Baby’s Dry Skin Treatment

The goal of healthy baby skin is to keep it soft and smooth. This is what helps prevent dryness that causes all kinds of skin problems.

Benefits of Moist Skin

Keeping a baby’s skin at its proper moisture level can help it from becoming dried or cracked. It also can help the skin prevent from scaling or peeling, and it can also reduce the chance of a rash developing.

Proper skin care that keeps a baby’s skin soft and smooth also helps treat any kind of hereditary skin problems. Sometimes the symptoms of eczema are lessened when the skin remains properly hydrated.

Some Issues

When treating skin you should realize that a baby’s skin absorbs moisture at a faster rate than adults. Some problem areas for an infant that you may want to focus on include the diaper area, which includes where the baby’s legs are attached to the hips.

Other problem areas on a baby include the legs, angles, elbows, face, and feet. These are the areas that may need moisture replenishment the most.

Care Instructions

Before you apply any kind of appropriate baby oil or lotion, you should thoroughly cleanse the areas that are more prone to dryness. You may just want to give a baby a complete bath if you have the appropriate equipment, or just using a soap and washcloth helps.

You should then pat the wet areas dry, but do not wipe. This will allow the water to seep through the baby’s skin. Then, you use either use baby oil or some kind of lotion or cream that is meant to be used on a baby’s skin.

Special instructions for newborns: When your baby is first born you may not want to use any kind of special lotion at changing time. Just wash the diaper area with lukewarm plain water and a cotton cloth. You can then pat dry with baby powder.

The baby cleansing products you see on the market are usually classified by ages. An age will be printed on it, such as good for ages “3 to 6 months” and so on.

Baby Skin Conditions

One reason that you should try to prevent a baby’s skin from becoming too dry is to help stop the occurrence to certain skin conditions. Some of the most common conditions experienced by babies include these:

• Baby acne-this often occurs on infants but disappears after a few weeks. It usually occurs as a result of “borrowing” the mom’s hormones after birth. It usually disappears on its own but can disappear faster when baby is properly cleansed.
• Cradle cap-This is a condition in which flakes appear on the top of a baby’s scalp. It can be easily removed using baby oil and a gentle baby comb. You can also gently massage the oil into the scalp with your hands. Then, you may want to rinse it away.
• Heat rash-This is a condition often caused by sweating as a result of overheating. The main way that this can be prevented is by putting looser clothing on babies. Putting cotton clothing on that allows the baby to “breathe” more is also very helpful. It also is advisable not to overheat babies with excess blankets, and to keep the baby at room temperature-no hotter.
• Chaffing-This usually is an irritation caused by using the wrong laundry detergents. It also is caused by using allergenic fabric softeners, shampoos and bathing lotions. The best kinds to use are ones that are fragrance and/or dye free, and ones that are especially designed for babies. Organic products are highly recommended.
• Eczema-This is a condition that is most characterized by appearance of dry, red, and patchy skin. It often is treated using a cream or lotion that has hydrocortisone in it. A gentle routine of cleansing and moisturizing can also help. It is especially helpful to moisturize the elbows, backs of legs, and diaper area, as well as the head.