I never was a big powder user, but when I read it was advised to avoid using talc years ago because of possible ca risk, I pretty much stopped using it... I did buy all cornstartch powder for my babies and occ used it on their bottoms, but not often... and I always have a bottle of cornstarch powder in my beachbag ! (not that there would be issues with putting talc on your feet...)

I use it.. and I don't think I am older than sin! I like scented talcs as I don't wear perfumes and I like the subtle, soft scent. I use lavender baby powder, pecksniff's lavender and whiite tea and Crabtree & Evelyn's Spring Rain (though I think this one is discontinued-- I still have some).

Years ago they began to caution against it. Most powders now seem to be cornstarch.

Talcum powder sold today and in the past 30 or so years doe not contain asbestos, but there's no guarantee that what was used on us when we were little didn't contain it. I think a lot of commercial powders have gone to cornstarch as an alternative.

I often use unscented baby powder after showering and I sprinkle it inside my shoes on the rare occasion when I'm not wearing socks. I even carry one in my tote bag to use after showering at the gym and when packing for a trip I include the small travel size.

It doesn't matter what brand I buy as long as it's unscented. One year when we were in the Bahamas DH surprised me with a beautiful bottle of Joy pure parfum and talc powder. I liked the fact that Joy's powder was beige but it was scented and I seldom used it. Well for that matter I didn't use the parfum either, much to my husband's dismay - there's something about my nose and brain that fails to appreciate the appeal of scent - so I don't bother with any.

the asbestos concern wasn't the more 'recent' (25 yr ago!?) concern... it was the talc. and it's not just the ovarian ca concern.... I just don't want to breathe in too much talc floating around in the air if I can help it...

Older than sin? Maybe. But it feels good! I use powder daily, stopped using perfumed powder long ago because other than the soft scent of baby powder, I don't like many scents. My sister died from ovarian cancer and was convinced it was from powder (even though the doctors told her it was not) and told me to stop which I did for a while. But as mentioned, the asbestos is not in the current powders and I don't use a puff so don't really worry about the talc being dispersed into the air in that way. In fact my DH just started using it - said he's watched me use it for years and finally wondered what it feels like and found it quite pleasant!

I think it's the silicate that's the concern, but the ovarian ca risk concern(as I understand it) is just related to those who sprinkle it in their baby girl's diaper and women who might sprinkle it in their underwear...

I have loved using powder since I was a teenager and I'm old as sin now........lol. I primarily use just corn starch or the corn starch baby powder since the news warned against talc. I did read once though that talc is not an issue or risk since French women have used talc for hundreds of years and I guess they don't apparently have an unusually high rate of OC.

KSWL and others who use.......how do you use it without getting it everywhere? My DH swears our house is so dusty because of the powder. And no matter how careful I am it seems to land on the bathroom floor. It gets into the adjacent MBR closet, etc.. I hate that it makes the house so dusty, but I don't want to stop using it either. Any tips? And is your house extra dusty?

Omg, I used it for years when I was younger! WHY I stopped, I don't know. However, I do use a lavender scented one on the roots of my hair when my hair looks greasy, or don't want to take the time to wash it, a trick my DD's taught me years a go.

Interesting. I have never been a fan of talcum powder. It makes me sneeze. The only people I know that use it regularly are athletes (Gold Bond etc).

My grandmother always wore Estee Lauder Youth Dew powder because she thought perfume was too strong, and should only be used for special formal occasions.

I know doctors don't recommend baby powder for infants anymore.

I use it in summer, else I can't get dressed...too humid and sticky. I also use it to dust off the hair on DH after I give him a haircut...works well for getting the hair off...like the barber shops do.

I have never used it. And I never used baby powder on my kids either. As far as I know my mother doesn't use it either. (I'm in my forties and mom is in her seventies.)

I LOVE using powder. I used baby powder after my nightly bath.....for probably at least 30 years.

Every morning my throat was very raspy and ' crackly"... had to work hard to clear my throat. I read that the powder gets in your lungs...duh...slow learner. I stopped right then, about a year and a half ago. My throat issue completely disappeared!!

A long time ago I used it but don't even remember now why I quit. I do use Gold Bond now and then under my running bras or in my shoes, but there are other products like Body Glide that work as well or better to keep clothing from chafing.

Outside.....I use powder to keep me dry...seems counterintuitive to use something greasy or liquid-y.

Well at least I have confirmed that I'm not the last one standing using powder, thank you, ladies! Joanie, I am not able to contain the powder. I put it on with a puff in our master bedroom closet which is accessed through the MRBA and is carpeted, and it makes a lot of dust. Our built-in bureau is topped with glass and I usually flick the powder from the glass down onto the carpet. All those surfaces are cleaned weekly and it doesn't bother me enough to stop "using," lol.

only Gold Bond for skin irritations now. No more ovaries to worry about.

Kswl......doesn't it get all over your clothes, shoes, etc.. It does mine and I'm in the br not the closet. Even getting back into the shower and closing the door to dust myself didn't help. I have the same setup....master closet is accessed via the bathroom. The powder seems to permeate everything in the house. I could dust the downstairs every other day. I see a layer of white atop my gray headboard, even the gray sofa and chair in the LR. It's exasperating but I don't want to give it up. I'd love to get a cleaning lady but I'm too embarrassed by all the powder...lol!

