Having had four babies now who have all had sensitive skin (looking at Joe and I with our fair skin and light eyes, it isn’t surprising!), I have been through a number of skin problems that babies face. Here are a few of the “tricks” that have worked on my little ones.
Cradle Cap: This is that wonderful flaky looking skin babies get on the head and often extends down the forehead as well. The best thing I have found for this is to use simple olive oil. Take the olive oil and rub it gently on your baby’s head before bath time. Then I allow it to sit there for a bit while I bathe the other parts of the baby. Then use a gentle baby wash to clean it off. I know you can also use a comb or baby brush on it, but I just brush baby’s hair as normal after the bath (Isaiah especially is not fond of having his hair brushed). After a few applications of the olive oil at bath time there is a significant reduction in the cradle cap. Plus I didn’t have to go out a buy a special product, but was able to use something all natural that I had right in the house!
Diaper Rash: Although using cloth diapers has really helped with diaper rash, there are times when our kids get some pretty terrible ones. When Abby was a baby the doctor had suggested trying Triple Paste. I don’t know if the formula has changed, but using it back then it did not seem to spread very easily. So when Isaiah had a bad diaper rash from being on antibiotics in the hospital and my neighbor suggested it again, I was hesitant. It seemed to go on much easier this time and really did clear up his rash quickly. Plus it has a low hazard score on the Skin Deep Database, which makes me feel better about using it.
Baby Acne: One of the least pleasant looking baby skin issues to me is baby acne. Especially because it comes up on those precious little cheeks that you just want to kiss all over! When Elijah was a baby and had a pretty bad case, one of Joe’s parents’ neighbors told me to use Dove Unscented soap on it. I decided to give it a try and in a few days it was gone! I thought maybe it was a coincidence, but when Naomi and Isaiah both cropped up with it as well, out came the Dove Unscented and bye-bye went the acne! Again it has a low hazard score, so I can still try and keep that lovely baby skin chemical free.
These three products are very friendly to our lifestyle as well because they can either be found abroad (the olive oil and soap) or can be bought in a big size that lasts a long time (the Triple Paste). It can be discouraging when you live internationally and find a product you LOVE that can only be bought in the U.S.
Recent Comments