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Filed Under Skin Care

When I have some extra cash (which is not often) I sometimes go through our list of Safer Skin Care and purchase a sampler set of something I haven’t tried yet. It gives me a chance to try something new first hand as well as keep up with any reformulations that might occur as time goes on. Recently I decided to buy a sample gift set from Mama Rose’s Naturals. Their brand has been on our cheat sheet for a while since their website touts natural and lists the ingredients for each item. Their SPF 50 chemical free sunscreen remains on our Sunscreen Cheat Sheet.

I was dismayed to discover that a few of their basic baby skin care contains a little propylene glycol. It has been a while since we’ve discussed ingredients on SafeMama so let me refresh our memory of why we try to avoid it. Propylene Glycol is a penetration enhancer which is basically a vehicle to bring other materials into your skin. It’s also a suspected immune system toxin, neurotoxin, reproductive toxin, respiratory toxin, and skin toxin. I should also mention its a chemical (classified as a hazardous material) they use to de-ice planes. My go-to gal, Stephanie from Bubble & Bee, for ingredients has a better explanation of why it should be avoided on her Chemical of the Day blog.

I’m not sure what bothered me more… that it was in the products (even in a tiny amount) or that they don’t list it on their website in the ingredients. I purchased a few items based on the ingredients they list on their website only to find out that its more of a “generalization” of the ingredients rather than an exact list.

So how safe is safe enough? Maybe there is trace amounts of it in a few products. Is that ok? Here at SafeMama I try to find the safest of the safest but I am also realistic. Not everyone wants to drop a wad of cash on organic skin care. Or do they?

When it comes to my kids I try to find the safest stuff I can (that works) but I want to also consider skin care that may be free of the biggest threats (parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde, etc) and not 100% chemical free… because I am not everyone and I recognize that. Some of you want something cheaper and “safer” and some of you want the “safest”. My personal conflict lies in where to draw the line here on SafeMama.com. The more I learn about ingredients, the more natural and organic I demand for safety. Unfortunately that leaves less to select from as my list of requirements grows.

Is there such thing as too safe? Some kids have allergies to natural ingredients or terrible eczema that can only be controlled with mainstream synthetic creams or prescriptions. What then? Are we all taking it too far?

What do you think? Readers… how safe is safe in your eyes? Would you rather see SafeMama put on the full throttle of safety in our skin care recommendations or do you want more options? Would you prefer a rating system? I’ll be releasing a new cheat sheet for baby skin care this year and would love some input from our loyal readers. How far is far enough? I give the floor to you… I’ll be interested to hear everyone’s perspective.

Posted by: SafeMama Kathy on January 30, 2010

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Comments

17 Responses to “Safer Skin Care: How Far Do You Go?”

rebecca on January 30th, 2010 4:08 pm

Hmmmm….good question. I personally love a rating system. Sometimes I need something immediately and I live in a somewhat remote area where the natural foods store is quite a trip. I usually have to weigh the options and pick the safest thing available. I take the info I read here and do the best I can with the choices and the money I have.
Shannon Harlow on January 30th, 2010 4:30 pm

I like that you list the best/safest options under one header, then list some “better then average” options for those who are also on a tight budget.
Lisa Olshanski on January 30th, 2010 4:32 pm

I wanted to buy the safest of the safe for my daughter but I think a rating system is good. It’s not always easy to find the safest stuff and not always affordable.
Erin on January 30th, 2010 6:39 pm

We experienced exactly one of the problems you described. We were using really safe products on our infant and then she came down with a terrible case of eczema that caused her to scratch until she bled. Under that situation, when none of the super safe stuff worked, we tried what the doctor recommended and it cleared up immediately. I take the approach that there are times when a less safe product may be the only thing that works. As long as we try hard to use what safe products we can, the exposure from a single product or two is okay when necessary.

The good news is that once her eczema was under control, we could go back to safer moisturizers to keep it from coming back. A rating system (like EWG’s list of produce that ranks them based on pesticide tests for those who cannot afford to eat all organic) or a two tier recommendation system is a great idea.