No, I don't have powder on my shoes unless I leave them on the floor of the closet.....they are supposed to be in clear plastic shoeboxes on shelves. Nor does it travel to the bathroom and leave a film of anything on the vanity tops.

I don't think your problem is powder. Perhaps you should get one of those companies to come and suck out all the dust in your HVAC system. You have a crazy dust problem but not from powder.

The first time I went to visit a friend in the Hamptons, she led me to my room and even had the covers turned down for me to retire. I got in bed and it was like a five foot POOF whiteness wafting up from the bed. I got out of the bed and pulled back the covers and was laughing my head off, the whole bed had powder sprinkled in it. She heard me laughing and came in. She says she does it to all her beds every time she changes them. We took them off so I could breathe and got new ones on and off she went to bed. I went to use the en suite and she had a lovely cabinet and I counted 53 containers of very pricey powders in it. I started to laugh again, she got up and we spent the night blabbing we were so wide awake. I had never heard of any such thing.

I've never been a big powder user, but did after showers in my teens. I just don't care for it. I never used it on my babies bottoms either. To me it just gathers and clumps moisture.

Speaking of breathing in dust, I use the mineral make up, but am careful to hold my breath while I'm applying it. I understand the dust the mineral make up leaves can get into your lungs as well, which isn't a good thing.

Joanie, almost every runner I know uses Body Glide, especially on the inside of the thighs, to keep down chafing during a long run. Yes, it's a bit greasy (comes in a stick like deodorant), but better than having red and irritated skin.

Another trick we used when we ski was to spray your feet with Right Guard to keep them from getting sweaty in ski boots and therefore cold. I haven't done that in a long time either, but I swear it worked. The socks have gotten better over the years too so you don't really need to do that so much.

Interesting about breathing in dust/powder.....I've been using powder forever and I recently had to have a chest X-ray.....everything was clear.

Kswl.....good idea about the dust maybe coming from the ducts. I am going to research it and check with the HVAC guy when he comes for the routine check of the AC system.

I always associate it with my grandmother - Jean nate! I do not use it, and I did not want to use it on my kids, but DH did sometimes and if I didn't buy a kind I was OK with he would get Johnson's :p

A long time ago I heard it was harmful to use powder around cats.

No. It seems to me that powder was more popular when people did not shower daily. I think that is why it is used less, coupled with health concerns that eradicated its use on babies.

My oldest is 30 and I did not use it on my kids..."they" had already determined it wasn't good for babies, even though generations of parents used it with seemingly no ill consequences.

I use it everyday and our cat lived to be 16 1/2.... old wives tale maybe?

Yeah never know. Chocolate used to be bad for you and know it's good, as long as it's dark, which is my preference. It does seem plausible that it could irritate lungs if inhaled too deeply, but that's pretty far fetched. The reason I didn't do use it on my babies behinds was because I personally felt it held moisture. I rubbed their little behinds with Vaseline having no clue at the time that it was a petroleum product. There are something things I won't use/consume at all, but for the most part I live by "everything in moderation".

Recently I have been using powder daily. My current favorite is Taylor of London lily of the valley that I purchased at Home Goods. I apply it standing in the soaking tub, then I run the faucet to rinse the tub. Be careful not to slip if some powder gets on the bathroom floor.

I wouldn't think of powder as a good wash alternative, but I guess it is possible that's how the practice started. I use it after bathing, as does my mom. And I used it on my children....they don't seem to have suffered any ill effects but none of them uses it now.

When hose became passé, baby powder became my daily must when wearing any non- sneaker or sandal shoe. Hate the feel of no socks or hose, but powder works as a fine substitute. Keeps the shoes cleaner inside, too. Add it under my arms on really hot, sticky days.

I always use baby powder after my bedtime shower. Bathe, lotion, powder, and slip between clean linen sheets. Love it!

But I don't use powder after a shower in the morning or during the day. I have no idea why it just became a bedtime thing. I have a large walk-in shower, so I go in there to apply the powder.

I don't use powder. I am starting to think I am missing out!

I just heard on NPR that a California woman was awarded $13 million from mfg of a talcum powder which she used and contained asbestos!

Of course they are not made with asbestos now, but still, that is a sobering thought....how many products do we use and have no idea what they contain? When I started this thread, asbestos was the last thing on my mind!

how apropos!! I am surprised they determined her asbestos exposure was due to her talcum powder use so many years ago... I guess they ruled out all other possible exposures...a lifetime exposes you to so much stuff!! she must have been a big powder user... and predisposed to the ca...

but, I think it's a good thing limiting how many particles of 'stuff' you breathe in... even if you don't have issues with asthma, etc... I have often wondered about gymnasts and other athletes that use large quantities of rosin on a regular basis and breathe in the dust... the particles are probably larger than talcum powder, but still...

I use body lotions that are fast absorbed if I'm dressing immediately so I fell out of habit with the powder, I should get some for a quick refresh...

I remember being gifted with an Avon set, Rapture scent, the big box of powder with a big puff, I was thrilled as an 18 year old.

Johnson's baby powder, helps since I now wear an under wire. I also use it in my shoes during the summer.

I use Burt's Bees baby powder daily, no talc in it. I'd be lost without it.