Baby Acne - Stockton,CA

Hi T.. My daughter had a lot of acne when she was 3 weeks to 6 months old, but now she is 5 years old and has the most georgeous skin. My pediatrician said that it was due to my hormones as well and it will just go away in time and it did!

I have 3 kids and all of them had baby acne when they were new borns and it lasted the first 2-3months. I only breastfed one of them for 2 months. And like everyone says, it will eventually go away!
:0)
Gently wash his face with warm water and then put a little bit of Aveeno lotion on his face.
Hope it helps!
congrats!!

My daughter had lots of pimples when she was born. She is three months old now and they have been completely gone for quite awhile and I would imagine that his will be gone soon too:)

As bad as it may look, it IS normal - almost all babies have some baby acne in their first month or so of life, some of them more severe than others. My daughter had a mild case, and I just made sure I kept her face dry from spit and didn't put any soap or lotion on her face. It will go away on its own, but there are certainly some things to do to soothe and help the healing process along. Here is a summary from WebMD:

What is it?
The bumps of baby acne are quickly fleeting evidence of the connection between a mother’s body and her baby’s. During the final moments of pregnancy, her hormones cross the placenta into her child. Among other things (such as maturing the lungs), this stimulates the oil glands on the skin, eventually giving rise to the baby acne.

The acne will be most prominent when the baby is hot or fussy (increased blood flow to the skin), or when the skin is irritated. If the skin comes into contact with cloth laundered in harsh detergents, or becomes wet from spit-up saliva or milk, the condition may appear worse for several days.

Usually, no treatment is necessary. It can help to gently cleanse the face once a day with water, and perhaps mild baby soap. Oils and lotions do not help, and may aggravate the condition. If the acne is severe or lasts beyond 6 months, your pediatrician may prescribe a mild medicine to help.

I had the exact same experience with my second baby. What worked wonders for me was the Johnson's Soothing Naturals Soothe and Protect Balm. It comes in a solid stick form, goes on easy and smells great. I put it on whenever her face looked dried out and irritated (usually 2-3 times a day) and her skin cleared up within a couple of days.

My son had what I thought was the worst case of baby acne on record. It literally covered his entire face, with the worst spots across the nose and under his eyes. The acne was huge and red and sometimes scabbed over. Yikes! He was also born in early December so it arrived just in time for Christmas. I was completely distressed. However, like your pediatrician, my doctor said it was normal and to just wait it out. It was painful and felt like the acne lasted forever, but surely enough, it went away. I think it was mostly gone within a month and completely clear in a couple months. Now my son is two years old, and his skin is beautiful and clear. We laugh when we look back at pictures from those early weeks and remember how distressed we were! So I feel your pain, but just wait it out. It will go away! (By the way, I seem to hear more stories of baby acne with boys... maybe the hormones respond differently in boys vs. girls?)

One of our twins had baby acne pretty bad. The advice I received was, let it ride, DON'T DO ANYTHING because there is nothing you can do to make it hurry up and go away. A baby's skin is like a teenager, there ARE a ton of hormones they are processing, I think even if you weren't breastfeeding. It totally disappeared after a few weeks, maybe a month. His skin is beautiful now!

T.: The best advice, is to leave it alone. What your pedi said was true. It will take sometime to clear but the more you pick at it or disturb it the worse it gets.
I am a RN who works in pediatrics, labor & delivery, postpartum.
Take care, K.

My daughter went through this a lot and had both dry and oily/wet patches. My pediatrician suggested cetaphil gentle cleansing bar and moisturizing lotion. this worked really well for the dry patches. She also got acne in the folds of her neck from drooling. for this we started using bibs almost all the time (always take them off for naps!!)and kept her skin as dry as possible. a little cornstarch on a cotton ball is good too.

Hope that helped.

My first son had baby acne. Noone warned me, so I was alarmed. Turnes out, it's quite common. It will go away! Good Luck!

Don't worry, Mama. It's totally normal and should subside in a few weeks.

Hi T.,

My daughter had the same issue. (I too was breast feeding and supplementing with formula) Her pediatrician recommended washing her face and neck with Cetaphil. It's a facial cleanser that you can find at any grocery/drug store. (I have been using it on myself for years, it's a nice gentle cleanser)
I started using this with my daughter as part of her morning routine, and her acne cleared up quickly. The added benefit is that my daughter loves her morning face wash!
The doctor told me that it could come and go in her first 6 months, but since using the Cetaphil I really haven't seen it again. (If it does persist for your daughter, know that it will go away. As you heard it's our little gift to them from our hormones.)
I recommend only using the cleanser once a day, so that your daughter's skin does not dry out. It's also recommended not to do anything with the acne itself other than the wash.

My son also had the acne. I hate it too. My suggestion is to watch it. If he is getting it right after you breastfeed then check what you are eating... It is definitely the hormones in the beginning but after a while it could be from an allergy... Try to keep his cheeks dry and hydrated... Don't wash or irritate the skin anymore than needs to be. My son's went away after a month or so... I breastfeed exclusively to 7 months and when I started formula and solid foods it came back... The doctor claims it is from is saliva but I don't know.. We watch it and try to keep it dry and moisturized.. I hope this helps.

