatitis Group to be among the most clinically significant contact allergens in children.

“Quaternium 15 is present in an alarmingly high number of baby products, making exposure and sensitization at an early age increasingly common,” said Sharon Jacob, M.D., co-author of the paper and physician at the Department of Medicine and Pediatrics at Rady Children’s Hospital. “This is a concern because repeated exposures to sensitizing chemicals, especially in early life, can cause a person to develop allergic reactions over time. Therefore, we advise parents to choose products without quaternium 15 and other formaldehyde-releasing preservatives whenever possible.”

According to Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database of cosmetic safety (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com), more than 600 products contain quaternium 15, many of them baby products labeled “extra gentle” and “for extra sensitive skin.” Johnson & Johnson and Cover Girl make the highest number of products in the database containing the chemical.

An estimated 72.9 million adults in the United States suffer from allergic contact dermatitis, and most are never properly diagnosed, according to the cover article in the July 2009 Skin & Aging magazine, co-authored by Dr. Jacob. The authors conclude that proper diagnosis and avoidance of sensitizing chemicals could help patients avoid a lifetime of contact dermatitis.

The papers come on the heels of a March 2009 report by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, No More Toxic Tub: Getting Contaminants Out of Children's Bath & Personal Care Products, which revealed that dozens of top-selling children’s bath products, including Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, were contaminated with the carcinogens formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.

In the wake of the March report, thousands of stores in China pulled Johnson’s baby products off shelves and several class-action lawsuits were filed against the company. New York Senator Kristen Gillibrand introduced a bill in Congress that would require FDA to limit contaminants in baby bath products.

In August, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the American Nurses Association met with top executives from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ: NYSE) to ask the company to remove hazardous chemicals from its popular children’s products.

“The meeting was a positive step, and we’re optimistic that a productive dialogue will continue,” said Lisa Archer, national coordinator of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics from the Breast Cancer Fund. “We urge Johnson & Johnson to show its leadership by reformulating its baby products to remove quaternium 15 and other chemicals of concern. Many companies are already making products without these hazardous ingredients.”

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Founding members of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics include Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, Breast Cancer Fund, Clean Water Fund, Commonweal, Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth, Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, National Black Environmental Justice Network, National Environmental Trust and Women's Voices for the Earth. www.SafeCosmetics.org"
 

Guest Blogger: Mary Kearns, PhD The Importance of Natural and Organic Baby Care

Mary Kearns, PhD has spent the last 15 years helping to support wellness in people of all ages. As a developmental psychologist, she has studied the environmental, psychological and emotional influences that contribute to healthy development across the lifespan. She is the owner of Herban Lifestyle, LLC, a handcrafted herbal bath and body product business, and also works as a consultant facilitating the scientific review of cancer-prevention programs. Her company, Herban Lifestyle carries high-quality natural and organic bath and body products for adults, and also offers a line of truly natural baby products, made from organic and natural ingredients (http://herbanlifestyle.com/baby.html).


The Importance of Natural and Organic Baby Care
by Guest Blogger Mary Kearns, PhD

In February 2008, an article in Pediatrics (the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics) warned about the dangers of phthalates in common baby care products. Several studies that the article’s authors had reviewed indicated that, within 24 hours of use, the chemical was measurable in infants’ urine. This is of concern, because of the potential toxic effects to their developing endocrine and reproductive systems. While no studies have definitely shown phthalates to be harmful to infants, they have been found to adversely affect human male reproductive function, and children’s developing systems are usually much more susceptible to most environmental influences than adults.

Because of this, it is always good to consider the safety of body care product ingredients, but it is especially as when choosing the right products for your baby. With a baby’s delicate skin, the word “gentle” appeals to many parents, but the process used to make common chemical ingredients more “gentle” in fact often produces a byproduct that is a known carcinogen. This byproduct, called 1,4-dioxane, is banned from cosmetics and body products in the European Union, and though not considered cause for concern in small amounts, it is present in an alarming number of baby products meant for daily use. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (http://www.safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=414) found detectible amounts in 32 out of 48 products they tested earlier this year. To avoid 1,4-dioxane, the Organic Consumers Association recommends steering away from ingredients containing the following in their names: "myreth," "oleth," "laureth," "ceteareth," any other "eth," "PEG," "polyethylene," "polyethylene glycol," "polyoxyethylene," or "oxynol," in ingredient names (http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/DioxaneAlert080314.pdf)

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics additionally tested the baby products for the presence of Formaldehyde (http://www.safecosmetics.org/downloads/NoMoreToxicTub_Mar09Report.pdf), which is released by some common preservatives like Quaternium-15 when they are stored in a container over time. Formaldehyde is a suspected carcinogen, which can be absorbed through the skin, and causes skin reactions in some individuals. They found Formaldehyde in 23 out of 28 baby products they tested. And 17 out of 28 were found to have both Formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.

Besides 1,4-dioxane and Formaldehyde, there are over 2000 ingredients that are banned in the EU, yet considered safe in the US. For example, phenoxyethanol is considered “safe” in the US, yet is restricted in Japan and considered harmful in the EU (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=704811). This is because the FDA does not feel that there is sufficient scientific evidence that these ingredients are harmful to humans.

