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Avoid toxin exposure from skincare
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Unfortunately, product labels such as "baby" or "gentle" are not in any way an indicator that the product is suited for a baby’s skin. The ingredient list is the #1 most important thing to look at. Still, I have created two lists of brands. The first set includes manufacturers who routinely use product ingredients that are known to be unsafe. The second set is comprised of companies that demonstrate a higher level of responsibility for product safety. After that I have a brief list of exceptions, as well as some outstanding products. Then I address ingredients, again with two lists. The list of ingredients to avoid is essential, while the final list is probably the least important here.
If this information is all new to you, it might be overwhelming to learn that virtually all of the mainstream brands use ingredients that are considered unsafe. This term is relative. The ingredients are ranked by the Environmental Working Group, and the higher- risk substances may be given their ranking because they are untested or have been known to cause irritation in some people. There may be a possible link to cancer, an ingredient that increases penetration of the product, or one that accumulates in human fat cells. The plain truth is that there are many known toxins in skin care products- and in amounts that are significant. By reducing the amount of commercial product used in your home, and choosing wisely those you do use, you are providing a safer environment for your family. This guide is to help with the first part; stay tuned for ways to reduce the amount you spend on skincare while decreasing the amount of chemicals you bring into your home.
Brands
Items marked with a star represent the extremes respective to each list. [Please note that in most cases, only baby products are evaluated. Applicable brands on both lists may be deemed less safe when all products are included. The exception is brands in the second list that have been marked with a "!" – within reason (excluding for example astringent or aftershave), all of their products are safe enough for baby! Brands marked with a ~ are fully compliant with the Compact for Safe Cosmetics and those with a ` have signed but either are using banned ingredients, are missing information, or are too newly signed to be fully compliant.]
Brands to Avoid:
Ammens powders
Aveeno
Baby Orajel
Baby Magic (Playtex)**
Banana Boat (Playtex)**
Coppertone**
Desitin*
Dessert Essence
Gentle Naturals*
Gerber*
Huggies**
Johnson's**
L’Occitane**
Luvs wipes*
Mustela**
No-Ad**
Palmer's**
Pampers
Playskool wipes*
Udderly Smooth*
Vaseline*
Wet Ones wipes (Playtex)*
most generics**
Responsible Brands:
Aromababy*`
Aubrey~
Avalon Baby*~
Baby Cakes!*
Baby Organic*`
Babybearshop!*~
Badger!*~
Burt's Bees’ (barely makes the cut)
California Baby~
Chartreuse!~
Cosmic Tree Essentials!~
Dimpleskins*
Dancing Dingo!*~
Dr. Bronner's!*~
Dropwise Essentials!*’
Earth Mama Angel Baby!*`
Earth Tribe!*`
Earth's Best by Jason`
Healing-Scents*~
JASCO!*`
Keys Soap!*~
Moon Valley’
Mother Nature*
Motherlove!*~
Nature's Baby!*~
Organic Blessings!’
Pangea!~
Peelu!
Seaside Naturals!*~
Telbari
Terressentials!`
Trillium!*~
Trukid!`
Tushies
Standouts [great products by non-recommended brands]:
Aveeno Baby Soothing Bath Treatment
Dessert Essence toothpastes
Johnson & Johnson Baby Oil Gel w/ Chamomile
Mustela sunscreens
Vaseline Pure Petroleum Jelly Jar for Baby
Weleda Calendula Toothpaste
Best Brands By Product
[Products like bubble bath, diaper cream, and lotion have many good (and bad) options, but for these particular products there are only a few that meet the highest standards.]
Cradle Cap: California Baby, Cocoon, Dimpleskins, Dingo, Healing-Scents, Pure Baby (sensitive skin formula)
Sunscreen: California Baby, Kinesys Kids, Mustela, Trukid, UV Natural
Toothpaste: Burt’s Bees, Dessert Essence, Peelu products
Wipes (always unscented): Avalon, Mother Nature, Seventh Generation, Tushies.
Ingredients
These are common ingredients in skincare products that are not safe enough to be used on a baby's skin. Many of them are preservatives. Stars may fill in for prefixes or suffixes; all ingredients with the listed word parts are unsafe (e.g., methylparaben, propylparaben, and others are all represented as "*Paraben"). Some ingredients do not pose a serious threat if they are not among the first three to five listed on the label; ingredients marked with a ! should be avoided in any concentration. Also note that some of the ingredients which should be avoided are "all-natural."
2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol (or Bronopol)!
BHA!
Benzyl Alcohol!
Boric Acid!
Ceterareth-*!
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Dibutyl Phthalate!
DMDM Hydantoin!
*Eth*
Fragrance
Iodopropylnyl Butylcarbamate
Isopropyl Alcohol
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
Methylisothiazolinone
Octyl Methoxycinnamate
Oxybenzone!
*Paraben!
PEG-*
*Phthalate
Polyethelene!
Propylene Glycol
Quaternium-15
Sodium Borate
Sodium Fluoride!
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Toluene!
Triclosan!
Triethanolamine
*Urea
[Note: "Fragrance" often represents harmful ingredients in conventional products. However, some higher quality products use the same word to represent a blend of natural essential oils. If fragrance is the only ingredient from this list, the product may be considered safe!]
Not all products can be entirely free of surfactants and preservatives. The following processed ingredients are among the safer known choices. They are found in commercial products that are relatively safe and may also be found in products that use unsafe ingredients. This list is in no way comprehensive, but it has been included because safe products do exist with complicated ingredient names. Because these include artificial and nonvegan ingredients, you have the author's full support in avoiding any and all of them if you choose; they pose no threat to human babies according to their EWG rankings. The rule of thumb to not use anything with ingredients you can't pronounce is an ideal and it can be helpful when information is unavailable and financial resources are limitless, but it’s not always plausible or accurate.
That is why this entire guide exists! Hope it helps you!
Chlorphenesin
Decyl Polyglucose
Lactoperoxidase
Petrolatum
Polyaminopropyl Biguanide
Potassium Sorbate
Sodium Benzoate
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
This guide has been in the making for a year and a half. It relies heavily on the information gathered by the Environmental Working Group in their cosmetics safety database, which is always changing and adding new products. Suggestions are welcome if you see any products or ingredients that have been excluded. Information about organic skincare can also be found here.
Stay tuned for more articles about avoiding household toxins, including homemade skin care concoctions and safe cleaning solutions.