Hi T.,

congrats on your little one! baby acne is normal. cetaphil helped my duaghter's go away within a few days. i also used aquafore on her really dry spots. good luck!

My daughter got baby acne at about 4 wks, but it cleared up by 7 wks on it's own. My doctor told me the same thing, that it was just from the hormones and that it would clear up on its own. I also breastfed. I know it looks horrible, and that you don't want your beautiful baby to have those icky spots on their faces, but it doesn't seem to bother them. It was funny though, once her acne cleared up, she got cradle cap so she had scaley scalp for a while instead of the acne. Very frustrating! Anyway, my son never got either, and I breast fed him too, so I'm not sure what the difference was. Hope this helps.

My son had really bad baby acne starting at 1 month, but it only lasted about a month. It looked pretty bad, but I knew that there was nothing I could do to make it better. I waited until it was all cleared up until we took his first professional picture, though! :)

Did the acne start when your baby started having formula? Does your formula have cow's milk in it? If so try one that does not. Also the Soy ones tend to be more difficult to digest for babies so try to see if there are any others. You are being a great mom, well done.

It's ok...and normal. My third baby had it the worst. Dont put and thing on it and dont pick at it. Wash with baby wash and water when you bath and it will be gone in a couple weeks. Happy baby :)

hi T.,
My daughter had very bad baby acne and my son had none, its just luck of the draw. My dr. told me the same thing about the hormones and as far as I know theres nothing you can do about it. He will grow out of it soon and his skin will look beautiful, nothing to worry about! By the way, it doesn't bother them even though it looks like it would.

Hi T.

I am not sure it will apply but it sounds very much like what I experienced many years ago. It turned out my baby was allergic to any kind of milk. Strange as it may sound he was raised on jello water. The doctor said it had all the properties of milk. He is a grown man now with kids of his own. Good luck! Let me know.

This is totally normal. My son has it also. Try Aquaphor it really helped with his acne.

Good Luck

Hi T.,
How are you? Try not to worry too much. When I had my 3rd daughther she had baby acne so bad. I was so upset about the way she looked. Some family memebers even stared calling her Nesle Crunch. Which made me feel even more up-set. But Thank Goddness it does go away, pretty quick. The acne does go away by it self. And believe it or not alot of babies suffer with this, I guess I should reword that ,the mother's suffer with this. It does go away though. Don't pop any of the acne, cause just like a pimple it will leave a scar, and you don't want that. I hope i've been some help to you T....Take Care, S. Real

I have always heard that called milk bumps. If you are nursing stay away from all dairy, and stay away from dairy formulas. Not sure how right I am, just thought I would share.
J.

It is totally normal, a lot of babies get it. What my Dr. recommended was to use a very little bit of hydrocortisone (1%)and it honestly was gone within a few hours/next morning. Usually it goes away on its own but my daughter would get it and then it would go away and then a week or so later come back. If you give it time it will go away but the cortisone worked wonders! Good Luck

Hi, T.:

As far as I know from what my doctors and midwife told me after my daughter (now 18 mo old) was born, acne is quite common in new babes. It may be a result of your hormones, but I was not told that; I was told that it's the baby's hormones. This explanation makes more sense to me. Anyhow, whatever the reason, I think you should definitely continue to breastfeed as stopping would only make your baby's immune system less able to deal with allergens and so forth and might make the acne worse... just a theory, but from my research and experience, breastmilk is the wonder food!!!

Good luck to you!

L.

My son is three months and had the same problem at about three weeks. I read that it was normal and has to do with them still having our hormones in their system. Its best just to leave it alone and not wash with soap. Just use a plain cool wash cloth. My sons didn't get better though and the doctor said it was because he had eczema. We have to put cortisone cream on his face daily until it subsides. I would give it time, but if it gets worse or gets oozy ask if it is ezcema. We wash everything in baby detergent and double rinse it all too. Hope this helps.

Hi T.,

My son had this as well. It's called milia and it's very common. I can't remember how long it took to go away...I think about 3-4 weeks or so. It does look sort of alarming, but, rest assured, your little guy will have smooth "baby skin" in a matter of weeks. Here is more info, if you like:
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/health/spottyskin/

Baby acne is very common. You can't make it disappear. It goes away on its own. You shouldn't try squeezing them or anything either. Both my boys had it. My 7 month old still has a little and he has had it for 4 months. It bothers us as parents more than it bothers them. If their face is dry though you can put calendula cream on it. California Baby has a great calendula cream. Hope this helps.

This might sound a little weird but try putting some of your breastmilk on it. I have heard that it helps.

My kids had acne as well. It will eventually go away and your little prince will have flawless skin soon. Congratulations! T~

I too used hydrocortisone (1%)on my 5 month old son and it honestly was gone within a few hours/next morning. I used very little and tested a small area to begin with.

Yep, it's very unattractive but it's normal. My younger son had it for about 2 months & then it went away. Don't pick at it. No need to go uot & find some special wash for his face, just wash his face w/water & it will subside. Good luck!