Baby Skin Care

Is baby skin care important? Baby skin is very delicate and sensitive. Baby immune systems are not yet fully developed, therefore, exposing them to harsh and potentially hazardous chemicals in baby skincare products will harm your child. Always look for baby skincare products that are safe and gentle to their skin.

As parents, often we have questions in our minds like:

• how do we know it is safe?
• I am not even know how to read the ingredients,
• Is “dermatologist-tested” showing in the label is good enough? and so on.

Here in this article, we will share some baby skincare tips about how to choose the right baby skincare products which are safe for your little one.

Baby Skin Care

Baby skin is sensitive because it is 5x thinner than an adult’s skin. Due to this reason, the baby’s skin is more permeable and more vulnerable to outside attacks. Choosing safe and gentle skincare products will prevent the babies from getting negative skin reactions.

Baby skincare products are usually labelled as “nature”, “organic”, “hypoallergenic”, and “dermatologist-tested”. Besides reading the big heading with these terms, understanding the ingredients used in the products is also important.

In general, natural or organic skincare products are the safest for babies. Natural or organic products mean they do not contain dyes, fragrances, and chemicals. If your family has a history of asthma or allergy, you may choose products that are also hypoallergenic and dermatologist-tested. These kinds of products are tested in a laboratory, or consultation with a dermatologist, for tolerance and signs of obvious or severe skin reaction in human skin. In short, these products are tested safe to be used and will not cause any harm to human skin.

Is it enough to learn about these terms when comes to choosing the right skincare for your baby? Sometimes, these products that are labeled hypoallergenic or dermatologist-tested may still cause rashes and redness on your baby’s skin. Pick the right one that suits your baby’s skin.

Use only minimal skincare products on your babies that are less than 6 months old. Make sure they have no allergy reaction to the products. Always do a patch test on your baby’s skin. Here are some of the essential products that your baby uses daily and the skincare tips to protect and nourish your baby’s skin.

Baby Soap/baby bath

For newborn babies, you just need to top and tail your baby for the first 2 weeks. Topping and tailing your baby involves using bowls of warm water to wash them. It is a way to make sure your baby is clean without putting them in the bath. Babies are born with a creamy coating called vernix caseosa or vernix coating. It is a skin barrier that protects the baby from moisture loss, served as temperature regulation at birth, and attacks from harmful antigens. You do not have to bathe them every day especially if the weather is very cold, but wash their face, neck, hand, and bottom with warm water daily.

Use minimal soap or baby bath when you bathe your baby, 2-3 times a week will do, and top and tail sparingly. The use of excessive baby soap will also dry out your baby’s skin. Choose natural or organic baby soap or baby wash that contains olive, coconut oil, palm oil, or herbal extracts. No antibacterial soaps for your baby.

Baby Shampoo

Baby shampoo is used to remove dirt, oil, and skin particles for use on infants and young children. Babies do not need to have their hair washed with baby shampoo every day as your baby’s hair will not get dirty or oily easily.

Baby shampoo is usually formulated with ingredients that are less irritating to the eyes. When you choose shampoo for your baby, get the mild one. Mild baby shampoo should not contain fragrances, artificial colors, allergenic ingredients such as phthalate and paraben, and irritating preservatives. Gentle preservatives may contain citrus seed extract, phenoxyethanol, vitamin A, C, E.

Baby lotion and oil

After bathing your baby, you may help your baby’s skin to stay moist by rubbing baby oil or lotion all over her skin. If they contain natural oils such as coconut oil, soothing and moisturizing components such as aloe vera and chamomile, they are safe to be used in baby lotions and oils.

Baby Laundry detergents

Baby’s clothes shall be separated from adult’s clothes when it comes to cleaning and washing. The baby’s skin is delicate, therefore, the detergent that is used to wash the baby’s clothing also needs to be mild as well. You need a baby laundry detergent to clean your baby’s clothing as some normal detergent may be too harsh for your baby’s skin. To avoid any negative reaction on your baby’s skin, try baby laundry detergent until your child is at least 1 year old.

Look for detergents that are free from fragrances and dyes. If your baby appears to be uncomfortable or itchy when wearing this clothing, switch your laundry detergent, or try double rinsing the clothing.

Baby sunscreen

If you like to bring your baby outside, try putting baby sunscreen to protect your baby’s skin from the sun. Choose the highest sun protection factor (SPF) available, look for “broad-spectrum” which will block both UVA and UVB rays. Sunscreen which contains zinc oxide or titanium dioxide is the best as they are unlikely to cause allergic reactions.

How about baby powder?

Does the baby need a baby powder? We used to apply baby powder around the baby’s genital area, underarm, and neck to keep the area dry to prevent rashes. More and more parents nowadays seldom use baby powder on their babies due to the fear of baby powder may contain talc with asbestos. Talc may contain traces of asbestos which will cause cancer in humans in long term. They are natural occurrence substances, and talc is the main raw material that is used to make baby powder. Be aware that letting your baby inhale too many fine particles will also create breathing problems.

The use of baby powder for the baby is not necessary as you may use an alternative method to prevent diaper rash or heat rash. Let your baby’s bottom have some air time, diaperless for a while before putting on a new diaper, or using a nappy rash cream to have a good barrier to keep your baby diaper area dry at all times.

Read “Is baby powder safe to use?“, “What is the best way to treat diaper rash?“