All of this information may leave you feeling somewhat overwhelmed; after all, if these ingredients are present in almost all of the products you normally buy, how can you avoid exposing your baby – and yourself – to these potentially dangerous ingredients? One excellent resource is the Environmental Working Group’s “Parent’s Buying Guide,” (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/parentsguide/) which rates the safety level of products based on the European Union’s cosmetics standards and other published safety data. The database contains thousands of entries, and can help parents pick safe and natural products for themselves, too.

Two easy ways to determine which products are safe for your baby are: 1) you recognize all of the ingredients on the label, and would be willing to handle and store them in your own home!; 2) the label indicates that the product is 100% organic, and lists the certifying agency. Choosing 100% organic provides you with the highest level of safety and assurance that there is nothing harmful in the products.

However, if you are still having trouble choosing products, or you’re worried about price, one option might be to just make it yourself! Here are two simple recipes for natural baby products you can easily make in your own kitchen.

Check out her Oatmeal Baby Bath recipe

Check out her Recipe for Homemade Baby Wipes

Reports show Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo can contain cancer causing substances

Reports and most content by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

Who could have suspected that claims of "gentle" and "pure" products for babies were deceiving?
Millions of us grew up using J&J baby shampoo and now we even use it for our own children, but recent studies conducted by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics have shown alarming results on a March 2009 report: "dozens of top-selling children’s bath products are contaminated with the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane"

What the study found:

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics commissioned an independent laboratory to test 48 products for 1,4-dioxane; 28 of those products were also tested for formaldehyde. The lab found that:

• 17 out of 28 products tested – 61 percent – contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.
• 23 out of 28 products – 82 percent – contained formaldehyde at levels ranging from 54 to 610 parts per million (ppm).
• 32 out of 48 products – 67 percent – contained 1,4-dioxane at levels ranging from 0.27 to 35 ppm.

Why we should be concerned:

"While a single product might not be cause for concern, the reality is that babies may be exposed to several products at bath time, several times a week, in addition to other chemical exposures in the home and environment. Those small exposures add up and may contribute to later-life disease.

Formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane are known carcinogens; formaldehyde can also trigger skin rashes in some children. Unlike many other countries, the U.S. government does not limit formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane, or most other hazardous substances in personal care products."

Even though formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane are not added during the manufacturing of toiletry products and are not listed as ingredients on the product labels, these two cancer causing substances can emerge over time as other ingredients age and start breaking down.These chemicals "are not disclosed on product labels because they're contaminants, not ingredients, and therefore are exempt from labeling laws."

"Formaldehyde contaminates personal care products when common preservatives release formaldehyde over time in the container. Common ingredients likely to contaminate products with formaldehyde include quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea and diazolidinyl urea.
1,4-dioxane is a byproduct of a chemical processing technique called ethoxylation, in which cosmetic ingredients are processed with ethylene oxide. Manufacturers can easily remove the toxic byproduct, but are not required by law to do so. Common ingredients likely to be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane include PEG-100 stearate, sodium laureth sulfate, polyethylene and ceteareth-20."

Japan is one country that has prohibited the use of chemicals that can breakdown with time and produce formaldehyde in products.

What You Can Do

Contrary to industry statements, there are no regulatory standards that limit formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane or most other toxic chemicals in personal care products sold in the United States. There are signs the U.S. is gearing to catch up, but for now it's up to consumers to consider carefully before they buy. Here's some suggestions for safeguarding your family's health:

• Simplify: Select products with fewer ingredients and no synthetic fragrance or dyes, and use fewer products overall.
• Choose safety: Search EWG's cosmetic safety database, Skin Deep, to learn more about the products you use and find safer alternatives. Also check out EWG's Safety Guide to Children’s Personal Care Products.
• Read labels: Select products for baby and yourself that don't contain the ingredients listed above, which are commonly contaminated with formaldehyde or 1,4-dioxane.
• Tell manufacturers that safety is important to you: Use this link to write to Johnson & Johnson about their product, Johnson's Baby Shampoo.
  
• Take action! Can’t memorize these lists? Nobody can. If harmful contaminants and ingredients weren’t allowed in products, you wouldn’t have to. Tell Congress you want safe cosmetics for babies, adults and everyone in between.
• Spread the word: Send an e-card letting friends and family know about this report.

Status Update

Led by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, 44 organizations representing 1.7 million moms, nurses, doctors and other people concerned about our environment and our health signed on to a May letter to J&J, in which we asked the company to make safe products and meet with us. Read the letter and list of signers.

On April 29, 2009, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced the Safe Baby Products Act, which directs the Food and Drug Administration to investigate and regulate hazardous contaminants in personal care products marketed to or used by children. She introduced the bill in response to the "Toxic Tub" report.

Though the U.S. FDA has yet to respond to our test results, retailers and governments in Asia have taken action. Immediately following our report release, a major supermarket in China pulled Johnson & Johnson products from the shelves amid concerns that the products are contaminated with carcinogens. Both the Vietnamese Drug Administration and the Chinese government responded by testing products immediately. Though China later declared J&J products safe, it tested products made in China, not those for the U.S. market. Manufacturers can use different ingredients for different markets, which may be the case here. Because we don't have the full report from China, we have no way of knowing which products the Chinese government tested or what they found.

Here in the United States, tests found two carcinogenic contaminants in Johnson's Baby Shampoo. Other companies are making products without 1,4-dioxane or formaldehyde, and we ask that J&J remove these unnecessary toxins, too.