Johnsons Baby Oil

Quote-start

I would not recommend this product to anyone!

Quote-end

1 Mar 15th, 2006 

21 Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful

Advantages:
Might be a cheap, effective way of moisturising for some

Disadvantages:
Not for people who are allergic to mineral oils

Recommendable No:

Detailed rating:

How gentle is it?

Fragrance

Value for Money

rachvt

rachvt

About me:

I have 3 beautiful children, goldfish, a tonne of books, magazines, and too many pairs of jeans. I l...

Member since:14.03.2006

Reviews:19

I've been suffering from eczema ever since I could remember. As a result, I'm very careful about whatever I put on my skin, and pay particular attention to any possible triggers of eczemic attacks.

I've tried Johnson's baby oil on myself and its always caused a mild eczema attack on my skin. At first, I didn't believe it. Its only baby oil right? Good for babies, good for you?? Well, not so. When I tried it on my daughter - who suffers from eczema like I do, same thing - she gets eczema too! So I figured there must be something in the baby oil that we're allergic to, but looking at the ingredient listing- which very simply mentioned 2 ingredients : Perfume, and something called "Paraffinum Liquidum", which I don't know about.

Then I remembered that I've gotten eczemic attacks from using E45 on my detergent-chapped hands as well... and whenever I used E45 on my daughter's dry skin, it just made her eczema worse or caused a breakout. I decided to compare their ingredient listings one day to see if they have anything in common with each other. Its not hard - since baby oil only has 2 ingredients, so its either the perfume or the "Paraffinum Liquidum" that me and my daughter are allergic to. E45's ingredient listing turned out to be pretty long, made up of mostly chemicals I don't know anything about. I noticed E45 doesn't have perfume on its ingredient listing, so that narrowed down my suspicions : it probably is the "Paraffinum Liquidum" that me and my daughter are allergic to.

I did a search on Google for "Paraffinum Liquidum" and allergic reactions, and found that its actually just a fancy name for "Mineral Oil"... and this is what this website said about Mineral Oil:

(http://www.health-report.co.uk/ingredients-directory.htm)

"Liquidum Paraffinum is an exotic sounding way to say mineral oil (!!) See Mineral Oil ...>> Petroleum by-product that coats the skin like plastic, clogging the pores. Interferes with skin's ability to eliminate toxins, promoting acne and other disorders. Slows down skin function and cell development, resulting in premature aging. Used in many products (baby oil is 100% mineral oil!) Any mineral oil derivative can be contaminated with cancer causing PAH's (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons). Manufacturers use petrolatum because it is unbelievably cheap.
-Mineral oil
-Liquidum paraffinum (also known as posh mineral oil!)
-Paraffin oil
-Paraffin wax
Petrolatum "

Yikes! Premature aging?! Clogging the skin's pores?? Interferes with skin's ability to eliminate toxins?? Can be contaminated with cancer-causing PAH's??!

Not believing it, I went to other websites which feature information on this chemical and they all raised pretty much the same points as this particular report I had indicated. If you're interested, try the following links to view what different websites say about the chemical Paraffinum Liquidum :
http://www.moom-uk.com/Hazards.htm#paraffin
http://www.anewlife.co.uk/toxic-toiletries.html
http://www.wyndham-centre.co.uk/news_n170503.asp

After finding all that out, I'll definitely try to stay away from products containing this nasty substance, although its proving trickier than I thought, since many drugstore skin creams tend to contain some amount of this stuff. (Is it because drugstore creams are cheaper products??) I've now switched to products that either don't contain this, or contain very little of this (i.e. if this chemical is listed at the bottom portion of the ingredients list)

With all those negative points raised about this particular chemical in the websites, I wouldn't be recommending anyone any skin-care products containing Paraffinum Liquidum and its chemical derivatives, whether or not they are eczema sufferers.
 

How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines

exceptional

very helpful

helpful

somewhat helpful

not helpful

off topic

Products you might be interested in »

Johnsons Baby Lotion Oilatum Junior
Johnsons Baby Powder Aqueous Cream

Aqueous Cream

Baby Cream/Talc/Oil, Problem Skin

User reviews (57)

Buy now for only £ 0.79

Johnsons Baby Lotion Bedtime Metanium Nappy Rash Ointment

Comments about this review »

evelyna 29.10.2008 15:52

horrible ingredients in it, it don't worth a penny this product. I don't know why people even bother with it .They should just use extra virgin olive oil on they bodies rather then the cosmetics sold these days in boots, supermarkets etc as they are all just a chemical cocktail, even the expensive ones.

chris_ray 23.08.2008 15:35

Excellent review though I don't suffer from eczema its interesting to know some of the information that you've included in your review, so thanks :) How do you, or did you find other products that do not contain these mineral oils?

e.j.kingham 20.03.2006 14:23

I can understand why you dislike this product. However with eczema not everyone reacts to the same things the same way. I have eczema and can use baby oil with no problems. I wouldn't worry about the cancer causing chemicals. You average yearly intake of carrots, coffee, lettuce and a few other things is much more carcinogenic than that!

Compare prices for Johnsons Baby Oil »

1 offer for Johnsons Baby Oil   sorted by: Price 


More reviews »

Johnsons Baby Oil - review by queenjewls

Advantages: cheap easy and great for your skin
Disadvantages: greasy feel to it

Johnsons Baby Oil - review by queenjewls queenjewls 17.07.2000 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Johnsons Baby Oil

Johnsons Baby Oil - review by begum

Advantages: -
Disadvantages: -

Johnsons Baby Oil - review by begum begum 19.03.2001 (19.03.2001) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Johnsons Baby Oil

Johnsons Baby Oil - review by ostemydecay

Advantages: gentle on all skin
Disadvantages: greasy

Johnsons Baby Oil - review by ostemydecay ostemydecay 24.09.2003 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Johnsons Baby Oil

Johnsons Baby Oil - review by vicky27

Advantages: It smells great and does it's job
Disadvantages: absolutly none

Johnsons Baby Oil - review by vicky27 vicky27 17.12.2001 (17.12.2001) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Johnsons Baby Oil

Johnsons Baby Oil - review by mysticflayme

Advantages: Smells lovely, good for babies with more tolerant skin
Disadvantages: Both my boys were allergic, not good at all for sensitive skins

Johnsons Baby Oil - review by mysticflayme mysticflayme 26.02.2006 (26.02.2006) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Johnsons Baby Oil



Are you the manufacturer / provider of Johnsons Baby Oil? Click here