Newborn baby skin care is a delicate matter. In the early months, as your baby’s immune system develops, you’ll want to use the mildest soap and the smallest bit of lotion. But when dry skin, eczema, and diaper rash appear, it’s time to treat those problems. Talk to your paediatrician before you start using those products.
Products that are designed for everyone could damage your baby’s skin. So the golden rule is, look for products that have been formulated especially for babies. Perfume, soap and alcohol, often found in adult products, can all irritate your baby’s skin or even cause an allergic reaction. Skincare products made for babies should have lower levels of fragrance and should not contain alcohol.
The main things to look out for on the label are that it’s mild and made for babies. Any product aimed at children under three years needs to have a safety assessment for that age group.
However, this doesn’t always mean that clinical research has been done on that product’s effect on babies’ skin. Understandably, these kinds of tests are hard to carry out. So you may want to be cautious, particularly if there is a history of skin problems on either side of your baby’s family.
Familiarising yourself with some of the terms used on product labels will help you to make the right choice.
Your newborn needs dye-free, fragrance-free baby skin care products. If there’s a newborn in your family, here are a few tips before you start shopping:
pH balanced
You will often see the phrases “pH neutral” or “pH balanced” used to describe baby skincare products. The pH scale is a way of measuring how acidic or alkaline a substance is. A low score on the scale, pH1 to pH6, indicates an acidic substance, a higher score on the scale, pH8 to pH14 indicates an alkaline substance while a substance that is neither acidic nor alkaline is said to be pH neutral or pH7.
PH levels are important, because within a few weeks of birth, your baby’s skin surface changes from close to pH neutral to a slightly acidic pH5.
Talc
Talc has been linked to ovarian and testicular cancer. It can be found in makeup, baby and adult powders and foundation. So avoid products that contain talc, there are a lot of them out there.
Anti-Bacteria
Don’t use products that are labelled antibacterial or antimicrobial on your baby’s skin no matter how dirty her bottom gets.
Mild, liquid baby soap or mild, alcohol-free baby wipes, work perfectly well to keep your baby clean. Antibacterial ingredients are not usually added to products formulated for babies
Alcohol
Alcohol is commonly used in adult skincare products to make them dry quickly and feel light on your skin. But alcohol can be very drying and may irritate your baby’s skin, so it shouldn’t be used in skincare products for babies. Avoid buying such products with alcohol in it.
Fragrance
Mildly fragranced pH neutral cleansers, when used sparingly, are unlikely to cause a skin reaction for most babies but if your baby has dry skin, or suffers from eczema, you should avoid all perfumed products. Fragrances are common irritants. This includes natural ones, such as essential oils or plant extracts.
So when next you go shopping for your baby, you now know what products to avoid buying to prevent your baby from danger.
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