Johnson & Johnson Harmful to Babies?????

We have used the products for years (as well as the store brand equivalents) and have all been healthy and fine. I wouldn't worry so much.
If we worried about everything, we would not be able to eat, drink, cook, sleep, etc. Studies used to say that eating more than one egg a week (including baked in things) wa a major cholesterol risk. Now, they say it is better to eat at LEAST two eggs a week minimum! Ground beef is refused by many due to the small risk of Mad Cow disease.
By all means, do what you are most comfortable with, but remember that like most "scares" the data will change over time. Everybody once considered grilling healthy and safe and now there are studies comparing it to a high risk of cancer! You have to make the best choices for your family while also weighing the risks and the benefits.
Shampoo will NOT hurt your child; at least not as long as the child does not ingest it. You certainly can pay the extra for organic options; however, the risk is next to none.
Enjoy life, make the best decisions for your family, and then step back and don't worry. Your children are at a much greater risk of drowning, being hit by a car, even struck by lightening than the risk of using Johnson and Johnson products. Love them, raise them, and then let them go. The rest is up to God.
God bless!

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M. B,

You've received some great information to research your concerns about J&J Baby Shampoo. Even in trace amounts, these toxins can have an accumulating affect. I'd just like to add what the side affects of using these products on your children from my personal experience and those close to me.
One of the ladies, mentioned we've been using these products for years and we are OK. Are we really? What is causing the ear infections, loss of hearing, dry skin, rashes, eczema, allergies, asthma, ADD/ADHD or cancer? We wash our children and clean their clothes and our own with products than contain TRACE amounts of these chemicals. Aren't these chemicals being absorbed by our skin into our cells? There was a study done by doing a simple blood test on 10 children to determine the chemical exposure. I don't recall the exact number but is was Hundreds. The worst thing is that these children where fetuses. Yes, exposed to chemicals before birth because their mother's used these products to clean their homes, wash their clothes, bathe as well as environmental exposure. Also, I wanted to say that the TEAR FREE products contain numbing agents make them tear free. I had not idea! I'd rather take the extra care to keep the soap and shampoo out of their eyes then using a numbing agent.

I encourage you to do the research yourself and make the decision you feel is best for you and your children. Education is POWERFUL! As soon as I heard how harmful these products were, I immediately switch to safer products for my family. And I mean everything from bathing, hair products, cleaning, laundry, makeup, perfume, etc. And I found one store to get it all and I save money, too.

After you research, I'm sure you can see why so many people are going green.

6 moms found this helpful

M.,

You would be horrified to realize what is in our personal care products and makes me especially angry that these harmful toxins and chemicals are in baby products!!
Please go to my website: www.choose2bwell.com go to products tab and research under Glimpse. There is info as to the harmful toxins and chemicals in many many personal care products. There you will find "The Dirty Dozen" The worst of the worst and will also describe the dangers of these ingredients. You will also find website links to cosmeticsdatabase.com and safecosmetics.org where you can enter company names or ingredient names and they will rate their danger level for you there. Also take a look at the Glimpse ingredients as you will discover that it is chemical and toxin free. The thing that angers me is that many of those companies also sell in Europe and Europe has banned 1100+ chemicals from their personal care products and the US has only banned about 11. These companies refuse to reformulate their products for the US and our government refuses to force them!! PLEASE look at this information for the sake of you and your children! Another excellent resource to read, Not Just a Pretty Face: the ugly side of the Beauty Industry by Stacy Malkan. Don't want to overwhelm you, but I would like to get this information in the hands of every woman/mother I possibly can!! Let me know if I can help you any further with questions or other info. ~J.

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I would NEVER let J&J's or other mainstream, non-organic brands touch our son's skin. TOXIC! FYI: It is in EVERYTHING... adults & "baby" products... detergent, dish wash, household cleaners, toothpaste, lotion, hair products, etc. etc. Message me back if you want to know what products we use for what.
J.

