Toxin Alert: Are Your Baby's Bath Products Safe?

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Bath time for Baby should be fun, relaxing—and most of all—safe. But news reports about toxic chemicals found in popular children's bath care products have put many parents on edge. Should you be concerned? Before you touch that tap, here's what every parent needs to know.

Despite labels carrying such reassuring claims as "extra gentle" and "safe for Baby's delicate skin," dozens of top-selling children's bath care products contain trace amounts of the toxins 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde, according to a buzzworthy report from a consumer watchdog group, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. Far from safe and gentle, both substances are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as "reasonably anticipated to cause cancer in humans."

Coming Clean about Dirty Ingredients

Spurred by a previous investigation that detected toxic chemicals in bath products marked "all natural," this time the Campaign decided to round up a sampling of mainstream children's bath products. From baby shampoo to bubble bath, lotion to body wash, 48 well-known products were independently tested for 1,4-dioxane; 28 were also checked for traces of formaldehyde.

Lab result highlights?

• Of the products tested, 61 percent (17 out of 28) contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane. These included some big names:
  • Johnson's Baby Shampoo
  • Sesame Street Bubble Bath
  • Grins & Giggles Milk & Honey Baby Wash
  • Huggies Naturally Refreshing Cucumber & Green Tea Baby Wash

• Eighty-two percent of products (23 out of 28) contained formaldehyde at levels ranging from 79 parts per million (ppm) to 610 ppm. Exposure to formaldehyde concentrations as low as 250 ppm may cause skin rash in children with chemical sensitivities; the product with the highest level of formaldehyde—Baby Magic Baby Lotion—would require a warning label if sold in Europe (where the formaldehyde cutoff is 500 ppm).

• Sixty-seven percent of products (32 out of 48) contained 1,4-dioxane at levels ranging from 0.27 ppm to 35 ppm. American Girl shower products from Bath & Body Works contained the highest levels of 1,4-dioxane. The United States classifies the toxin as a "probable human carcinogen," but has not set cutoff levels for its use. In contrast, Canada and Europe completely ban products containing any amount of 1,4-dioxane.

If these results have motivated you to scour the ingredients of your favorite baby shampoo, you won't find 1,4-dioxane or formaldehyde listed, even if you use one of products mentioned above. Both toxins are considered contaminants, meaning they ended up in the product as a result of chemical breakdown during the manufacturing process—and were not intentionally added.

As Stacy Malkan, a lead author of the Campaign's report, points out, "because they're technically not ingredients, formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane are exempt from current US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling laws."

Ban the Bubble Bath?

Since the study's worrisome findings were made public March 12, 2009, many manufacturers have stepped forward to defend their products. In a statement released by Johnson & Johnson, the company noted that "trace levels of certain compounds 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."

Dr. Jim Sears, MD, author of The Baby Book and co-host of the new hit syndicated television show The Doctors, urges parents to remain calm. "Since this is the first study to look at these substances in baby products, it's probably going to be a while before we see any big changes in the ingredient lists," he says. "I'm not too worried about these ingredients, since we don't know for sure if their effects are harmful.... Hopefully, the FDA will take a closer look at these chemicals, and if there is a problem, there will be a change in regulations."