The dark side of baby powder

Sweat stopper, dry shampoo, blister prevention – I recently wrote about how baby powder is a little jack-of-all-trades that belongs in every household. Versatile in its application and by no means limited to powdering baby bottoms.

While researching its various possible uses, I came across even more. In fact, even a product as seemingly harmless as baby powder harbours risks and dangers. We need to talk about the flipside too.

Real: suffocation risk

Paediatricians recommend not using baby powder. On the one hand, they consider diaper balm better at skin protection. On the other hand, improper use of baby powder can be dangerous. If babies or small children inhale large quantities, it can block their airways in the worst case.

In 2011, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment wrote: «Baby powder containing talcum powder is a health risk». The warning was triggered, among other things, by the case of a two-year-old girl who almost suffocated. The child had been playing with a closed powder bottle when it suddenly burst. She subsequently inhaled a large amount of baby powder and had to be treated in intensive care for days.

If you and your child have a good experience with baby powder, there’s nothing to stop you continuing to use it. Just be sparing when applying powder and make sure that the bottle is closed firmly and out of your child’s reach at all times.

Controversial: cancer risk

US pharmaceutical manufacturer Johnson & Johnson now uses corn starch as the base for its baby powder. It’s called back talcum-containing baby powder from the worldwide market (article in German). This step follows tens of thousands of lawsuits against the company, primarily in the USA. The allegation? Apparently, talcum-based baby powder from Johnson & Johnson contained carcinogenic asbestos.

In the USA in particular, it was long common for women to use baby powder on their intimate areas. Used there, scientists claim to have found a link to ovarian cancer. Hence the many lawsuits, some of which Johnson & Johnson already lost in court. In 2021, the US Supreme Court confirmed a billion-dollar fine for the pharmaceutical giant (article in German). The lawsuit was filed by 22 women with ovarian cancer.

Johnson & Johnson continues to defend itself to this day, denying the allegations and emphasising that its talc products are safe. The US pharmaceutical giant even went so far as to sue the doctors who established the link between talc-based body care products and cancer (article in German).

According to studies, talc in its original form was actually contaminated with asbestos. But according to the experts, the talcum used today is asbestos-free in its purified form and therefore not carcinogenic. This has to be the case. After all, it’s also used as a food additive E 553b (page in German). Nevertheless, asbestos residues have been repeatedly detected in cosmetic products containing talc in the past (article in German).

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified the perineal application of talcum in body powders as possibly carcinogenic since 2006 – only to immediately point out that there’s no clear evidence of cancer risk. There are also studies that have found no connection between talcum powder and ovarian cancer. The only thing that seems certain? Nothing is certain. Or to put it another way – «Why take the risk?», as Diana Zuckerman from the National Center for Health Research in Washington concludes.

The moral of the story?

Let’s recap what we’ve learned: baby powder certainly has no place in awkward children’s hands and airways. Maybe not in women’s intimate areas either. At least not regularly. It’s up to you to decide whether you should avoid baby powder altogether or not. In my view, there’s nothing wrong with using it responsibly. I’ll certainly be using baby powder again this early summer when building our removable pool. The only question that remains for me: if Johnson & Johnson now uses corn starch in its baby powder, is Maizena the next big thing?

Dangerous or harmless, what’s your take on baby powder? When do you use it? Or do you prefer alternatives? Let me know in a comment or write me an e-mail.