Polyaminopropyl Biguanide: An ingredient to watch out for in baby wipes

For those who want to choose safe baby wipes

You want to be careful when choosing what to use on your precious baby, right? Many people are especially concerned about the ingredients in baby wipes for newborns.

If you look at the ingredients on your baby wipes and see that they contain an ingredient called "polyaminopropyl biguanide," then read this article to help you decide whether or not to continue using them.

• For more information on wet wipes, please read this article .
• Click here for recommended wipes

What is Polyaminopropyl Biguanide?

This substance is also known as PHMB. It is used as a preservative in cosmetics. However, it is not often used in cosmetics for adults.

Why is that?

This is because there is a high risk of toxicity, irritation, and allergies.

In Japan, there are restrictions on the amount of ingredients that can be used in any cosmetic product, and the limit is 0.1%. Do you think that 0.1% is just a small amount, so it's okay?

Even parabens , which are often avoided due to their hormonal effects, can only be used at a maximum concentration of 1%, meaning that polyaminopropyl biguanide is significantly more toxic than parabens.

Safety of polyaminopropyl biguanide

In the EU, polyaminopropyl biguanide is a CMR substance. A CMR substance is an ingredient that is classified as carcinogenic (C), mutagenic (M), or toxic to reproduction (R). Polyaminopropyl biguanide is classified in the carcinogenic category.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) lists its toxicity as follows:

• May be fatal if inhaled
• potential for organ damage with prolonged or repeated exposure;
• Long-term toxicity to aquatic organisms
• Can cause serious eye damage
• Carcinogenicity
• Allergic dermatitis

Due to these concerns, the EU banned polyaminopropyl biguanide in all cosmetic products in 2015, and not just for babies .

It was decided that it should not be used even in cosmetics for adults.

What's in it

Some people may not be familiar with the name polyaminopropyl biguanide.
However, if you look carefully at the ingredients, you will see it in shampoos, wet tissues, and baby wipes. It is used as a preservative to prevent the growth of bacteria and mold.

This means that there is a possibility that ingredients that are of concern as carcinogenic or allergenic may be repeatedly used on newborns' bottoms, even though mucous membranes have a higher absorption rate than skin.

Also, if it is in wet tissue, it can be dangerous if you accidentally ingest it. If you are using wet wipes as a scam, please be sure to check the ingredients.

It should have been banned in the EU

As mentioned above, polyaminopropyl biguanide was banned from all cosmetic products in the EU in 2015.
However, an investigation by a consumer group in Denmark revealed that there were products that still contained the substance after the ban, including some cosmetics from major brands.

The EU is said to have the strictest regulations on cosmetic ingredients in the world, so why did this happen?

In fact, it is said that this is because industry groups, including Cosmetics Europe, lobbied the authorities to allow low concentrations of the ingredient. This is what we call lobbying.

Subsequently, certain products were once again approved for use with polyaminopropyl biguanide at a concentration of 0.1%.

Why not try using wet wipes only when you go out?

Wet wipes are often 99% water and the remaining 1% is preservatives. Water is the most easily spoiled cosmetic ingredient, and wet wipes are used to wipe away baby feces. For this reason, most wet wipes contain strong preservatives.

It's only 1%. But that may be naive. Even if it's only 0.1%, some ingredients can pose a risk.

If you are concerned about your baby's skin and health, one option would be to use cotton soaked in water instead.
Recently, you can buy cotton baby wipes on Amazon and other sites. If you wet these cotton wipes with water, they may be useful for use at daycare or when you go out.

100% water! Recommended baby wipes

I'm worried about the ingredients, but baby wipes are convenient. I really want to use baby wipes, but it's difficult and I don't know which ones to choose.
For those people, we recommend these baby wipes , which are made from cotton and 100% water . You can easily purchase them on Amazon.

We are also distributing information that can only be said on LINE

CONCIO Academy's LINE account provides useful information to help you choose safer cosmetics.
Register here → https://lin.ee/jAkRPAs