3 Toxic Chemicals Your Baby Doesn't Like

Welcome to the February 2014 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Naturally Beautiful. This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and Crunchy Farm Baby through the Green Moms Network. This month, our members are talking about skincare and other personal care products. You'll find a variety of posts about choosing natural beauty products and even tutorials on how to make some of your own! Be sure to read all of the posts listed at the bottom of mine to learn how to keep your beauty routine safe and natural.

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If you are already a Tribal Mama, you know how bath products can be toxic for both you and your baby.  But where to start?  PEG-100?  Polysorbate 80?  Sodium Lauryl Sulfate? Or... Sodium Laureth Sulfate?

No need for a panic attack.  Here are three simple places to start weeding your baby bath products (and Mama beauty stuff!).


1.  Triclosan.  This toxic molecule earns itself a nasty 7 on EWG's website, skin deep.  It's most known for causing issues with the immune system, implicating it in allergies, asthma, and eczema.  During processing and extraction, it can be cross-contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals (chloroform and dioxin), which makes it even more important to steer clear of.  All of these molecules are known to cross the placenta as well.

What it does: It is a strong antimicrobial agent.

Where you can find it: hand sanitizers and toothpaste.  My old favorite toothpaste had triclosan because it
gave my mouth a shiny feeling all day.

Alternatives:
 Level 1 Avoid it: Check the label and choose products without. Look for hand sanitizers with 60% alcohol or higher, and toothpastes without triclosan.

Level 2 Upgrade it: Choose natural brands of toothpaste and sanitizers that are from responsible companies and provide a more complete intention of health.

Level 3 DIY it: Look for toothpaste recipes using ingredients like baking soda, bentonite clay, salt, coconut oil, and essential oils.  The efficacy of hand sanitzers is not yet proven, so use the tried and true method of washing your hands.


2.  Fragrance.  There is nothing like the experience of opening a bottle of shampoo in the store and being swept up in the sweet smell.  It brings peace to our minds and delights the heart.

This one is a tricky one to finagle.  There are so many chemicals that are benign and create smell.  Others smelly molecules are extremely disruptive to the endocrine and even the reproductive systems.  They can do this at minuscule amounts, perhaps because of the role of pheromones in our bodies.

When you see this listed in an ingredient label, know that it is a catch-all.  Fragrance or "parfum" is a trade secret.  They do not have to tell you what it is or why it is there.  You could be messing with your reproductive system or it could have no effect at all.  

Level 1 Avoid it: Choose products that do not use the ingredients Fragrance, Parfum, or Fragrance oil on the label, not merely those that say "unscented" on the front.  Listing out chemicals is better than not knowing.

Level 2 Upgrade it: Because scent essentially gives a signature, even natural brands will use this line item to keep out knock-offs.  Look for scents made with essential oils, where the botanical names of the plants are listed.

Level 3 DIY test it:  Essential oils have powerful effects too.  Your best bet is to check how you feel before and after you smell a product.  When you go into the store to buy product, take a few deep breaths and feel the earth under your feet.  Then smell the product.  Notice how and why you enjoy it or don't enjoy it.  Then take it away and notice how you feel afterward.  Do you feel better or worse?  This will give you a clue.


3.  Mineral oil, petroleum jelly, petrolatum.  These all have the same base with small variations in between. Someone in my checkered past told me that petrolatum is more "natural."  They all come from crude oil, which is the basis of the problem to start with.

Like "fragrance," this item is nearly everywhere.  Its smooth, jelly-like texture makes it the perfect chemical ingredient for oils, lotions, creams, body butters, diaper cream.  No one asked if it was the biologically appropriate ingredient for these things.  Not to mention it is often contaminated with PAHS.  There are plenty of excellent options which not only are not toxic to your child, they impart a wealth of nourishment and protection.

Level 1 Avoid it:  This is hard to do without having an ingredient you choose to have.  Almost every big-box store brand uses this ingredient.  So march forward to...

Level 2 Upgrade it:  Look for natural products that are made with olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, shea butter, or tallow.

Level 3 DIY it:  You can solve pretty much any lotion-needing problem with coconut oil and breast milk.  Diaper rash?  No problem!  Use the ol' squirt and smear trick.  Dry skin?  Solved!  Pink eye?  Well, Bob Costas could have solved that problem at the first look in the mirror.


What ingredient are you most worried about?

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Visit Happy Mothering and Crunchy Farm Baby to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival! Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed: