Feb

10

Cheat Sheet: Paraben and Phthalate Free Baby Products

Filed Under Phthalates Info, Skin Care, paraben free 

Since the attention phthalates got in the media the last week or two, I’ve gotten a few emails from moms wondering “What products are safe?” and my favorite “Where is the phthalate free cheat sheet??“. Never fear moms and dads, Safe Mama is busy compiling a list. I’ve been religious about what products I use on my kid and the things I’ve read regarding parabens and phthalates have prompted me to change and inspect every product we use. For the tired moms who don’t have time to research and just need to know what products are paraben and phthtalate free, here is a quick list of companies.

UPDATE: Since the generation of this list, we’ve gone through each company and verified whether they contain parabens, phthalates, sodium laureth sulfates (SLS), 1,4 dioxane, PEG and/or Propylene Glycols. (See Glossary for why these things are something you may want to avoid). We also cross checked each product the the Skin Deep database to obtain any available hazard rating.

Download our extensive report / cheat sheet to see how products ranked.

Last Updated: April 15, 2008

Paraben & Phthalate Free Baby Products

(CO) = Certified Organic, (PO) Partially Organic

I’ll be doing reviews of the products marked with a * in the coming days. I’ll link to those reviews on this cheat sheet for easy reference.This list will continue to grow as I find more. I haven’t included everything yet so I could make sure it was phthalate free. Not all paraben free products are phthtalate free so I want to be sure I’m giving out the right information. Check back here for updates. I’ll link this over there on the Cheat Sheet list for future reference.

* = Products that I have used personally and will review or have reviewed.

Updated 2/24/08: I recently discovered a much wider selection of safe baby care at Publix here in Florida including Weleda, Gaia, Burt’s Bees Baby, Avalon Organics, JASON, and a few others. I noticed a couple brands grouped into this section that appear to be in the safe zone but BEWARE parents, some of them do contain parabens so read those labels before buying.

Tips:

Read labels carefully. This article from The Daily Green is a great intro to helping you identify and avoid phthalates in your products.

Shopping at a “natural” store doesn’t mean everything is paraben and phthalate free. Read labels, know how to decipher the ingredients and don’t be fooled by the word “natural” on the label. If it says -paraben in any form, it contains parabens!

Be wary of the term “fragrance”. Synthetic fragrances are a phthalate culprit so if you can, try to use products with organic or natural fragrances or <strike>choose “unscented”</strike>. Unscented products can also contain phthalates (darn it!)! EWG says,

“Fragrance-free” or “unscented” means a product has no odor, but synthetic ingredients are often added to mask odors. Products without the word “fragrance” on their label should be OK.

Thank you to my friends at Itsabelly for bringing this to our attention!

Use less products. This seems like a no-brainer but many people use way more than they need. Babies are born with the most perfect skin (usually) and it will never again be as perfect as it is when they’re babies. They don’t need to be slathered in lotions and powders. A little warm water and a washcloth is all they really need. When kids get older and grimier (like mine) a little soap and warm water does the trick and spot treat any dry skin problems or rashes.

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