How to care for baby skin that is good and right so as not to irritate

Baby's skin condition is different from adults, he needs extra care because of sensitive skin conditions. Especially in the care of newborns. Apart from being more sensitive, there are several things that make baby's skin need extra care. The following is an explanation about baby skin and how to care for baby skin to keep it soft.

Why does baby's skin need special care?

There are several reasons why baby skin needs to be properly cared for. Here are the reasons baby's skin needs special care:

Baby's skin is prone to burning

Drying your little one is very good for bone health, because it can provide vitamin D for baby growth and development. However, avoid drying your baby above 10 am to 4 pm especially in direct sunlight.

Baby's skin is still very sensitive to sunlight and can burn quickly. The reason is that a baby's skin doesn't have a lot of melanin to protect its own skin.

Baby skin can be dry and crusty

This condition is most often found in the scalp area. A baby's scalp can get crusty during the first one to two months of life. It will go away on its own over time.

In medical terms, this condition is called seborrheic dermatitis, or cradle cap which causes too much oil production under the skin.

This condition begins with a reddish rash on the scalp, then becomes dry, and scaly yellowish that gets thicker.

Even not only in the scalp area, the crust also extends to the back of the ears, eyebrows, to the sides of the nose. Sometimes this makes your little one uncomfortable to the point of disrupting the baby's sleep.

Prickly heat often appears on the baby's skin

This condition is a common problem experienced by babies, which makes the skin reddish small bumps. Starting from babies to adults can experience prickly heat, but the most at risk are newborns.

Prickly heat in babies is caused by clogging of sweat in the skin pores, then rash and reddish spots appear. Sometimes prickly heat can be so itchy that the baby will spontaneously scratch it.

Usually prickly heat appears in the folds where sweating frequently, such as the neck, folds of the elbows, armpits, behind the knees, and groin due to changing diapers for a long time.

How to care for baby skin

Quoting from Caring for Kids, baby's skin is still very sensitive, thin, and fragile. This makes the skin prone to rashes, eczema, irritation, and dryness. So, it is very important to treat baby's skin.

There are various products sold in the market as treatments for baby's skin, such as soap, shampoo, powder, etc. lotion baby mosquito repellent. The following is an explanation of how to care for baby skin with these products.

Baby skin care using powder

Baby powder is a skin care product that is often used and has become a hereditary habit. Its fragrant aroma makes your little one's body very comfortable to smell and is often used to treat diaper rash.

However, using baby powder has many pros and cons. This is because of the content talc in powder which basically contains asbestos is considered a danger to babies.

So in fact, asbestos is a kind of microscopic fiber-shaped mineral that can injure the lungs when inhaled. That's why exposure talc in the long run it can cause problems in the respiratory system.

Pediatrician, Atilla Dewanti, explained that the use of baby powder and other skin care products is not mandatory for your little one.

Baby care products can be used if the child has special conditions, such as dry or sensitive skin that needs extra care.

Babies with special skin conditions generally do need sensitive skin baby care products, such as lotions to keep their skin moisturised.

"This is why every mother must understand the condition of her child first before giving any product. Recognize whether your child has sensitive skin, or is allergic to certain ingredients, "he added.

Things that must be considered when using baby powder

Some babies may be more susceptible to using powder, even though this is one of the main ways parents care for their little one's skin

You need to be careful if your little one was born prematurely, has congenital heart disease, or has inherited respiratory problems such as asthma in children or has had the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

However, if your little one is not prone to the dangers of baby powder, you can use it wisely. Pay attention to the following things to reduce the risk of baby powder for the baby:

Choose a powder made from cornstarch
Change diapers regularly
Clean the remaining powder on the baby's skin
Pour in hand first
Use liquid powder

There is currently an option to replace loose powder with liquid powder. Both contain talc, but have a different texture. Compared to loose powder, liquid powder is not easily inhaled by your little one.

Use the same as a baby lotion or moisturizer in general. Even the use of liquid powder can be used after or before the lotion. Their similar texture does not make it lump in the baby's skin.

Baby skin care using shampoo and soap

How do you bathe a newborn? Do you need to use soap and shampoo?

Quoting from Pregnancy Birth Baby, your little one needs to use shampoo, but not every day, only once or twice a week to maintain oil levels in the scalp.

What if there is a crust on the baby's head or cradle cap? Quoting from the Mayo Clinic, if your baby has cradle cap, use shampoo every day in the shower to remove the crusts that stick to the scalp.

If the crust is too dense or hard, give it away baby oil two hours before shampooing. When the crust has softened, gently brush with a soft-bristled baby comb to remove the crust.

Then, how about caring for baby's skin using soap? Quoting from the Mayo Clinic, newborns don't need soap when bathing. Not only that, your little one also doesn't need moisturizers or lotions after bathing.

If the skin is dry, you can apply baby moisturizer to dry areas only, not anywhere else.

Mary Spraker, a pediatric and pediatric dermatologist at Emory University and spokeswoman for the American Academy of Dermatology explains that soap is designed to get rid of body odor. Meanwhile, babies have no problem with body odor.

Soap can be used to clean the baby's bottom and folds, such as the arms and legs. This is done until your baby is 1 year or 12 months old.

