Formaldehyde Found in Johnson's Baby Shampoo

[Anonymous]

Mine is free of everything but flame retardants on my kids' clothes that I cant' avoid, and some pressed wood dresser drawers that I painted in an attempt to seal. We use none of the other items. My make up is Almay, which I think is healthy (I hope it is).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it impossible to believe that something on your skin 24/7 would only make up 1/2 of 1 percent of exposure. Dryer sheets are particularly powerful, IMO. When we have playdates with kids whose moms (or dads) use them, I have to air out the whole house after they leave. The chemicals on them are on the towels they use after showering, the napkins they use to wipe their mouths, the clothing, bedding -- they are constantly being exposed.

Dryer sheets are bad for you.

I had no idea.

So no fabric softener, then?

[Anonymous]

Wait, people do not use microwaves? How do they make the nuggets?

We are all going to die people...whatever we switch to will kill us in 20 years.

[Anonymous]

I don't even own a microwave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine is free of everything but flame retardants on my kids' clothes that I cant' avoid, and some pressed wood dresser drawers that I painted in an attempt to seal. We use none of the other items. My make up is Almay, which I think is healthy (I hope it is).

Almay doesn't have a good ranking but I would not stop using it. Unless you are rubbing dirt and flower petal juice on your face I think it is tough to avoid chemicals in make up.
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/wordsearch.php?query=almay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't even own a microwave.

Why not? Do you have a specific concern about their safety?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't even own a microwave.

Why not? Do you have a specific concern about their safety?

Yes. Do you know anyone who tests their microwaves to make sure they are not leaking? I find heating food on the stove to be pretty simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't even own a microwave.

Why not? Do you have a specific concern about their safety?

Yes. Do you know anyone who tests their microwaves to make sure they are not leaking? I find heating food on the stove to be pretty simple.

Do you know anyone dying from radiation poisoning from a leaky microwave?!?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just used the cosmeticsdatabase.com website to find facial skin cleansers (for myself) that won't bother my allergies and are fragrance-free.

Near the top of the list was a product listed as having no hazardous ingredients of any kind-- but it contained lavender-- which I am allergic to, IS a fragrance albeit a natural one, and is known to have estrogenic effects! The product even contained "lavender" in its name.

What gives? I hate the (mistaken) idea that anything "natural" can't be hazardous.

Reminds me of my husband giving the kid Haagen Daaz but saying it's fine because it's all natural. Hello-- sugar and fat, all natural! Geesh.

There is a huge difference between having an allergy to a natural substance (lavender, peanuts, pollen, shellfish) and not being able to use it for personal reasons and a product that is full of harmful chemicals that has the potential to be dangerous to everyone. I am allergic to shrimp. That does not mean that you have an allergic reaction when eating them, it means I will. You cannot generalize lavender is bad based on your personal allergy. On the other hand many of the chemicals used in commercial hygiene products are harmful in large doses across the board. Will they have the same effect on me as they do to you? Maybe not. But they are still known hormone changing, cancer causing, crappy old chemicals.

Common sense tells you to avoid products you are allergic to. But having a, let's say, peanut allergy does not make peanuts dangerous for the rest of us.

My point about the lavender was two-fold. Let me clarify:

Regarding allergies, I was expressing frustration specifically with the database recommended by an earlier poster. In it, you can search for products by checking off categories that you don't want-- i.e. avoidance of certain chemical substances, potential for allergies, neurotoxicity, endocrine effects, etc. I searched for products that are unlikely to trigger allergies. I'm allergic to anything floral-- I've always assumed it's a pollen allergy, so I thought a common allergen. Maybe it's not, and I am mistaken. That was my frustration with the allergy thing. I take your point about generalizing about lavender. I guess I just thought a floral scent would be categorized by the database people as a POTENTIAL allergen. It would be nice if they tweaked their search engine a bit for someone like me.

My larger issue, though, was that they did not identify lavender as a substance known to have estrogenic effects. This is a serious concern, and the research about lavender seems to reflect this, as noted in a PP's link to the ABC News story. The database specifically identifies ingredients known to have estrogenic affects, yet ignores the research on lavender. (The ABC News piece also said that tea tree oils are equally problematic.)

