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Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Is Baby Shampoo Dangerous?


If you've been following the news, then you've heard about the new study that reveals baby shampoo may contain dangerous chemicals linked to reproductive problems. While this particular study may be new, the issue certainly isn't. In fact, many studies have already shown several chemicals we use every day aren't safe over the long haul. (See my review of the book Exposed if you'd like to study up on this on your own.)

So what do we do when faced with facts like this? If you've read The Mommy Spot for very long, you'll know I advocate taking the natural route first. If you do that, you don't have to pay too much attention to news articles like this. My recommendations for a safe baby shampoo alternative are castile soap or a vegetable glycerin. While these are not pretty smelling (Dr. Bronner's castile soap does come with essential oils if you wish), they are all-natural and contain none of the chemicals you're reading about in the news.

Castile and glycerin soaps are not only great for shampoo, but they make a healthy alternative to regular soap as well. Use it in the bath, the kitchen, or at the sink. If you want, you can add a couple drops of your own essential oil to customize the scent. (For babies, stick with gentle fragrances like chamomile or one or two drops of rosemary.) Since they're so gentle, you don't have to be concerned with irritating baby's skin either.

Once you know the great, old-fashioned alternatives, you don't have to wonder if your baby shampoo, or any other product around the house, is dangerous or not. You already know - it's healthy, it's safe, it's natural.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I bought some lavendar castille soap for our daughter - the stuff is great, just don't get it in their eyes! Definitely not tear free.

Anonymous said...

I second the lavender castile soap, smell wise. I was afraid to use anything with scent in it, even natural, for a long time, so I opted for the aloe vera sensitive skin castile soap while Lil' E was younger. But now sometimes I use the lavender (which is what I use for body wash) and so far so good!
(I always kinda shudder when I'm at a baby shower and people are giving lots of Johnson&Johnson shampoo and body lotions or the like! I'll never understand why we don't just stick with the natural stuff! It just MAKES SENSE!)

Shari said...

I use the site cosmeticdatabase.com to help me pick shampoos, sunscreen etc for my little girl. I was shocked when I read once upon a time that J&J uses products that may be carcinogens...so now I do my research! Thought you might enjoy that site.

Sara said...

If you are concerned about things like this, you should check out Neat Solutions. They have stick-in-place placemats for babies so they children don't eat germs and cleaning chemicals of the table when dining out. Visit: www.tabletopper.com. Also, visit my blog (also called The Mommy Spot, I didn't know about yours when I did it). http://saratompkins.blogspot.com.

Thanks!
Sara

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy reading your blog; it always has great dialogue. I was wondering if your readers have heard anything about online carbon calculators. I am not an environmental nerd but I came across a couple, and with everyone going green these days I thought I would check out my footprint. I took my test at WWF.com, and the EPA site along with www.earthlab.com. Does anyone know about any other ones? Let me know, and it would be cool to hear any thoughts on these things. Oh and I think Earthlab.com is the best site it has the easiest calculator to use and they are doing stuff with the super bowl, spinning football and global warming together is pretty impressive.

Michelle Constantinescu said...

Hey Mommy Sara! Don't worry about the name duplication - big changes coming along soon for my The Mommy Spot, including a slight name change. So you'll soon be the only one on the block!

And thanks for the info on the table topper! I'm going to have to check that out. We eat out a lot, and I hate it when the table stinks of bleach or the rags they wipe up with. Pee-yew!

Anonymous said...

MommySara, The tabletopper is a great idea, but why can't you just bring a rollable or foldable placemat from home instead of using a disposable placemat that would join the pile of disposable necessities polluting the future world of our children. Use less disposable items!!! Reuse more, if not for us then for our children's sake. More or less everything on tabletoppers web page was disposable use once items and it made my heart sink to my stomach seeing a site like this doing well. What will the future look like?