As it turns out, the famous “No More Tears” baby shampoo – a familiar and trusted product in family bathrooms for generations – used to be a whole lot creepier than its squeaky-clean reputation would have you believe.
According to an article in The New York Times, the new “Improved Formula” Johnson's Baby Shampoo, which Johnson & Johnson has been rolling out to stores since late last year, has been modified to remove a few ingredients... includingformaldehyde, a chemical commonly used in embalming. (Did you ever dissect a frog in Biology lab? Remember that unholy smell? Same stuff.)
Image: Laura Pedrick, New York Times
After pressure from safety groups and major store chains, Johnson is eliminating the preservative and other potential toxins from the the shampoo, as well as a hundred other baby products. While they rank high among eco-friendly manufaturers, the company has still wrestled with a public-relations challenge by removing these ingredients, while assuring consumers that their products have always been safe.
They also stress there is more naturally-occurring formaldehyde in an apple than in 15 bottles of baby shampoo. I'm not sure if that's supposed to make me feel better, but there you go.