10 Skincare Tips for Babies and Children
Babies’ skin is delicate and smooth. As a consequence, they require skincare products free of fragrance, preservatives and colorants. To choose the correct skincare products for them, it’s important to identify the vulnerability of their skin when it comes to chemical absorption. In today’s article, we’ll give you 10 skincare tips for babies and children.
Skincare tips for babies and children
Babies’ skin is thin, lacks hair protection, sweats less and has neutral pH. These differences between children’s and adults’ skin makes the former more sensitive and delicate. Therefore, babies and children need hypoallergenic products to take care of their skin. Next, we’ll show you some skincare tips for babies and children:
1. Use of wet wipes
Wet wipes are our best friends when it comes to cleaning our babies’ diaper area, skin folds and hands. However, you should use them whenever you’re not at home.
The best ones are fragrance free and contain emollient, like chamomile or aloe. In addition, you shouldn’t apply pressure nor cause any friction when using them.
2. Apply proper moisturizer
During their first months of life, don’t use moisturizing creams, because babies’ skin absorbs chemicals very easily. One of the best options to moisturize their skin is almond oil.
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3. Avoid perfume
You shouldn’t put perfume directly on your baby’s skin. You can do it on their clothes or hair. As a result, you won’t change the pH of their skin, nor cause them a possible allergic reaction.
Perfumes must contain the smallest amount of alcohol and chemicals. To know this information, you can check the products’ labels.
4. Clean their nails
Cutting babies’ nails can be quite a challenge, because they’re constantly moving. However, you have to do it if you want to prevent them from hurting themselves when their nails are too long (fingers and toes).
There are different types of special nail clippers, scissors and nail files you can use for babies and children. A good idea is to wait for them to fall sleep, so you can cut their nails more calmly.
5. Almond oil, a skincare product for babies and children
Almond oil is one of the best products for babies and children. In fact, you can even add it to the bath water.
Nowadays, people frequently use it to massage their babies and to improve the flaking skin from the seborrheic dermatitis in the children’s scalp.
6. Sun exposure and sunscreen
Babies under 6 months old can’t be directly exposed to the sun, because their skin is still developing.
Notwithstanding, children should always wear sunscreen, a hat and clothes, and never be exposed during peak sunburn hours. According to the medical journal Actas Dermo-siliográficas, sunscreens shouldn’t contain oxybenzone and octocrylene.
Read more: Skin Irritation in Babies: What to Do
More skincare tips for babies and children
7. Soap
Neutral and antibacterial soaps with no perfume are perfect for babies and children. However, babies don’t need to use soap every day, only in their hands and under their armpits.
Soaps with chemicals or parabens tend to cause rashes or allergic reactions on their skin. According to a review of the Pediatric Dermatology Journal, Syndet bars or liquid cleansers are the best choice for babies and children.
8. Shampoo
Even though babies and little children don’t need to use shampoo, when the time to choose one comes, specialists recommend those without silicone or sulfate. There are also low foam shampoos, which prevent eye irritation. All in all, the best choice is to use hypoallergenic shampoos.
9. Balms, another skincare product for babies
You should use baby balms only when there’s skin irritation on your baby’s bottom. In most cases, this happens when it’s in contact with their own urine or feces. Therefore, in order to avoid this, you should constantly change their diaper. Try to avoid balms with petrolatum, like Vaseline or paraffin.
10. Micellar water
Just like we use micellar water during our skincare routines, you can also use it for the baby’s delicate skin. This is because it doesn’t contain alcohol, preservatives, fragrances, nor any other harmful product. So, you can use it to clean their bottom when you change their diapers.
Skincare products for babies and children
Choosing the right skincare products for your babies and children must be done carefully. Remember to choose hypoallergenic products, without preservatives, fragrances and colorants. When you choose the right product, you avoid rashes, allergic reactions and dryness. The important thing is to always remember that the skin of babies and children is delicate and fragile.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Kuller JM. Infant Skin Care Products: What Are the Issues? Adv Neonatal Care. 2016 Oct;16 Suppl 5S:S3-S12. doi: 10.1097/ANC.0000000000000341. PMID: 27676112.
- Johnson E, Hunt R. Infant skin care: updates and recommendations. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2019 Aug;31(4):476-481. doi: 10.1097/MOP.0000000000000791. PMID: 31188166.
- Ahmad Z. The uses and properties of almond oil. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2010 Feb;16(1):10-2. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2009.06.015. Epub 2009 Jul 15. PMID: 20129403.
- Gilaberte Y, Carrascosa JM. Sun protection in children: realities and challenges. Actas Dermosifiliogr. 2014 Apr;105(3):253-62. doi: 10.1016/j.adengl.2013.05.006. Epub 2014 Mar 21. PMID: 24661953.
- Blume-Peytavi U, Hauser M, Stamatas GN, Pathirana D, Garcia Bartels N. Skin care practices for newborns and infants: review of the clinical evidence for best practices. Pediatr Dermatol. 2012 Jan-Feb;29(1):1-14. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1470.2011.01594.x. Epub 2011 Oct 20. PMID: 22011065.
