by Stacy Malkan
The products are advertised as “extra gentle” and “for sensitive
skin,” yet new medical papers indicate that many children’s bath
products contain a chemical preservative that can cause chronic skin
problems that are often misdiagnosed as eczema or other diseases.
Quaternium 15 — a chemical found in Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, Mr.
Bubble Bath, and Huggies Bath Wash, among many others — “has been
repeatedly shown to be a strong allergen that can cause contact
dermatitis,” an inflammation of the skin that varies from mild
irritation to rashes and open sores, according to a peer-reviewed paper
in the Journal of the Dermatology Nurses’ Association.
“Quaternium 15 is present in an alarmingly high number of baby
products, making exposure and sensitization at an early age
increasingly common,” said Sharon Jacob, M.D., co-author of the paper
and physician at the Department of Medicine and Pediatrics at Rady
Children’s Hospital.
“This is a concern because repeated exposures to sensitizing
chemicals, especially in early life, can cause a person to develop
allergic reactions over time.” She advises parents to choose products
without quaternium 15 and other formaldehyde-releasing preservatives
whenever possible.
Nearly 700 products on the market contain quaternium 15, according to the Environmental Working Group’s
Skin Deep database. Johnson & Johnson/Aveeno and Cover Girl make the highest number of products in the database containing the chemical.
Growing pressure on companies
Correcting this problem could help millions of people. An estimated
72.9 million adults in the United States suffer from allergic contact
dermatitis, and most are never properly diagnosed, according to the
cover article in the July 2009 Skin & Aging magazine, co-authored by Dr. Jacob.
The authors conclude that proper diagnosis and avoidance of
sensitizing chemicals could help patients avoid a lifetime of contact
dermatitis.
The papers come on the heels of a
March 2009 report
by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics that found dozens of top-selling
children’s bath products, including the market leader Johnson’s Baby
Shampoo, were contaminated with the carcinogens formaldehyde and
1,4-dioxane.
In the wake of the March report, thousands of stores in China pulled
Johnson’s baby products off shelves and several class-action lawsuits
were filed against the company. New York Senator Kristen Gillibrand
introduced a bill into Congress that would require FDA to limit contaminants in baby bath products.
In August, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the American Nurses
Association met with top executives from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ:
NYSE) to ask the company to remove hazardous chemicals from its popular
children’s products.
“The meeting was a positive step, and we’re optimistic that a
productive dialogue will continue,” said Lisa Archer, national
coordinator of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics from the Breast Cancer
Fund – yet she noted that the company has made no definitive
commitments.
“We urge Johnson & Johnson to show its leadership by
reformulating its baby products to remove quaternium 15 and other
chemicals of concern. Many companies are already making products
without these hazardous ingredients.”
Take action by sending Johnson & Johnson a letter asking them to live up to their “pure” and “gentle” claims.