Let's talk about BABIES
Updated: Nov 1, 2021
Awww, cute, cuddly, pudgy, innocent...who doesn't love babies?
Apparently, the mainstream bath and body care industry!
I am honestly shocked whenever I browse the drugstore aisles reading baby product ingredient labels. These products are literally filled with chemicals and even known carcinogens. Grownups might sometimes want to take their chances with these additives in exchange for great performance and fabulous scent (raises hand guiltily) but babies, with their super delicate skin and rapidly developing brains and nervous systems, definitely shouldn't. Ever. Put this stuff. On their bodies.
Loading babies with synthetic ingredients: a bad idea for the future?
To be honest, even some of the pronounceable ingredients in many mass produced baby care products like body wash, baby shampoo, baby lotion, and even diaper cream, are questionable. I mean...why are we still putting skin-clogging petroleum (mineral oil), asthma-causing talc (baby powder) and SLS (harmful foaming agent) on our babies? The formaldehyde was removed a few years ago, but so much bad stuff remains. No more tears, indeed.
The fact is, I used all this stuff on my babies, and it was all used on me and countless others for a few generations now, and we're all doing fine now, right? So how bad can it be?
Well, today...
-skin allergies and conditions like eczema are rampant, especially in children and the elderly
-chronic idiopathic (no known cause) autoimmune conditions, from psoriasis to urticaria (hives) to fibromyalgia, are rampant
-neurological diseases, like autism, are increasing at very alarming rates
-endocrine disorders are massively on the rise
Can the skin care and cosmetic industry be solely blamed for all this? Certainly not! Everyone knows there are complex causes for the health issues that plague us today - our world is polluted in so many ways, from the air we breathe to the food we consume to the ions constantly bombarding us from our devices - and of course, many people who have never used a natural body care product in their life, are still perfectly healthy. That said, chemicals used in skin care products have been linked to endocrine disruption (reproductive problems), cancers and deformities in animals, as well as in humans, not to mention their environmental impact on our watershed.
This was taken from the Dove website in 2018, not 20 years ago. Do we still think some of these ingredients are 'as gentle as water' in 2018?
Baby care worst offenders list: Do not use
Because a person's toxic load starts to build even before we welcome them into the world, and certainly once they are here, we ought to be careful what we consider to be safe for baby.
The top 3 things you should never put on your baby are found in just about every baby product on the shelf unless the tube, jar or bottle says ALL NATURAL and even then, please read the label as there is a natural ingredient at the top of this list!
1. Lanolin - now, many will disagree with me on this because lanolin is a natural ingredient. It's sheep fat. Unless you're a vegan, why the heck not? I'll give you 3 reasons: wool allergies (ergo, lanolin allergies) are very common; sheep's wool is treated with tons of pesticides which wind up in their fat; and products containing lanolin will also contain some pretty aggressive chemicals to prevent this fat from going rancid on the shelf. Many commercial diaper rash ointments contain lanolin.
2. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate - though rated by some cosmetic websites as 'low-risk', SLS is a surfactant that is known to cause skin and eye irritation and even organ toxicity. It's bad for the environment and, like other foaming agents that produce 'big-bubble' lather, it dries your skin out. If that's what it does to you , imagine the effect on a baby's skin...
3. Mineral oil - some baby oils are gussying themselves up with cocoa butter and other 'moisturizing ingredients'. Ask yourself: isn't the oil itself supposed to be moisturizing? Um, yeah, but it's not. Mineral oil doesn't penetrate the skin or really add moisture, it just sits on the surface of the skin...and thank goodness, because you wouldn't want petroleum sinking into your baby's pores anyway. Also, ask yourself this: if the moisturizing natural butters are listed AFTER "fragrance" on the ingredients list, how infinitesimal is the amount of natural butters actually being added?
Crap. So, are there alternatives to chemical baby care products?
Great news: there are effective, totally natural products for your baby to not only keep her skin and hair clean, soft and healthy, but ensure she grows up with a much lighter toxic load. Why is this possible? For one thing, babies have a much simpler needs than grownups. They're not yet worried about getting their hair perfectly spiked and purple, or peeling years off their face. They don't even know yet that their culture reveres big masses of fake bubbly foam as part of the bath-time experience ;) All they need is simple cleansing, moisture, and healing ingredients like the ones we use in our baby care products.
The SaltZ&Co baby care line is 100% natural, with organic ingredients like coconut oil and castile soap. We use absolutely no synthetic fragrance or colour in our baby care products because, well, babies are sweet enough!
The next time you get a baby shower invite or are moved to buy a gift for a mama-to-be, consider going with a natural baby skin care products gift basket that will ensure the little angels are protected and happy now and for life.