- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
September 2015 Moms
schwens3
member
Johnson & Johnson
schwens3
member
I've loved their Lavendar Baby Wash and Lotion but now I'm worried since the lawsuit has hit news. I read a Time magazine article that basically said Johnson & Johnson has ignored recommendation to use safer products and it isn't safe. What do you all think? Is it legit? Should we stop using J&J on our babies?
Re: Johnson & Johnson
ETA: My sister's dermatologist recommended it for her eczema as well.
I now use a our unrefined shea butter, grapeseed oil and essential oil blend on the kiddos, and don't get me wrong, I'm not super crunchy or anything. This is just a blend I found that I can get ingredients cheapily, easily and it repairs DS1 skin issues.
And doesn't Johnson & Johnson own aveeno?
Aveeno is a manufacturer of skin care and hair care products in the United States and is a subsidiary of American consumer goods and pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson. Aveenowas founded in 1945, and its first product was their Soothing Bath Treatment.
I'm written about this before. Formaldehyde sounds scary but its naturally occurring, its inside you, its all around you, just like hundreds of thousands of other chemicals. The soaps meet all safety guidelines and regulations it would require 40 million baby shampoo baths in a single day to meet California's Proposition 65. That is not an exaggeration. Some babies have sensitive skin and react to certain products differently, my LOs have a reaction to Huggies diapers for example. That doesn't mean that Huggies diapers cause cancer or are dangerous to all babies.
Does anyone else remember the "glass shards" in Huggies wipes? It ended up being people who basically had no idea what they were talking about building hysteria and creating a public relation crap storm over nothing. That is basically what this is. My final take away from what I've read is try not to put a ton of talcum powder (any brand) on your babies butt hole every day for the rest of her life and she should be okay.
ETA: Sorry in advanced if this is a bit aggressive. As a scientist (in a previous life) who is married to a chemical engineer these things tend to drive me bonkers.
edited to add: I love their stuff. I have to be the one odd ball again and say the baby aveeno gave him a rash- weirdest thing bc everyone else does great with aveeno....
https://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductsIngredients/Ingredients/ucm128042.htm#Are_there_health_risks
Here is information on the correlation between talc used on genitals and cancer cell development, with some peer-reviewed studies linked:
https://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/45493/title/Can-Talc-Cause-Cancer-/
I have baby powder that I got in a basket at a shower that is 100% cornstarch, no talc involved. Johnson & Johnson makes it. I'm sure other companies do, as well, and you can always use plain, cooking grade cornstarch, too...I certainly had parents provide that when I worked in a daycare.
At any rate, as someone mentioned above, the lawsuit relates specifically to talc. Not the company's other products or their ingredients. I use Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo on my kid's scalp...sometimes...sometimes I use Aveeno - as others have noted, same manufacturer, sometimes Honest Co. samples. For lotion and dry skin balm, I ordinarily use Aveeno Baby, Burt's Bee's Baby, and Shea Moisture, though I have Johnson & Johnson baby lotion. My favorite is the Aveeno Baby (though Burt's Bee's is what cleared up cradle cap for us).
Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine when people are like, "Oh, no, I use natural products" as a synonym for categorically safe and healthy. Lots of natural products are not things you'd want to be giving your kid. We don't give babies paregoric for colic anymore, because it's an opiate (opium --->natural product!). Hyland's teething tablets over the years have contained varying amounts of homeopathic belladonna, a (naturally occurring, plant-derived!) poison. Etc., etc.
Yes, I know that people are saying they are being cautious what chemicals and compounds they expose their kids to and I don't disagree with it. It's the "all-natural!" terminology as buzzword for "healthy and wholesome" that irks me.
J&J does not have cancer causing ingredients, which is a vague statement. What are these ingredients? Parabens have no scientifically proven link and have been shown to have less estrogenic activity than naturally occurring estrogen (via @backatac FDA link). Talc is not in baby shampoos, its also not specific to J&J and formaldehyde was removed despite being completely safe in the levels at which it was present.
I don't even use J&J usually, I tend to use Aveeno because I happen to prefer it but it certainly isn't because I think its dangerous. It's not.
On a side note, the lawsuit originally mentioned, involving talc - several have already commented on it, so I will just add that my pediatrician and my hospital have always warned against using any powder on baby at all, due to the risk of the infant inhaling the dust and it causing respiratory problems.