Cancer Causing Chemicals – What to Watch out for:

There has been a lot of coverage lately in the news regarding Cocamide diethanolamine (cocamide DEA).  Let me start by saying this is a product we DO NOT use in our products.  I do want to take this time to explain some of the research I have learned about this and share our take on the whole controversy. Cocamide DEA is included in a list of chemicals that has been found to cause cancer and birth defects.  What is it used for?  It is used as a foaming agent or thickener in body products such as soaps, shampoos, conditioners, etc.  If companies choose to use this ingredient in their products they must comply with California’s Proposition 65.  This states that companies must provide a “clear and reasonable” warning on their labels if the chemicals determined by the state are listed as harmful. Several companies have been found by a watch group in California as having this chemical in their products and not providing a warning label.  What does this mean for us?  What can we do to protect ourselves?  Well first of all, don’t trust everything you see on the shelves in the stores.  Just because it is there doesn’t mean it has been cleared from every angle in being safe for you.  Know your products and check their ingredients.  When using the internet to do this, choose reputable sights.  Anyone can make a product seem terrible for you if they set their mind to it, so use discretion and check more than one sight to use your best judgment. But we do need to be careful because it is our only body and our family’s bodies we are considering.  We considered these factors greatly when developing our products.  You can rest assured we are using simple and harmless ingredients (after all it’s my daughters I’m protecting also).