Kids skin care products… are they safe?

As much as possible, we all encourage our kids to be hygienic and clean, but in doing so are we putting them at risk to harmful chemicals?

Like cosmetics and personal care products that are designed for adults, some children´s cosmetics contain potentially harmful substances known as Parabens.

Parabens - what are they?

Parabens are a group of chemicals used in many body care products as a preservative, due to their fungicidal and bactericidal properties

This group of chemicals has been linked to skin irritation, allergic skin reactions and dermatitis – to name but a few.

The vast majority of people are not even aware of the potential hazards with these substances, or just how large the range of products that contain Parabens is.

Some people have even gone as far as suggesting that Parabens may even be linked to very serious diseases such as cancer (Parabens were found in samples of breast tumors in a controversial scientific study*, however this link has never been proved, and is disputed by others).

Many people do feel that in this day and age we are exposed to more chemicals in our everyday life than ever, and so where possible it is best to use natural, chemical free cosmetics and personal care products in an attempt to minimize our exposure. It is with products like this, ones that we are applying directly to our bodies, that we should be most careful.

Nowhere is this more pertinent than with kids skin care products. Children´s skin can be much more sensitive than ours and as such a lot more vulnerable to any possible adverse effects to these chemicals. Kids body wash and kids shampoos for example, should be as chemical free as possible.

The worst part though, is that Parabens are not the end of the story. There are other types of chemicals that are often put into our body care products that may be potentially harmful. Did you know, for example, that some personal care products even contain substances that are used in industrial garage floor degreasers? – And others contain a form of aluminum?

It certainly does appear that using less chemicals is of interest to consumers, and this has caused a whole industry to emerge, based on the consumers desire to use chemical free personal care products.

*Study: Darbre PD, Aljarrah A, Miller WR, Coldham NG, Sauer MJ, Pope GS. Concentrations of parabens in human breast tumours. J Appl Toxicol. 2004 Jan-Feb;24(1):5-13.