We thank Dr. Bailey for providing the perspective of the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association. In our paper we reported that the developing mouse hippocampus was sensitive to dermally administered diethanolamine (DEA) during pregnancy. We used 80 mg/kg/d DEA in these experiments, and we estimated that this exposure was approximately 10-fold higher than likely human exposure. The message of our paper was that, for the first time, DEA was observed to have effects on brain development,

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... until we know more about this effect it would be prudent for pregnant women to minimize their exposure. Dr. Bailey disputes this, arguing that human skin is less permeable, that the DEA now commonly used in cosmetics is conjugated to a fatty acid, and that humans are not very susceptible to choline deficiency.