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Nivea responds to allergy alert over kids' sun cream

First published on Monday 25 April 2022

Nivea sun creams / almond oil ingredient

Aneira Davies

Contributor

A Facebook post alerting parents to the fact that a popular kids’ suncream contains almond oil has had lots of parents worried, but now the brand itself has commented.

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Last week, a Facebook post alerting parents to the fact that Nivea’s kids’ sun cream now contains almond oil had lots of parents worried.

But now Nivea has officially responded, saying ‘there is no known food allergic potential’.

Thousands of parents saw and shared the viral post, which called out the beauty brand for changing its ‘Protect and Care’ sun cream range to include almond oil, or ‘prunus amygdalus dulcis oil’ as it is known in Latin.

One parent said:

‘Nivea have changed their Factor 50 sun cream, well four of them, to include almond oil.

‘With nut allergies in schools, many parents won’t know.’

Another wrote:

‘The new Nivea sun cream now has almond oil and the only way you know is to peel back the label. Please let your allergy friends know.’

Nurseries and pre-schools were quick to ask parents NOT to send this particular product into settings, due to children or staff members' nut allergies.

According to Nursery World, information posted on some of Tops Day Nurseries’ Facebook pages states:

‘It has been brought to our attention that this Nivea sun cream contains almond oil making it unsafe to use in the nursery.

‘Please can we ask that you do not send this brand of sun cream into the nursery as we have children with nut allergies and need to ensure they are safe.

‘Can we also ask that you check the ingredients on all your sun cream before bringing them into setting. Until now Nivea has always been safe, however a sudden change in ingredients makes it unsafe for the nursery environment.’

However, Nivea has now made the following statement clarifying its decision to add almond oil, which it considers a safe ingredient. It also recommends its sensitive range as an option for almond allergies.

A spokesperson for the brand said:

‘This year we have improved the Nivea Sun Kids Protect & Care range by adding almond oil. Almond oil is used in a wide range of formulas for babies and children, as it makes skin soft to touch and protects it from moisture loss.

‘The highest standards regarding toxicological testing and the quality of our ingredients and products are essential for Beiersdorf. Please be assured that all ingredients used in our products have been thoroughly evaluated regarding safety and skin compatibility according to the current EU legislation for cosmetics. Furthermore, the almond oil used in our products, including Nivea Sun Kids Protect & Care, is refined in a way that there is no known food allergic potential.’

'Those who have concerns with regards to food and/or skin related almond allergies should seek the advice of their GP before using any product that contains almond oil. If in doubt, our Nivea Sun Babies & Kids Sensitive Protect range may be a more suitable alternative, as it does not contain almond oil.'

And Nivea is not the only one to make a statement on the use of almond oil as an ingredient, as Allergy UK also tweeted after receiving numerous calls from concerned parents.

While Allergy UK initially warned parents of the potential allergen, it later added in a statement from the brand. 

The charity tweeted:

‘Nivea has provided an update on the use of Almond Oil in products for children.

'Due to the specific production and purification process, refined almond oil is free of proteins which are the allergenic substances in almonds.'

Nivea sun creams

Almond oil is often recommended for keeping baby soft skin 'baby soft' with some midwifes preferring this over olive oil, which can make eczema worse, for instance.

If your child has an almond allergy, it's best to avoid products containing almond oil or prunus amygdalus dulcis as it's often listed in ingredients.

Speak to your GP or pharmacist if you're concerned.

Which sun creams do you swear by for your kids? Chat to other parents about their kids' allergies and intolerances in the thread below ...

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