Baby lotion or oil? Post Reply

[Bailey]

Hi,

I find the water very hard here and my 16 month daughter's skin is becoming dry. I bathe her every night with organic bath products. Do you have any success with a specific product?

Thanks!

[MrsAmanda]

I have very dry skin, and my sons seem to have inherited it.

My advice would be to bathe her less often, we do alternate nights - unless particularly mucky.
Avoid putting things in the bath - you can get emolliants like Oilatum but they just made my son's skin worse.
We use a sulphate-free liquid wash - just the teeniest amount. I moisturise them, either with olive oil (my husband refuses to do this, saying it's like basting meat!) or with an organic moisturiser. I've run out at the moment, so using my Liz Earle body lotion, which seems to the trick.

Also, moisturising from the inside can help. I add an omega oil to food, which makes my skin much better so I give it to son too.

[Bailey]

haha I use Liz Earle too:) I like the adding the Omega idea. She LOVES bath time..but I should consider it. thanks a lot

[myo59]

Had dry skin too in the past, found that putting a few drops of baby oil in the bath help the skin retain moisture, also use a bath or shower gel with a PH neutral... hope can help a bit

[myo59]

Olive oil, by the way is very good for the skin too!!!


Patrick
massage therapist

[moops]

I swear by aqueous cream, I've used it on my Son from birth and still
lather him up everynight!

[townieatheart]

Both my little ones suffer with eczema, the eldest pretty badly. I have found that most organic natural products actually irritate it more, however the doctor prescribed either Cetreban or Diprobase to wash and moisturise with and also Aveeno Bath Oil. They all work brilliantly and keep my kids eczema under control.

Ps we also tried Oilatum and Infaderm and they made both childrens skin flare up really badly.

[escapewithbeauty]

Lush has an amazing product called "Dream cream" it works wonders on dry skin and eczema.

[Hattie]

This is a common problem with little people's skins. One very good (and completely natural and organic solution!) is to put a handful of porridge oats into a small cloth bag (or cotton sock - a clean one preferably ) and pop it into the bath a few mins before you plonk your baby in. Give it time to soak for a few minutes, then gently squeeze it to release a milky cloud into the water. Remove the sock (and the contents) before putting your baby in. It is 100% free from any chemicals and makes your baby's skin lovely and soft again. Don't eat the porridge afterwards though!

[darlingmummy]

for my daughter i only use Aveeno bath oil and Aveeno body lotion.
i started after her skin flared up last year and it helped straight away.

also if your child has dry skin is not advisable to give him a bath everyday.

[DinosMom]

No need to bathe everyday. I agree, add some oats to a little bag and put in tub. Moisturize with coconut oil or olive oil and give her some Omega 3 supplements - like flax seed oil in a smoothie or strawberry flavored fish oil, etc.

Eczema is an allergic, immune condition often caused by dairy or gluten allergies. It doesn't sound like your daughter's is that bad - but that should be addressed nutritionally and not just topically with products recommended by a Dr. that may be full of petrochemicals. Organic, natural oils are the way to go.

[MamanMummy]

My older daughter has the same problem and after trying all kinds of organic and non-organic creams I found that Ictyane emollient cream by Ducray works best for her (systematically applied after each bath, she bathes every day). The only problem is that it's French and not widely stocked in the UK (although I've just googled it and you can get it online). From discussions with my paediatrician, everybody reacts differently to different creams, so our miracle cream may not be yours. I would recommend sampling a few and I'm sure you'll find yours. In any case my other children do not have particularly dry skin but I find the water so hard in London that I treat them to daily cream too (Nivea though, less costly and works perfectly fine for them). Good luck!

[frenchlyric]

My son had the same skin problem. Tried various bath oils and moisturisers as recommended by our Doctor but the products that eventually worked best are from the Arbonne baby range - ABC Hair & Body Wash and Body Lotion. It's a Swiss skincare range available online through a consultant and the product ingredients are very pure. Let me know if you want to try it and I'll forward you details of the lady who does the orders for me as they send out samples etc?

[muminthisskin]

I think it is a really common problem.
A really important thing is to use a pH correct wash and shampoo so it does not strip the skin of all the natural oils. I would agree with not bathing too frequently and have had a very good results with Arbonne products.
They produce a lovely range of hair and body wash, baby oil, baby lotion, nappy cream and sun lotion. I put a few drops of the oil in the bath after I have washed my son's hair and then I use the lotion after the bath and as required on patches during the day. His eczema is so much better that I no longer have to use steroid creams.
I found the mineral oil based moisturisers given by my GP just seemed to create a need for more and more. I tried E45, aqueous cream and diprobase.
You can buy the Arbonne products from the ReCentre physio and complementary therapy practice on the Balham High Road opposite Argos.
Alternatively you can try it free from an independent consultant - I can recommend one if you contact me. In fact my very dry skin is much improved with the anti-ageing line.

[grumpydad]

If this is going to be a long term problem, then you could consider installing a water softener - the one I have is by Harveys and I am happy with it. I had it installed not really for skin problems but in order to fight the battle against limescale. It's an expensive outlay but one that pays back over time.