嬌生的沐浴用品竟然驗出有致癌物質?! Johnson and Johnson Baby Shampoo is carcinogenic?!

It was very shocking to hear that many top-selling children’s bath products were found to be contaminated with the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane. This news was released to the media by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetic (CSC) in their March 2009 report, "No More Toxic Tub." http://www.safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=414

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics commissioned an independent laboratory to test 48 products for 1,4-dioxane and 28 of those products were also tested for formaldehyde. The lab found that 61% of all the products tested contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, 82% of those tested contained formaldehyde at levels ranging from 54 to 610 parts per million (ppm) and 67% of those tested contained 1,4-dioxane at levels ranging from 0.27 to 35 ppm.

The list of the products tested were well-known brands such as Johnson and Johnson (J&J), Aveeno, Baby Magic, Pampers, and Huggies. (See http://www.safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=426 for a complete list of the products CSC tested). The most recognizable baby product in the mix is Johnson and Johnson's Baby Shampoo. Although I never liked J&J's Baby Shampoo because of its claim "no more tears" which inevitable caused me eye irritation, we do use J&J's Head to Toe Baby Wash. In fact, we have been using it since my daughter was born, almost 9.5 years ago. It was surprisingly one of the few soaps that did not cause her sensitive skin to itch. We have been using this product because it worked for her, but we are not too sure what to do now.

Although CSC may have good intentions when they put out this report, they failed to address whether ALL Johnson & Johnson products contain formaldehyde and/or 1,4-dioxane. CSC puts this ball straight back in J&J's court. Now, it's up to J&J to come up with proof showing which of their products are free from these carcinogenic chemicals.

Another issue CSC failed to address is the fact that the existence of formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane is a well-known fact and many people in the baby toiletry industry know about these substances already. So what CSC said is not news. J&J has yet to release a statement regarding this matter. Interestingly, these carcinogenic substances are not included as the baby product's ingredients because they are the by-products of some of the chemicals added to baby products. No one has addressed the long term effects of kids using products laden with formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.

It is frustrating to try to figure this one out on your own--do you let your children use the products in question or not? On one hand, you have a proven product that works for your child, on the other hand, is it safe? Will it cause harm to your child?

嬌生這件事情也讓我很煩腦,最主要是我們家的9歲女兒有過敏性皮膚(Atopic dermatitis ),所以我給她用過很多種 lotion 及shampoos,也淘汰了很多品牌,最後我選用了她沒有過敏反應的籃罐裝 Aveeno lotion (menthol) 及 Johnson's Head To Toe Body Wash。 其實任何市面上賣的乳液及洗髮精都可能有被加入防腐劑,因為東西放久了就一定會壞掉,何況是放在浴室裏的東西。這些產品如果要有更長的 shelf life,那麼防腐劑也一定會有加入在產品裏頭。那份CSC報告只有測試了四十八種產品,但是造成無數家長的恐慌,實在是不應該。更糟糕的是嬌生根本沒有出面解釋這份報告及保證其公司產品的安全性,讓使用嬌生產品的消費者不知所措!

不管怎樣,再還未找到更合適我家女兒的沐浴乳及洗髮精之前,我們還會繼續使用Johnson's Head to Toe Body Wash,反正已經用了九年多,就辜且繼續相信嬌生。