Many parents think that they don’t need to do much at all to keep their children s skin clean. They just assume that babies are better able to fight off acne and skin problems than adults. Perhaps they think this because babies have over a decade of life before hormones and puberty start playing a role in the condition of their skin. The truth is that a baby’s skin does need special care to stay clear and healthy.
Believe it or not, your newborn and young infant does not need to have a bath every night. Most infants don’t get very dirty early on in life. Babies aren’t mobile right away so they don’t get very dirty. Because they are immobile, a baby’s parents are easily able to control what a baby can get into. While your baby is still considered a “newborn” he or she only needs to be given a bath twice a week or so (as long as you keep his or her face free of dirt). When babies learn to crawl and walk, however, you need to give them baths more frequent.
Don’t use regular detergent on your baby’s clothing–use something that is gentler. Your laundry detergent is going to be far too harsh to use on your new baby’s clothing. Regular laundry soaps can leave behind a residue and make your baby’s clothes rough and irritating. To avoid laundry induced skin issues use a gentle soap–it will keep your baby’s clothes soft and rarely leaves behind any residue.
You also don’t need to overdo it on the soap to make sure that your baby is clean. All you need are a few drops of soap to totally clean your baby. Using more than those few drops will dry out the baby’s skin and make him vulnerable to a host of skin irritations. Do not ever directly apply the soap to the skin of your baby. Use a soft washcloth to build up a soapy lather which will be perfectly effective in cleaning your baby and is easy to rinse off. Until you feel more comfortable with the bathing process lather up and rinse off individual parts of your baby. A slippery soapy baby can be scary to deal with!
There are a lot of different ways to take care of your infant’s skin. The truth is, however, that infant skin care is not as difficult or complicated as you think it is. All you need is some common sense and the patience to choose the best products on the shelf and your baby’s skin should stay healthy and clean with no problems. Remember that you need to take care of all of your baby’s skin not only the skin on her face and head. Keeping your daughter or son’s skin clean and healthy is an all day long type of process but don’t worry too much about it. Before you know it, you’ll be taking care of your baby’s skin without even thinking about it much at all! It won’t take long for it to become second nature. It will be almost subconscious!