how safe is that shampoo?

was reading a back issue of Mothering magazine when i came upon a really interesting article about safety of baby products.. so i went to the recommended site of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) that has a Skin Deep Database to check out how the baby products that i've bought so far ranked. SCARRIIIEEEE results for one of the most common baby products used in Singapore - - err... starts with letter J. Most of its products are ranked 5 and above. The higher the number the more hazardous it is! And this manufacturer also doesn't sign onto the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. This is a "pledge to formulate products that do not use ingredients that are known or suspected to cause certain health harms within three years of signing."

There was good rankings (1 or 2 out of 10) for an expensive organic brands --- two words, starts with letter C and letter B. But of course, the expensive organic one is like 5 times more expensive....... Considering that Val has so little hair (read= needs v little shampoo) perhaps its' worthwhile to consider sticking to this more expensive wash ... Besides checking out baby care products, this Skin Deep Database also lets you check out cosmetics and other personal hygiene products for big people. Quite interesting...... at least, another resource to better inform us, although it's a shame that most of the '0' hazard products are probably not found here but in the US.

YIKES. i just saw the ratings for a stretch mark lotion - famous brand starts with "M" and very expensive too. 7 on the scale! Ingredients in the product linked to: 1) cancer 2) development/reproductive toxicity 3)violations/restrictions/warnings 4)allergies 5) and lots of other scary stuff.!!!! Luckily during my pregnancy, I alternated between this and an organic brand - two words (is this sounding like charade??) one letter E and letter M. And that one is rating a ZERO on the hazard scale ......................PHEW....

Ok, so i am convinced. Organic is definitely sounding better although organic products are be quite expensive. As in PACKAGED organic products, e.g. organic milk in Hawaii costs $US6 per liter! But you can be smart and use or eat really organic products or whole foods, for example, Timor tomatoes (although they are irregularly shaped and sometimes with wrinkly skin) are juicier and sweeter than the imported ones i've tasted back home here.

So i say, time to junk the toothpaste and go for baking soda; forget baby oil and use virgin cold pressed coconut oil instead; grow plenty of citronella plants to chase mossies away; and instead of chewing on teethers that could possibly have toxic colours and materials - how about a clean washcloth frozen in the fridge? Babies are quite smart.... of all the toys Val has, he LOVES the damp cloth that i stick into his mouth every evening to clean his gums. He cries when i finish the job - the only time he ever cries when something is taken away from him. Oh, and ya, he's still striking the bottle. Maybe a lil bird told him about the latest news about BPA and babies bottles?