Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Going Organic in the Bath


Yesterday we headed to a larger Whole Foods store than one near our home and we were able to locate the California Baby sunscreen I was looking for. We also replaced Ella's shampoo/body wash and hair detangler with California Baby products. It was not cheap! The sunscreen was $18 for 2.5 oz; the hair wash and detanlger were each $10 for 8.5 ounces. We also picked up some of Whole Foods's store brand mint shampoo and conditioner for Sarah. I checked the ingredients and I think they would work for Ella, too. At $1.99 each for 16 oz they are a great deal! They do have fragrance in them (which is on the "try to avoid" ingredient list), but I'm guessing on organic grocery store brand will have safer fragrances than the mainstream items.

I also ordered Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen, Sensitive on-line as the 2.5 oz of California Baby won't last long. The Blue Lizard is about $10-$12 for 5 ounces. I had to pay shipping, but I swear I've seen it around here in a store somewhere -- I just can't figure out where.

When we got home from Whole Foods I went through the house and checked on ingredients in our bath supplies. I was appalled to find my Boudreaux's Butt Paste is 100% Boric Acid, which is unsafe for infants according to industry experts. Um, so we're making diaper rash cream out of it?!?! Since Sarah was 3 I've been using Suave for Kids Detangling Spray and I've been using it on Ella as well. The back of that bottle (and the website I linked above) stated that it was not intended for use on infants or toddlers! It's packaged for kids so I never thought twice about using it on Sarah or Ella. Lesson learned -- read the ingredient list of everything before purchasing! Did you know air freshener sprays (like Glade) don't even have an ingredient list on them? Those went in the trash can as well.

I'm not an alarmist and I'm not a hovering-parent type at all, but I can't get past the fact that I've been using all these products never thinking about the chemicals they contain. I just bought what was on the shelf without questioning. Now, I'm questioning and changing our lifestyle accordingly.

4 Thoughts From Others:

RuthMcC said...

Hello

Boric acid is very safe if it makes up a small percentage of whatever it's in. In this case boric acid makes up just 0.3% of Butt Paste - super safe and a really important ingredient as it's a natural way (been used in different forms for 100's of years) to kill yeasts. All the ingredients in Butt Paste have been readily used in various forms for many many years, there are no nasty chemicals unlike other products, just well understood and well tested (and having stood the test of time) ingredients. And most importantly it works on nappy rash, or diaper rash as you guys call it.

I hope this helps.

Ruthy

The Campbell Family said...

Did you find any sites to order your plastic bubbles yet? :)

Camille said...

Thanks, Ruth. The ingredient list on the back of my Boudreaux's stated it was made of 100% boric acid. To be fair, Boudreaux's is rated a 2 out of 10 (low hazard) on the Skin Deep website. So I may have jumped the gun on that one.

Ha ha, Stephanie. Just wondering how much exposure to this stuff is the cause for illnesses, ya know? And if there is an alternative, than I'll take it!

The Campbell Family said...

Have you ever looked at Arbonne? Salespeople came often to our breastfeeding group to push their all natural products for the sake of our new babies. And when you move to Scranton, they might not have Wild Oats, so you'll have to look in to mail order. You could even sell the stuff and get your white Mercedes. Cash flow and a car (that is not a Kia) taken care of. You are welcome.

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