A baby's skin is delicate and much more sensitive than an adult's. So let’s take a look at the most common triggers and irritants and how to keep your baby's skin smooth and healthy.
1. Prevent Dryness During Bath Time
What to avoid? First and foremost are artificial and chemically manufactured soaps, cleansers, body washes, perfumed products and lotions. Time to start label reading, ditch anything that has any Parabens, EDTA, SLES or SLS. Newborns and really young children don’t even need soap of any sort, plain water is perfectly cleansing enough.
A tablespoon of pure coconut oil in the water can help soothe, moisturise and cleanse. For little ones that are already flared up and in pain, or for those who flare up from even just water, clinical studies have shown that oatmeal improves dryness, scaling and roughness. It does so by forming a protective layer on the skin and increases its ability to retain moisture and to maintain the skin's correct surface PH.
Our handcrafted Calendula Milk Bath is a perfect remedy for dry skin. Turn bath time into smile time by providing instant relief and long lasting protection.
2. Use a Thick and Rich Moisturiser
Sensitive skin can be easily irritated by environmental factors such as wind, cold, heaters, and low humidity. The best way to combat this is to use an all-natural moisturiser that will form a protective layer on the skin, because emulsions and lotions that are thin evaporate too quickly.
As a busy parent we don’t have the time to re-apply moisturises from top to toe hourly, which is why our body butters are such a popular choice for parents. All our handmade creams are of a thicker consistency, so that they coat and protect the skin for hours and hours after application.
Melvory's Lavender Cocoa Butter and Hemp Seed Butter are extremely rich and thick, a little bit goes a long way. They don't sting when applied to sore itchy patches and smells of natural cocoa butter which babies and toddlers love!
3. Reduce Laundry Irritants
Back to label reading again, this time your washing powder, make sure you use something non-perfumed, the more natural the better. Look for products labelled Septic Safe as these are the ones that will contain the least amount of chemical fillers and bleaches, all of which can ignite skin flare-ups and aggravate even the healthiest of skins. And if your washing machine has the option, then always select ‘extra rinse’ just to make sure you remove all last traces of washing residue.
4. Wear Soft Cotton Clothing
Whilst we are on the topic of clothing, something that is often easily overlooked as a trigger is the type of garments we put on our children. Aim to use only 100% natural soft cotton where possible as it allows the skin to breathe and won’t trap any heat which will reduce the frequency and severity of flare ups, and provide comfort to skin that’s currently inflamed and sore. Steer clear of sythentics, and even denim, wool and linen materials as their rough fibres can irritate your baby's skin.
5. Cold Compress
If your little one is feeling really uncomfortable, then a cold compress, such as a soft face washer or towel dampened with cold water, can help provide some immediate relief. Try and keep nails as short as possible to minimise the amount of scratching. You could also look to make a thick paste using our Calendula Milk Bath which you can apply, leave on for a 10-15 minutes, then wipe off and follow up with one of our thick body butters.
Here are some before and after pictures of my nephew's very dry scaly-snake-skin and the improvement after 2 rounds of hydration therapy, using our Skin Rescue Set.
Dry skin causes itching, itching leads to scratching, which can introduce infectious bacteria into open wounds. If we can reduce itching & scratching, we have already won half the battle. *oh yeah!*
I hope you find these tips helpful. My biggest goal when starting Melvory was to be able to put my pharmaceutical knowledge to practice by handcrafting remedies from natural & organic ingredients that will deliver results. Every single ingredient in our products aim to soothe and protect. Nothing is more important to me than to help you with your little ones, because as we all know, Happy Bubby = Happy Mummy!
Let me know if you have more tips to share! We always love hearing from other parents =)
Love,
Elaine