Babies aged one year and over, have started to be active and sweat. The food eaten is also the same as the adult menu, so it starts to have a body odor and requires baby bath soap.

How to choose the right baby shampoo and soap

To choose shampoo and soap as a way to care for baby's skin, there are a number of things that parents should pay attention to, namely:

Avoid those containing SLS.
Choose a baby shampoo that doesn't sting your eyes.
Avoid shampoos and soaps containing salicylic acid.
Perfume-free baby shampoo and soap.
Choose alcohol-free baby shampoo and soap.

SLS or Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is a detergent and surfactant that is added to various cleaning products, including soap and shampoo. The effect of the SLS content is that the shampoo has a lot of foam.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) can cause eye and skin irritation. The SLS content can interfere with the natural oils in the skin that keep moisture.

In babies whose skin is still very sensitive, the effects can be seen, such as a reddish rash on the baby's skin or until it peels off. The effects of SLS trigger an eczema-like reaction in babies.

How to care for baby skin using lotion

Lotion is included in an important newborn equipment to have. Baby's skin is still very sensitive, so it is important to use various skin care products, including moisturizers. Function lotion for baby skin, namely:

Softens and maintains the texture of baby's skin
Keeps skin hydrated
Soothes skin

You can apply a moisturizer to the baby after every bath and before bed lotion absorb perfectly. Especially in areas that are easier to dry, such as elbows, knees, and arms.

Rub on the baby's skin while gently massage the baby.

How to care for a baby's scalp

Even though there isn't much baby hair, it doesn't hurt to try using hair oil. Here are the benefits if your little one uses hair oil:

Moisturizes dry scalp.
Strengthens hair roots.
Candlenut oil can heal wounds and black hair.

If your little one's scalp looks and feels dry, you can give your baby hair oil. Cracked skin can be painful and sore, making the baby uncomfortable.

Applying hair oil to babies can prevent scalp damage and promote the growth of new cells. This can improve the skin texture and as a way to treat the condition of the baby's scalp.

In addition, it contains linoleic and linolenic fatty acids which can provide nutrients to hair.

Quoting from Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry, the nutrients that hair oil can provide contains hazelnut, such as preventing damage, moisturizing, and improving the texture of softer hair.

Especially for hazelnut oil which is often used for baby hair, this product is able to heal wounds on the skin. For example, scratches, bruises, or minor cuts.

If your baby has a wound that causes the baby to cry, you can apply hazelnut oil on the injured area to speed healing.

This oil can also relieve pain, swelling, and protect wounds from the risk of serious infections.

How to care for the baby's umbilical cord to avoid infection

Normally, the umbilical cord will dry out and detach itself from the baby's body. The baby's umbilical cord will generally release after 1 week of the baby's birth, but there are some that just let go (puput) after 10-14 days.

The infected umbilical cord usually looks red, swollen, feels hot, and produces foul-smelling pus. Infection also usually causes pain.

In more severe cases, the infection can extend to the skin area around the umbilical cord. This can make the skin look hard, reddish, and cause swelling in the stomach.

Infection of the baby's umbilical cord can be prevented with the right care steps. How:

Keep the umbilical cord dry, wet conditions promote the growth of germs.
Leave the umbilical cord open uncovered by gauze and don't need to be cleaned with soap and other fluids.
Avoid covering the umbilical cord when wearing a diaper so that it is not contaminated with urine or baby feces that stick to the diaper.
When bathing the baby, also try not to get the umbilical cord wet.
There is no need to use oil or powder on the baby's umbilical cord.

Using oil or powder on the baby's umbilical cord can dampen it, which increases the risk of infection.

How to care for baby skin that is injured because of piercing

Usually, the baby's ear often gets injured after being pierced. Apart from piercings, this condition is usually caused by several things such as:

Germs
Earrings too tight
Allergy to metal in earrings
There is a part of the earring that goes into the earlobe

Baby piercings should not be left on for too long as this can cause infection. Here are various ways you can treat baby piercings:

Wash your hands before cleaning and treating baby piercings

How do you know if your child's ear is injured because of a piercing? Riley Children's Health says the signs are redness and swelling 24 hours after the child's ear is pierced.

When you want to clean or treat a baby piercing wound, About Kids Health recommends that you wash your hands before touching the injured area.

This is to reduce the risk of bacteria sticking to the hands and transferring to the injured child's ear. The reason is, the part of the skin that has open wounds is more susceptible to bacteria.

Avoid using alcohol

After washing your hands thoroughly, the next step to treating baby piercings is to clean using warm water and soap twice a day while bathing.

While being cleaned, avoid using alcohol or hydrogen peroxide and rubbing baby's skin. This can make the baby's delicate skin irritated and dry.

Take off the earrings

When your baby's ear is injured or becomes infected, remove the earring while the ear is being cleaned to make the child's wound more visible. While still irritated, it's best to avoid wearing earrings on your child until the wound has healed.

If your child seems to have a risk of allergies or sensitivity to the metals and other materials in the earrings, stop wearing them for a long period of time. This is one way to treat the baby's skin around the ear so it doesn't get infected.

Usually, the wound will disappear within 2 weeks provided that how to care for it is clean and hygienic.

If home care doesn't improve your piercing, it's best to consult a doctor immediately.