Baby soap and lotion. What are you actually putting on your child?
The new article circulating social media is, “Johnson & Johnson finally admits that their baby products cause cancer”, or something along those lines. How scary! I remember during my baby shower I was gifted many different types of baby soaps and lotions, Johnson & Johnson being among them. So, what exactly is in those baby products that are so bad? Well, first we can find formaldehyde. Studies suggest it may cause cancer—and it is in our baby’s shampoo?! What? The chemical is commonly used as an embalming agent when preparing a corpse for burial. What is it doing in consumer-use products? The "why" is unclear but the "how" is quaternium-15. This ingredient releases formaldehyde, which is known to cause skin, eye and respiratory irritation. It has also been tied to leukemia. As bad as that is, there’s more. 1,4- dioxane is also part of the mix and it too has carcinogenic properties. This is a brain toxin that can cause damage to the central nervous system, liver and kidneys. You’d think with this knowledge out there, Johnson & Johnson would fix this, or take these products off the market. But nothing is happening.
With all this new information, people are turning to healthier options, or so they think, like Aveeno. They claim to be “all natural” but Aveeno is owned by Johnson & Johnson, so how can we trust their products when Johnson & Johnson’s products are known to cause cancer? In my opinion, we can’t. One of the first ingredients in Aveeno’s baby soap is Cocamidopropyl Betaine (CAPB). It is used as a surfactant, thickener, and/or foaming agent in shampoos and bubble baths. It’s also used in conditioners because it creates anti-static properties. You’ll find this chemical in many of “SLS-free” products or “tear-free” baby products. CAPB is not supposed to irritate mucous membranes or cause skin irritation like a stronger detergent would. The unfortunate truth is, it still does. CAPB is frequently found to be contaminated with dimethylaminopropylamine, amidoamine, or sodium monochloroacetate. These groups of chemicals can react with other substances in your products to form another dangerous class of chemicals called nitrosamines, most of which are carcinogenic. Another big ingredient found in Aveeno, is Sodium Laureth Sulfate. Did you know this stuff is toxic to fish and other aquatic animals? It has the potential for bioaccumulation (meaning it accumulates in the bodies of the fish.) It also is undetected in many municipal water filters, getting into the tap water that you drink. It’s also commonly used to kill plants and insects. Makers of SLS recently petitioned to have SLS listed as an approved pesticide for organic farming. The application was denied because of it’s polluting properties and environmental damage. And this is in the soap we put on our children? Toxic Sodium Oxides and Sulfur Oxides are released when SLS is heated. Makes a hot shower with an SLS shampoo seem not quite as nice.
Johnson & Johnson products, and anything owned by them are completely out of the question. So, what else is out there? Some say Burt’s Bees. While Burt's Bees started out strong, once they started getting success they (like so many natural companies) shifted their focus away from the quality of their products, putting more attention on increasing profits and turning their company into a large corporation. Many people aren't aware of this, but back in 2007 Clorox officially bought out and took over Burt's Bees. I don't know about you, but I definitely don't associate Clorox bleach with natural lip and skin care. In fact, I can't really think of many products less natural or worse on your skin than bleach, but that's just my personal opinion. The same thing happened with Tom’s of Maine products. Which really broke my heart, because that’s what I used to use. The company used to be owned by a husband and wife team interested in providing natural products to consumers, but now it has been bought out by Colgate-Palmolive – another company with no regard for public health. It’s truly sad that companies sell out, companies that we thought were safe.
Are you overwhelmed? Possibly frightened, because you are using one of these products on your child? That’s how I felt. It’ll be okay! I’m here to share with you (in my opinion) the best of the best when it comes to safe, 100% natural products for your children. Young Living has an entire line of products for kids! Soap, lotion, toothpaste, vitamins, oils that are geared to help them grow and thrive. It’s truly amazing! Luna is not even a year old yet, so we’ve only used their soap, lotion, and oils. The line is called KidScents, and everything i’ve tried so far has been amazing.
KidScents Bath Gel is a safe and gentle formula with a neutral pH balance perfect for young skin. It contains MSM ( a natural form of sulfur that promotes healthy skin) aloe vera, a mix of antioxidant vitamins and botanicals, and pure Lemon and Cedarwood essential oils. KidScents bath gel contains no mineral oils, synthetic perfumes, artificial colorings, or toxic ingredients.
KidScents Lotion is safe, gentle, and pH neutral, ideal for young skin. It contains MSM, shea butter (with natural UV protection), aloe vera, wheat germ oil, almond oil, antioxidant vitamins, and essential oils. Just like the bath gel, it contains no mineral oils, synthetic perfumes, artificial colorings, or toxic ingredients.
It’s comforting to know that the soap and lotion that I use on my child is safe and is ACTUALLY all natural. With Young Living’s seed to seal guarantee you know what’s in the products, and you know that they are safe. Please, keep all this information in mind the next time you buy soap and lotions for your babies.
As always, if you have any questions about how to get started with Young Living, or any questions regarding anything I’ve shared with you today, please, send me an email. I am here to help you, your journey is important to me! Take care, and happy oiling!