At the same time there are going to be times when some of us even have to go with the products that include many questionable ingredients. I view it like integrated pest management in agriculture. They attempt to use beneficial organisms to reduce the use of any chemical additions but will use chemicals when the beneficials don’t work.
BB on January 30th, 2010 8:16 pm

I’d like to see a rating system, with “safety”, “effectiveness”, and “price” as separated categories (maybe on a scale of 1 to 3, nothing too complicated).
Erin White on January 30th, 2010 10:58 pm

I agree that a rating system would rock. I’m only beginning to closely examine ingredients on bath products, so having a wide range of options would be helpful (not to mention the fact that money is tight). Thank you for recognizing the spectrum of safer/safest and affordable/not on my salary. And thanks for this fantastic site!
Erin White on January 30th, 2010 11:02 pm

Oh and a note on propylene glycol: they use it as a base in flavors. This means plenty of products that contain any added “flavor” might contain it, although in miniscule amounts (flavors are highly concentrated).
Sarah on January 31st, 2010 1:53 am

I want to be as safe as I possibly can be for the kiddos & myself. I think a rating system would be great. Thank you so much!
gerti on January 31st, 2010 3:23 am

A rating system would be great. I try to use the safest products for daily use and the once you only need a few times a year can be a little less safe but also affordable. I do the same with groceries. Certain foods I always by organic and some only once in a while (like bananas). That way I can still stay within our budget but keep the nasty stuff out of the house.

To all the parents of children with eczema…there´s a new cream called regividerm in Europe that is made with avocado oil and vitamin B12. It does not contain cortison and is supposed to actually heal eczema. I don´t know if you can get it here somehow but it might be worth trying.
A friend of mine just sent it to me and I have been using it for 2 days and can already see a difference. I thought I´d mention it…
shelley mcdowell on January 31st, 2010 3:10 pm

Good question. Well admittedly times are hard financially for most of the country so it is important to find affordable products. On the same token I believe that most of your readers flock to this site in search of the safest products. I admire your quest to weed out products that falsely advertise as all natural. If you are putting together an actual all natural list and some past brands no longer make the cut, then so be it. We have the power as consumers to make companies create safer products by simply swithcing brands. Ultimately I can imagine this might be a tedious and time consuming project for you so perhaps you might want to apply the rating system like you suggested. Maybe you can use stars to indicate how natural, effective, budget friendly, etc a product is. Hope this helps. I look forward to reading the new list.
Holly on January 31st, 2010 4:31 pm

I think a rating system would be great as well. Maybe with just headings such as “safe”, “safer”, “safest”, and then listing the ingredients that excluded it from the “safest” category. Then if you list prices, we can just decide for ourselves how safe we can afford to be based on our budgets. I appreciate what you do, and am truly thankful!
Christine on January 31st, 2010 6:33 pm

I appreciate you taking the time to ask your readers this question. I lean on the side of purchasing the “safest” for my daughter and cutting my budget in other areas to allow this expenditure. Therefore, I like the idea of a rating system or a “safest” and “better than average” like someone else suggested. That way I can continue to buy the safest yet others have safer options that are less expensive.
Melissa on February 1st, 2010 12:39 am

I look to safemama to find the safest products possible. I’m sure it is tough to say which chemicals are “better” or “worse”. The effects of some chemicals are only partly known. So, as far as I’m concerned, if you only list one product in each category that passes your test, I’m happy with that!
Claudia on February 1st, 2010 2:55 am

You are definitely not taking it too far, especially when it comes to our kids. A rating system would be good. The more I learn about the icky ingredients in products, the more proactive I become to try to get our government to improve (or actually to start regulating) regulation of products.
Val on February 1st, 2010 2:32 pm

I think there needs to be a balance between how many chemicals there are in the product, the price of the product, and the availability of the product. I use the EWG’s Cosmetics Database all the time, but most of the products that are rated a 1 or 2, I have no idea where I could purchase them.
Tammy on February 1st, 2010 3:16 pm

The stricter standards the better I say…especially when it comes to our babies…to me nothing but the best is acceptable and if that means I have to order it from across the continent to get it then that’s what I’m willing to do. I think the more we don’t settle, the more available the best products will become.
Ana on February 2nd, 2010 5:45 pm

I do too try to get the safest products for my baby even if that means I have to spend less in other areas. I always come to safemama when I am looking for a new product. A “safe” “safer” and “safest” rating system will help a lot. It is not always possible to find the “safest” products when you need them, so having a “safer” alternative will be helpful.

Thank you for the hard work!