Why do babies need special skin care?

A baby in the mother’s womb is used to the warm and moist environment as its skin is dipped in water called amniotic fluid during the nine months of pregnancy. When the baby enters the real world, his/her skin faces several challenges, as tabulated below:

• Environment change: The baby’s skin is exposed to moist and warm amniotic fluid in the womb. After delivery, a dry and cold environment because air conditioners or heating without humidifiers is detrimental, according to experts.
• Dryness: The skin of the baby is drier than adults. It has less natural moisturizing factors and tends to lose them very easily.
• Alkaline pH: The pH of adult skin is acidic, which helps in protecting against germs. But baby skin has higher or alkaline pH. So avoid using alkaline soaps for bathing. Studies show that products used on infants should not interfere with skin surface pH or perturb the skin barrier.
• Non-functional sweat glands: The sweat glands of babies are still not fully functional. They are more likely to get prickly heat in high temperatures.
• Inability to conserve body heat: Babies are still learning to conserve their body heat during cold weather. Therefore, keep room temperature should be kept around 24- 28 degrees.
• More body folds: Babies have more folds on their skin, especially on the neck and thighs. Over that, they can’t wipe off sweat and dust in these folds. Thus, body folds are more prone to fungal and bacterial infection.
• Diaper area: Babies are exposed to irritants in urine and stool often. They are also frequently exposed to cleansers and water. This makes their skin dry. Sometimes, even flaky and red lead to diaper rash.
• Weak skin barrier: The infant skin barrier is still evolving. Certain substances can be absorbed easily through the skin into the blood.

Seven steps to give a baby bath and use baby oil

STEP 1- Preparation for bath

Before you undress your baby, ensure you have all the stuff you need within your arm’s reach, especially if you are alone. Keep clothes, towels, cleanser, moisturizer, etc., of your baby, and ensure the water’s temperature is warm (not too hot or cold) to the touch.

STEP 2- Undress

Please switch off all the fans and air conditioners. If you reside in a cold climate, ensure the room is warm but not hot.

STEP 3- Massage Baby Oil

There are a lot of controversies regarding this step. Few people believe the baby should be massaged after a bath. Most parents would agree that the baby is so hungry after a bath that it barely gives time to apply baby lotion. If you have less time, you can skip this step and massage the baby in the evening. But, an infant deserves baby oil massage twice a day.

Use coconut oil or ghee for the massage, and avoid olive or mustard oil.  Do not forget to warm your hands before you touch your baby. Gentle massage for 15-30 minutes keeps the skin moisturized, helps gain weight, improves mental well-being, and relaxes your child.

STEP 4- Give Bath

You should prefer liquid cleansers specially formulated for kids over soap. Alkaline soap is drying. They raise the pH of the skin of your baby.

Begin by wetting the skin with tepid water and applying the cleanser. Make sure you apply the cleanser on the neck, arm, and thigh folds by gently pulling the skin apart. Ideally, the bath should be quick because overexposure to water would further dry your infant’s skin.

STEP 5- Towelling

Always pat dry the skin of your baby rather than rubbing. Please spend extra time pulling apart the folds of skin on the neck, arms, and thighs, followed by a gentle pat drying. Cleaning and thoroughly drying the folds is critical to avoid infections and diaper dermatitis.

STEP 6- Put Moisturiser

Water and cleansers remove all the natural moisturizing factors from your baby’s skin. Apply moisturising lotion immediately after pat drying. Choose a fragrance-free and hypoallergenic body lotion specially formulated for kids.

Please note sprinkling powder on the folds is no more recommended.

STEP 7- Dress

Dressing your child should be done without delay. Most parents overdress their kids, which can result in prickly heat. The general rule is babies need one extra layer of clothes than you, and also, maintain the room temperature so that it feels warm, neither cold nor hot.