Taking care of a baby’s skin is a top priority for any new parent. Even if you’re exhausted and sleep-deprived, ensuring that your newborn’s skin stays clean, dry, and free of irritation will keep them healthy and happy as they grow. From moisturizing your newborn to making sure their skin is properly protected, following a plan for maintaining the health of their skin is key in giving your newborn baby that special glow.
Baby Skin Care Guide
The best baby skin care tips will make it easy to care for your newborn’s health. Consider the following tips to ensure your baby’s skin stays as healthy as possible.
1. Why Baby Skin is Different
Understanding the differences between a newborn baby’s skin and an adult’s will help you learn how to keep your baby’s skin safe. Firstly, babies are often born with excess vernix (the whitish substance that coats the skin). This substance helps to protect the baby’s fragile body and is the perfect material to cover an infant’s delicate skin. Additionally, the pores in newborns’ skin are often overactive, especially when the baby is bathed in water.
2. Keep Their Body Dry
It is important for a newborn baby’s skin to stay dry and free of moisture because newborn skin is more sensitive than adult skin. When babies are wet, they are more likely to get rashes and develop skin conditions like eczema. Keep your newborn dry by bathing your baby with plain water and rubbing them down with a towel immediately afterward.
When drying your baby, pat the area dry instead of rubbing it vigorously. This will make sure that you’re not irritating their skin by rubbing it too hard.
3. Keep the Scalp Clean
Keeping your baby’s scalp clean is another essential part of caring for their skin. This prevents both dryness and cradle cap, which can lead to more serious problems such as bacterial or fungal infections. Fortunately, keeping the scalp clean can be easy, be sure to look at products for cradle cap to help clean and moisturize your baby’s skin.
4. Care for the Umbilical Cord
It may seem like a minor detail, but there are some important steps you should take when caring for your baby’s belly button. . It’s important to properly clean the navel, the skin around it, and the scar tissue as it heals. As you clean the belly button, be sure to avoid using powders or ointments that can lead to diaper rash.
5. Prevent Chafing With Cream and Powder
In order to prevent chafing and rashes, you should use a cream every time you change your baby’s diaper. Your baby may also need cream if they’re getting red skin or little blisters on their skin. You should also make sure that your baby has powder in between diaper changes, even if the first few are just wet diapers. This will help protect against chafing and rashes.
6. Use Balms on Baby’s Face
Be sure to moisturize your baby’s face with balms often as chapped cheeks and lips are common in newborns, as they are quite low on the body’s temperature-regulating curve. A great way to keep your little one’s skin hydrated while they sleep, use a humidifier or room vaporizer with a cool mist setting. Not only will it help clear up any congestion, but humid air is also ideal for soothing sore, dry skin.
7. Choose the Right Rash Ointment
Rashes can be a hassle for any new parent, but babies with sensitive skin need a treatment that doesn’t contain ingredients that will irritate their already delicate skin. Petroleum jelly is one example of an ointment that causes problems for some babies because it’s thicker and has a strong smell. Instead, use a lightweight moisturizer containing colloidal oatmeal. This contains ingredients to combat inflammation and improve healing such as chamomile and allantoin in addition to soothing oils like coconut or olive oil.
Closing Remark
Baby skin care requires its own routine. Keep this guide in mind as you research new baby skin care tips to ensure your child has the healthiest skin possible from day one.