Personally I love lavender, despite my allergies, and I believe it has a wonderful stress-soothing quality. But it made me think that the database is either out-of-date on current research or else not giving adequate scrutiny to natural ingredients.

Cyanide, after all, is naturally occurring in drinking water in some parts of the country!

Natural substances are touted by the cosmetic industry as all-good, harmless ingredients in their products, simply because they're natural. Many people who believe this, at the same time believe that many natural substances have wonderful medicinal qualities that modern medicine doesn't appreciate. Well, it can't be both. Bottom line, nature produces lots of things that impact our physiology. Some are wonderful; some are not.

I'm sympathetic to the "natural" argument-- I don't wear polyester blend clothes, I specifically choose kitchen cabinets made of solid wood not pressed wood to avoid off-gassing, etc. I have a child who has autistic-like developmental delays, so I think about EVERYTHING that he comes into contact with. I just think the identification of "natural" gives a false sense of security. But I applaud the organization doing the testing and putting together a searchable database for consumers. God knows, the government isn't giving us this information!

[Anonymous]

Just to add to my post: If I were searching a food database that identified potential allergens, I'd certainly expect it to flag items that contained shellfish.

[Anonymous]

Well, I think this is all a little ridiculous. I refuse to be drawn into the "all natural" or "organic" or "clean" trends. Everything is toxic, to some degree - even water, if you drink enough of it.

I try to buy simple products and cook from scratch. If the product is effective, then I'll buy it. I'm healthy. My family is healthy. I think we do the best we can without overly scrutinizing every little ingredient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't even own a microwave.

Why not? Do you have a specific concern about their safety?

Yes. Do you know anyone who tests their microwaves to make sure they are not leaking? I find heating food on the stove to be pretty simple.

Do you know anyone dying from radiation poisoning from a leaky microwave?!?!

Do you know anyone with breast cancer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't even own a microwave.

Why not? Do you have a specific concern about their safety?

Yes. Do you know anyone who tests their microwaves to make sure they are not leaking? I find heating food on the stove to be pretty simple.

Do you know anyone dying from radiation poisoning from a leaky microwave?!?!

Do you know anyone with breast cancer?

okay, this is freaking me out. i use the microwave ALL THE TIME. i try to stand far enough away from it... does that make a difference?

[Anonymous]

I posted "do you know anyone with breast cancer?" Sorry, didn't mean to freak you out. I am not a scientist and I have read nothing that links microwaves to breast cancer. It's just my personal opinion that they are not safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't even own a microwave.

Why not? Do you have a specific concern about their safety?

Yes. Do you know anyone who tests their microwaves to make sure they are not leaking? I find heating food on the stove to be pretty simple.

Do you know anyone dying from radiation poisoning from a leaky microwave?!?!

Do you know anyone with breast cancer?

okay, this is freaking me out. i use the microwave ALL THE TIME. i try to stand far enough away from it... does that make a difference?

Do not freak out. Microwaves are safe as long as they are in good working order.

1. Microwaves do not use radioactive materials.
2. Microwaves are electromagnetic radiation, just like light or radio waves. The difference is that these are the exact frequency to vibrate water molecules.
3. Microwaves are trapped inside the microwave by the metal surrounding it (including that grill by the window). Flimsy as that may seem, electromagnetic radiation can't escape it unless it is damaged.
4. Microwaves do not destroy the nutritional value of foods any more than regular cooking.
5. Microwaves are tested for safety, including a very small threshold on microwave leakage.

IMO, it is way safer than a gas stove or gas heater, which puts a lot of chemicals into the air. Not that I am worried about those, either, but if you compared the output of burning natural gas to the output of microwaves, you'd be highly likely to use a microwave if you are the paranoid type.

Here is information on microwave oven safety: http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/microwave.html

On the other hand, natural gas heaters are the leading cause of carbon monoxide deaths in the U.S. And here is an example of some of the other byproducts of burning natural gas: http://www.battelle.org/environment/publications/envupdates/Fall2001/article7.html