Professor Agnes Wold raises concerns over Princess Madeleine's baby cream, warning it may cause allergies due to natural ingredients like almond and sesame oils. Despite being marketed as 100% natural, Wold emphasizes that such ingredients can trigger allergic reactions. The cream, produced in collaboration with Weleda, is set to launch in Sweden, but has already faced criticism for its potential health risks.
Agnes Wold Warns: Princess Madeleine's Baby Cream May Pose Health Risks
Agnes Wold Warns: Princess Madeleine's Baby Cream May Pose Health Risks
Princess Madeleine's baby cream contains ingredients that could cause allergies, according to Professor Agnes Wold.
Princess Madeleine's skincare brand, Minlen, is set to launch in Sweden next week. However, the products, developed in collaboration with Weleda, have already been released in the German market. Among the offerings is the 'Minlen puremazing baby face cream'—a face cream suitable for babies 'from day one.' A 50-milliliter jar costs 349 SEK.
Agnes Wold, a professor of clinical bacteriology at the University of Gothenburg, warns that the cream may pose health risks. In the worst-case scenario, children could develop allergies.
– It contains several substances that can trigger allergies, including almond, sesame, and pollen, she says.
These ingredients are present in the form of oils and beeswax.
– Only tiny amounts are needed.
Natural Increases the Risk
The cream is marketed as 100% natural. However, this actually increases the risk, Agnes Wold emphasizes.
– When you develop the common type of allergy, it's always against natural ingredients. You shouldn't rub yourself with peanut oil, sesame oil, and almond oil as a principle.
– Many children who develop peanut allergies, for example, often first encounter peanut protein through the skin, which triggers the immune system. So when they eat peanuts, they have an allergic reaction.
The ingredient list for 'Minlen puremazing baby face cream' also includes chemicals that can cause contact allergies, according to Agnes Wold.
Since the creams are not classified as medicines, there is no strict legislation requiring them to be tested.
'Pure Quackery'
– I wouldn't apply an untested skincare product on an infant. I think it seems inappropriate. Infants absolutely do not need to be smeared with any cream at all unless prescribed by a doctor, says Agnes Wold.
She is not alone in her criticism of Princess Madeleine's skincare products. The partner company Weleda is owned by anthroposophists, who follow a pseudoscientific doctrine. This has been criticized as 'pure quackery' by the association Science and Education in a DN Debate article.
At the end of August, Princess Madeleine responded to the criticism in an interview with Dagens Industri.
– We knew it would spark debate, I was prepared for that. But I was still shocked by the amount of criticism directed at me, she says in the interview.
In the same interview, her husband Chris O'Neill states that the choice of Weleda as a partner was not related to anthroposophy. They aim to reach a market larger than Sweden and work with a manufacturer that has rigorous quality control.
– It's about their ingredients being so carefully selected and produced, says Chris O'Neill.