I was doing some research again on products that are unsafe for my children (AGAIN!), and if you had any idea what is lurking in that bottle of baby shampoo or bubble bath, you'd definately think twice before putting it in your shopping cart.

As a mother of three children with sensative skin, I am constantly flipping the containers over to see what is in the ingredients. Not just for them, but for myself. Just like when I'm shopping for groceries, I check the nutrion table on the food we purchase to ensure I am getting the healthiest food for my family. If it's to high in fat or empty calories, carbohydrates etc. we stear clear of those foods. We know they can, over time and consuming to much can cause weight gain, high blood pressure, high cholestrol etc. We are a society who is health concious because we are the most obese country in the world and have the highest rate of heart desease from what we consume.

But what about skin health? Not everyone has sensative skin, but at some point in our lives we have experienced an uncomfortable and unexplainable rash. Any product that is used on your skin, ie, lotion, make-up, perfume, soap etc. is considered a cosmetic and the FDA requires that all cosmetics and skin care products have an ingredients label. Grab a bottle of your favorite bottle of lotion and your shower gel, and do a comparison. Do you see ingredients you cannot pronounce? Of course you do! The question is, what are those ingredients and what do they cause? I will go into that further momentarily, first I want to share an article I read that will make you wonder WTHeck is in your baby care products as well as your goodies!

As many know I am a member of the campaign for safe cosmetics. This organization tests products on the market to see what they are made of and how many ingredients are in the products but not listed on the labels, and they let you know how safe they are for your skin and what reactions or deseases specific ingredients within the product maybe or are linked to. I update on that website often and run my own products through their skin deep data system. I am proud to say that Soaps 'N Suds has some of the safest products on the market!

When I was reading on some new research from March 2009 via the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics studies, one that caught my attention was contaminants in bath products. This is important to me because 90% of my product line is bath and body. Here an sample from that article:

"Does baby shampoo need to contain cancer-causing chemicals? No – but it often does. Product tests released by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in March 2009 found two known carcinogens, 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde, in dozens of bath products for babies and kids, including Sesame Street character brands and even the iconic "pure and gentle" Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo.

This report followed up on test results released in February 2007, which found the chemical 1,4-dioxane in 18 popular baby soaps, bubble baths and shampoos. None of the products tested in either round listed 1,4-dioxane or formaldehyde on the label.

Both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane are known animal carcinogens and probable human carcinogens, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Formaldehyde can also cause skin rashes in sensitive children."

You can read the remainder of this article here.

I became aware that my youngest daughter, Neena, was unable to use Johnson & Johnson's baby products when she was an infant due to the rash she recieved from head to toe after a bath. I began bathing her with other products, which were a hit and miss with most, but after a while, even with using a product that did well for her at first, she would get the same rash. Tired of my little Neena getting red itchy bumps that seemed to settle on her arms and legs and across her bottom, I started bathing her with my goat's milk soap and pine tar soap. I started with the pine tar soap to help sooth and clear the rash and once it was gone I bathed her from then on out with goat's milk soap. She hasn't had that rash in over a year now. She is almost 3 years old.

What disturbed me about this article, is all baby products claim "Gentle" "Tear Free", etc. How can any product be gentle if it contains carcinogens like formaldehyde? Not to mention, when you dig a little deeper into the ingredients they contain Parabens and Phthalates!!! Granted, formaldehyde may not be added directly into the ingredients to create the product, but read further on into the article and see that it is formed by none other than a chemical reaction between other ingredients over time.

We decided that going without these ingredients would be best for our family. Considering many cosmetics contain ingredients that raise estrogen levels and contribute to breast cancer, skin cancer, wrinkles AND rashes, irritation, migrains. If you don't have a pre-exsisting skin disorder, chances are you can get one by using harsh products.

My main concern for so long was Sodium Laurel Sulfate, Parabens and Phthalates, so I designed products that do not contain those ingredients, I made something natural and pure. Now , I am concerned about other ingredients and my research and product design continues to ensure my family and customers have options to buy safe products they know are healthy and they can see the label and KNOW what the ingredients are in my products!

Here is a little inside information that major manfactures don't tell people, the definition of the ingredients on their packaging. Next time your shopping around, look at the back of the bottle. Do you want to know if they contain Paraben? They aren't going to put a sticker on the front of the bottle that says "NOW! WITH MORE PARABENS!". Here's the words to look for to know if your products contain Parabens right from the chemists mouth ( they won't always say paraben):

Parabens are esters of para-hydroxybenzoic acid, from which the name is derived. Common parabens include methylparaben (E number E218), ethylparaben (E214), propylparaben (E216) and butylparaben. Less common parabens include isobutylparaben, isopropylparaben, benzylparaben and their sodium salts. The general chemical structure of a paraben is, where R symbolizes an alkyl group such as methyl, ethyl, propyl or butyl.

Why do they use paraben? Paraben is an ingredient added to products that contain water to extend their shelf life by two years or more. This saves the manufacturer alot of money. It is also very cheap and in abundance. To keep the cost of manufacturing down and increase money in their pockets. Unfortunately it is as the risk of consumers health. Parabens are proven to increase estrogen levels in women, men and children and in turn linked to breast cancer and reproductive issues.

I make my products in small qauntities to ensure qaulity and quick sale. Soaps 'N Suds products never sit on the shelf long at all due to the rising demand for the products. I am currently formulating liquid lotions and body yogurts that are healthy and rich for the skin and with a paraben free preservative to prevent bacteria growth in products containing water. The new preservative is more expensive to obtain, but well worth my cost to produce a wonderful natural product without paraben! I am currently testing the lotions and creams and they will not be ready for public launch for another two months or longer. If you're still leary of using a lotion with a paraben free preservative, I encourage you to try our lotion bars, which are all natural solid lotion without water or preservatives.

Beauty truly is skin deep -

Rachel