Is Skin Care Safe for Babies?

Babies are more sensitive to many different health concerns that also affect older children and adults such as baby eczema or simply dry skin. Adult solutions like skin care or other remedies can be effective but it’s important to consider extra sensitivities for the little ones.

Any kind of harsh weather can negatively affect your skin, particularly in babies and young children, so bundle up and but make sure to take care of your child’s sensitive skin. New parents should be aware a baby’s skin needs extra attention and care when its colder or dryer outside.

Their young skin requires more moisture and nourishment during colder weather. As temperatures drop, colder weather can bring skin problems for babies just like adults. Baby skin – from a newborn to a year-old – requires more nourishment normally and even more during the winter.

For reference, while “babies” is a catch-all term referring to children often up to 4 years in age, “newborns” usually means from birth to 2 months of age and infants refers to babies up to a year old.

Skin Care for Babies

It’s best to use skin care products that are fragrance-free and stay away from scented products as a baby’s skin is much more sensitive. As such, make sure to keep your baby’s skin moisturized and fully nourished with gentle products that are designed to be safe and effective for their use.

Most products are not tested on babies younger than six months, so be very careful using any products on newborns and young infants. Do your research and consult the appropriate professionals.

Sensitive Skin

Newborn skin is obviously delicate as a baby’s immune systems is still developing so introducing anything new needs to be approached carefully.

Along with a general awareness of your baby’s sensitivities, be sure to avoid over-bathing your baby as that can remove the natural oils that protect its skin. Baby’s skin loses and gains moisture faster than adult skin. This is why moisturizing and being gentle is so paramount.

Sunflower Oil

One of our trademark ingredients high-oleic, cold-pressed, organic sunflower oil has been proven to be safe for babies and reduces the risk of infections as cited in scientific studies. It’s also been used in the treatment of premature newborns in protecting their fragile, sensitive skin.

Most products are not tested on babies younger than six months, so be very careful using any products on newborns and young infants. Do your research and consult the appropriate professionals.

Bath Time

Keep in mind, babies should be bathed in lukewarm (and definitely not hot) water to make sure they are clean. Do not over bathe your baby as two to three times a week is plenty enough. Overbathing can dry out your baby’s skin.

Once your baby gets older, bigger, and starts crawling around getting into messes, you can adjust with more frequent bathing as needed.

It’s important to moisturize your baby as soon as they’re done bathing in order to keep the moisture in their skin.

Safety

Let’s clear up a skin care misconception, especially when it comes to babies. There’s a falsehood that natural products are always safe (or at least safer to use). You should remember whether ingredients are derived organically or synthetically has no bearing on its healthiness, safety, or toxicity.

Any ingredient, regardless of its origin, needs to be properly vetted through testing and use to determine both its usefulness and health qualities in addition to its safety. Like for adults, you should be aware of any ingredients you are putting onto your body and its possible effects on you.

Babies are prone to rashes and that’s totally normal regardless of any products they’re exposed to. They’ll usually go away on their own.

Gentle Skin Care

METRIN’s gentle, fragrance-free approach to skin care makes it suitable for young children and infants of all ages to use as needed.

As babies are more prone to dryness, keeping their skin moisturized and nourished is key to their health, especially after bath time. Apply as often as necessary.

It’s also important to remember babies are still developing their bodies and are obviously more sensitive to outside factors. Skin care that’s designed to be gentle and suitable for any skin type including sensitive skin is your safest bet.

There’s no reason skin care for babies can’t be safe and effective as long as you keep in mind their sensitive nature and need for additional moisture. Just like anything, you have to be more careful with babies and make sure they’re properly cared for.

Source: The Bump