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Northern California Babies
MsPurple24
member
PM me for our family/baby blog
Haley Beth ~ March 3rd, 2011
CA Baby product changes- anyone have info?
MsPurple24
member
My friend just emailed me that the California Baby Facebook page is blowing up because they've changed some of their ingredients and people are all up in arms about it. I don't have access to FB at work, but I checked the CA Baby website and there's a message there about the changes in their products...
Does anyone have any insight into this? My friend is throwing out her bottles, boycotting the company... all based on some angry FB posters. I try not to get up in arms over FB freak outs, so I'd like to do some research before tossing my uber-expensive Calendula Cream. 
TIA for any help!
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Haley Beth ~ March 3rd, 2011
This discussion has been closed.
Re: CA Baby product changes- anyone have info?
This is the first I am hearing about any of it. I am going to be doing some research. I was just about to go out and restock before DS2 arrives. We use their shampoo/body washes, diapering stuff and the calendula cream. I think they are all the old version though because they do not have the newer packaging.
If you want, I can copy & paste what they just put up on their FB page.
They added sodium benzoate to some of their products, without notice. So they've gone from being natural and crunchy and chemical free to not that.
Im not all up in arms, but I am annoyed.
Here is from their page:
Due to the volume of comments and questions on our Facebook page, we have been unable to respond individually to each person as we normally do. Instead, we have compiled a response to the most frequently asked questions.
A RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR USE OF SODIUM BENZOATE IN WASHES AND BUBBLES: First, we discovered after extensive testing that the preservatives we were previously using (Capryloyl glycine and undecylenoyl glycine) were, over the life of the product, causing the products to separate, thus making them less effective. Although you could simply shake to mix the product, that wasn?t up to our quality standards, so we decided to seek a new preservative that would be just as safe but would keep the product consistent over its lifetime.
We then learned that there was new research about sodium benzoate, a preservative that there was previously insufficient information about. Based on the results of these new studies, sodium benzoate has since been certified as allowed for use in organic skin care products by Ecocert, a certifying organization that sets standards for organic cosmetics. It is approved by Whole Foods for use in premium skin care products and is also ranked as a 1 out of 10 (with 0-2 being the lowest hazard level) by the EWG?s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. After a thorough analysis of the newest safety data and extensive testing of the final products, we determined that it was a suitable substitute to the previous preservatives in our washes and bubbles. As a bonus, since it is certified as allowed for use in organic skin care, it actually brings us one step closer to organic certification for our final products. There has been a lot of misinformation circulating about sodium benzoate. This is because much of the information that is available online about sodium benzoate is in regards to its use in soda and other beverages, and is not applicable to its use in skin care products.
In addition to sodium benzoate, we also added gluconolactone, which is corn-derived, non-dairy, and is ranked as 0 on the EWG?s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database.
A RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR CALENDULA CREAM: Due to the issues discussed above with our previous preservatives (capryloyl glycine and undecylenoyl glycine), we made the decision to use new preservatives (caprylhydroxamic acid and glyceryl caprylate) in our creams and lotions. These are naturally derived from coconut, are from the same class as amino acids as the previous preservatives, and have the same properties and functionality. As well, due to an unsteady supply of organic safflower oil that met our specification, we switched to organically-grown canola oil and added it to our Calendula Cream for extra moisturization. It is produced in single-item facilities, which ensures it has no cross-contamination with nuts, another example of our very strict ingredient standards.
Some customers have noticed that our Calendula Cream has a slightly different smell. This is because we recently began extracting calendula in-house, so it is much more concentrated and has a more pronounced herbal scent. Because it is more concentrated, we can use less of it but get the same level of effectiveness as before (this is also why it has moved down on the ingredient list). You can see the difference in the picture on this post.
Some customers have also said they are experiencing irritation from the cream. Since the ingredient changes were very minor and the products went through extensive safety testing before they were released, the irritation is likely being cause by a sensitivity to essential oils. We suggest customers who are experiencing this switch to the Super Sensitive/No Fragrance lotion.
A RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT WHY THE NEW INGREDIENTS WERE NOT IMMEDIATELY POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE: We truly apologize for not posting the new ingredients immediately on our website. We are a small company and were still in the process of aggregating all of the new information and putting together a complete list of all the changes that we could share with you. We are sorry to have let you down by not informing you of these changes in a timely manner. However, it is important to note that all products with updated ingredients are properly labeled as such, so when you purchase our products you can be assured that you have the most accurate information on the label. As of January 19th, the ingredients are also updated on our website. We have also submitted the new ingredient information to EWG?s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, and they are in the process of reviewing it before they update their database.
A RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR FACEBOOK POLICY: We at California Baby have always encouraged a healthy dialog with our customers. We encourage you to share your ideas, suggestions and comments about our company and products, including on our Facebook page. It has always been part of our company?s DNA because that is how we will be able to continue to grow and evolve and develop the best possible products for you and your family. As company policy, we do not edit or remove any of these postings reflecting your opinions, including those which are critical of us or depict us in a negative way. Likewise, as a matter of policy, we will remove postings that are factually incorrect or are exceptionally mean-spirited. We will not allow our company Facebook page to be used to perpetuate inaccuracies, misinformation, and personal rants.
IF YOU HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS: Please visit our website (www.californiababy.com) for the most up-to-date information on our products and their ingredients. If you still have specific questions that are beyond what has been addressed here or on our website, please feel free to call Sue at (310) 815-8201 x 205. Her hours are Mon-Thurs 8:30-5:00 PST and Sunday 9:00-3:00 PST.
A SPECIAL NOTE TO OUR CUSTOMERS: As natural products consumers, you hold the companies you purchase from to the highest of standards, and we applaud you for that. In fact, we were founded by a mom just like you who decided to dig deeper into the products she was using for her children. However, before making any purchase decisions or spreading information to other moms online, we urge you to take the time to look at the available data (we suggest https://www.ewg.org/skindeep) and decide for yourself what is safe for you and your families. We remain committed to creating the safest, most effective natural products available and are thrilled to have customers as devoted as you are as part of the California Baby family.
the secret blog
the secret blog
I thought that, too!
I thought that as well. Plus how many people are using the new formula but have NOT had any problems and thus haven't even thought to say anything.
It seems like more people are upset by all of the secrecy. That they don't even say "new formula" on the label or anything like that. That they've been promoting their products as 100% plant based (or whatever it is they say) and now they aren't adhering to that. Some people also claim that CA Baby outright lied to them when asked if the formula had changed.
And since when did Whole Foods become the standard by which products are judged? Whole Foods says it's ok, so it's ok! That kind of makes me roll my eyes.
Thanks for sharing A. Their explanation makes sense to me. I love the CA Baby Calendula Cream a lot. It is THE scent of my child since I put it on him two times a day. If the scent changed I'd be sad.
We previously used the Burt's Bees baby wash and they changed the scent of that line entirely without notice as far as we could tell and we were so bummed we stopped using it.
When BB changed I was sort of shocked. They actually did a good thing in eliminating phytoestrogens and the like but you think they'd ADVERTISE IT since it was in the best interest of the customers. I don't like the new smell at all, though.
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Haley Beth ~ March 3rd, 2011
While their products may still be safe, there appear to be many customer complaints of irritation and rashes when switching to the new formulation of calendula cream given a more concentrated calendula extract (although less is used in the new formulation). I agree with you - there may be many anecdotal associations not causations, but the problem most customers have at this point is the way that the change was handled and the fact that a product that was working so well for them has now been changed - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
California Baby has now removed all customer posts on their Facebook page and locked it down, so you will no longer see many of the posts that were there last night. You can still see comments on California Baby's own posts, and the comment list is growing. I poured over the customer posts last night before they were removed and was appalled to see how many customers were directly told "no, the product has not changed - only the label", only to find out yesterday that it had. I wrote about it on my blog yesterday -
https://purebebe.com/blog/2012/01/20/for-shame-california-baby/
Bubble baths are a bad idea for many child. One of the main causes of uncircumsized boys getting inflamed is bubble bath soap bubbles getting under the foreskin. Girls get problems already listed. It's cute and fun, but if your kid is prone to skin sensitivities, leave it out of the tub.
If you need a cream, and most babies don't, coconut oil is awesome. You don't have to go all out of cosmetic grade, although that's better on the face, as food grade is qood enough for bottoms and body skin. Dirt also sticks to oils, so you can go the really old-fashioned (Roman) way and oil em up and wipe it off, instead of using soaps that dry their skin out.
Another less chemical laden alternative to regular soaps and shampoos is to use diluted Dr. Bronner's castile soap. It will foam up best if you put it in a foaming dispenser (otherwise you need to add vegetable glycerin). It isn't tear-free though, so make sure to keep it out of their eyes (tear-free shampoos put a numbing agent in them, just fyi, it's not because they don't inherently sting the eyes).
NorCalMOMS bio* NorCalBOTB* babywearingBIO
Harmony Doula
Good to know - I've been considering trying coconut oil on my LO next time she experiences diaper rash.
I've also been considering Dr Bronner's for shampoo for the kids as I haven't been entirely happy with many of the shampoos I've tried. How does it affect the skin in terms of moisture? My littlest has recently developed a severely dry scalp in response to the shampoo we're currently using. Also, what ratio to water do you recommend?
Thanks!