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what the other ladies have posted is very informative, i just wanted to add that when i was pregnant my birthing class instructor told us that baby lotions do NOTHING for your baby, just make babies smell good. (and a baby with no lotion on smells pretty wonderful to me) now that my son is 2 1/2 i can tell you that i have NEVER used baby lotion on his skin, and guess what - he has eczema and it not only makes it worse, but burns him and makes him scream in pain. baby oils are deadly if a child gets ahold of it and drinks it, so those are out too. i was told baby powder is a no-no because little babies have no nose hairs so they can inhale the dust - but eventually i started using cornstarch powder on his bum because (due to the eczema) he got diaper rash SO bad if i didn't keep it dry at all times. just my experiences...but yes, i avoid putting most things on my son's skin, unless it is perfume/dye/chemical free.

4 moms found this helpful

M. and others,

While on hand I agree that J&J products have been around for years, why wouldn't we think they're safe? But I would really have to argue that we know for sure they're safe. Think about the increase in disease, fertility issues, learning disabilities, autism, ADD, food allergies, skin issues etc.
Sure our great grandparents used to use lye soap, but it was at least a pure substance without chemicals.

We certainly are not perfect around here and my kids are much older (almost 19 and almost 15) but if I had babies and smaller kids, I certainly would rethink a lot of these issues. One of the best soaps, in my opinion, is Dr. Bonnor's liquid soaps. They are pure and a little bit goes a long way. You can get them now even at Target.

*I know this is a completely different issue but it is a good example of how I look at things now. We recently adopted a dog and a neighbor was so sweet and brought over some bones and treats. I threw one of the bags of treats away because of all the chemicals and artificial colors and flavors.

Below is a great website to look up cosmetics ingredients. I also look things up like that by asking "risks and dangers" of whatever. If you just Google "J&J soap" of course your going to get what they want you to see.
www.cosmeticsdatabase.com

3 moms found this helpful

Dear M. B:

Just want you to be aware of the quote from Johnson & Johnson in the letter the other mother posted. In particular, the line that read: "The FDA and other government agencies around the world consider these trace levels safe, and all our products meet or exceed the regulatory requirements in every country where they are sold."

What they fail to tell the consumers is the little part about meeting the standards or requirements of other countries, like Germany and Canada. They are much more stringent and watchful of their people. What is available in the US for consumers to purchase, would NEVER be allowed in Germany or Canada. Different levels of chemicals are allowed according to the findings of the country itself.

Here is the best advice I can share with you being in the chemical and life sciences industries: If you CANNOT read or pronounce ANY of the ingredients, don't buy it! Instead, go home, google the ingredient and make your own, informed choices.

Do you know Germany does not allow fluoride in its drinking water? AND, that their children have no more cavities than the USA's. Fluoride is a bi-product of chemical fertilizers that farmers use. How disgusting is that? And yet our government (FDA) says it is acceptable to place into our water for our children to drink? What a joke. The FDA needs a huge shake up and consumers need an even bigger wake up.

3 moms found this helpful

Found this comment at:
http://www.thegreenparent.com/2009/04/02/johnson-johson-r...

Johnson & Johnson Responds to Criticism
A few days ago I wrote a post about my concern regarding the presence of known carcinogens like formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane in children’s baby bath products. I sent my post, highlighting my concerns directly to Johnson & Johnson, a giant in the personal care industry and a company that claims to put the safety of children and the environment before profit. This morning, Johnson & Johnson responded, and in the interests of fairness, I want to give their response equal time. So here it is:

Dear Jenn:

Thank you for contacting the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. Information Center. It is always important to hear from our consumers, and we appreciate the time you have taken to contact us.

For more than 100 years, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. has been providing parents with safe and effective products for their babies and young children. We value the trust that parents place in us, and we continually strive to maintain that trust by using high-quality standards to test and evaluate every ingredient that goes into our products.

The trace levels of certain compounds found by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics can result from processes that make our products gentle for babies and safe from bacteria growth. The FDA and other government agencies around the world consider these trace levels safe, and all our products meet or exceed the regulatory requirements in every country where they are sold. Experts such as MDs, toxicologists and clinical scientists regularly review the safety data for all ingredients used in our products. In addition, we test our final baby product formulations for safety. Once our products are in the marketplace, we continually monitor consumer experiences and review evolving scientific data.

We are disappointed that the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has inaccurately characterized the safety of our products, misrepresented the overwhelming consensus of scientists and government agencies that review the safety of ingredients, and unnecessarily alarmed parents.

We want to reassure parents that JOHNSON’S Baby Shampoo and all our baby and kids products are safe, gentle and mild products that they can trust and use with confidence.

Again, thank you for your interest in our company. Should you have any comments or questions in the future, please contact us via our website or by calling our toll-free number, 1-888-638-5242. Our specialists are available Monday through Friday between 8 AM and 5 PM EST and will be happy to assist you.

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Many of us would be really sick if that was true.

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I have not seen anything in the news about Johnson & Johnson so not sure how to respond to that. However my daughter's dermotologist told me to stop using Johnson & Johnson Head to toe and Johnson Buddies shampoo on her due to her excema and to start using Dove body wash. I have to find a different shampoo and for a 6 year old and a 2 year old I want one that is tear free so not sure that I will be changing that any time soon. At least not till I run out of it any ways.

2 moms found this helpful

I've got to agree with Lisa B. J & J has been a staple for so long that if it were really dangerous we'd have known about it long before now because so many would be sick. Ask your sister if she can provide you with an example of someone that used the product as specified and was made ill by it. These are the ingredients: Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, PEG-150 Distearate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Sodium Chloride, Polyquaternium-10, Fragrance, Quaternium-15, Citric Acid. Exactly which chemincal is harmful? You know before advances in technology, the main ingredient in soap was lye. I don't think that any one would argue that lye isn't a harsh and harmful chemical, yet here we humans are, 6 billion strong, alive and kicking.

2 moms found this helpful

Yes, most commercial soaps have very harmful chemicals in them. Johnson & Johnson is supposedly one of the worst. I would recommend buying California Baby products or Burt's Bees baby line of products. They are all natural and don't contain any harmful chemicals. Don't get fooled by Aveeno Baby because that is made by Johnson & Johnson. I'm glad you found this out now. I would switch your whole family to more natural soaps and shampoos.

2 moms found this helpful

Hi! I read through some of the posts that you received and have heard/read similar claims. I admit that my family is not "totally green/organic" but as far as skin care we only use products from Arbonne International. The baby care is awesome! I haven't let anything else touch my kids' skin! Since the skin is the largest organ of the body it is important to take care of what goes in and on it, especially where little ones are concerned. Arbonne's motto is "pure, safe, and beneficial" I am an independent consultant with Arbonne and would be happy to send you some information and/or a catalog so you can look through.

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I liked the baby magic better and used it for their hair as well. I tried johnson and johnson baby wipes on my oldest and he broke out in a really bad rash so we didn't use those anymore and also noticed he broke out with the shampoo and baby wash so we didn't buy those products anymore and didn't try them on our other 2 kids. We just stuck with the baby magic baby wash and recommend that to other people too. I didn't use seperate shampoos, I used that for their shampoo and body wash. It smells nice in their hair and is very gentle.

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Here are a few articles that were published a couple of months ago supporting this:

Chicago Tribune "Hospital Drops Unsafe Baby Products"

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshe...

Washington Post "Probable Carcinogens Found in Baby Toiletries"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009...

Breast Cancer Fund website article

http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/pp.asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&a...

1 mom found this helpful

Good evening M. B,

There are several products on the market that are harmful to babies and to us and there is nothing that requires them to disclose this information to the general public unfortunately. I just stopped using almost all of my household products due to this fact. I have switched to Melaleuca products which are ecofriendly and do not require child safety caps because there ingredients will not harm my child. You can google this and here is also a link that will give you the USA Today article and you can also click on information provided within the article that tells you what carcinogens are contained in the myriad of products that we use daily....http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-03-12-formaldehy...

Please email me back if you are interested in making your home safe and we can get you started on the Melaleuca products which give a 100% money back guarantee.

____@____.com

Sincerely from a mom who understands,
Latisha

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