my daughter got a severe case of atypical baby acne at 6 week pp when i got my period. her skin is now clearing up (finally). the doctor said daily baths may help to clear it up (which they did). now her skin is sooo dry. i have taken to putting some baby oil in her bath water and now she only takes bath every other day. i use eucerin lotion on her (which was suggested when we thought the acne was eczema) as well as aveeno baby lotion. her skin is still so dry and i dont know what else to do. any suggestions? i do have johnson and johnson lotion, but i am not using it because it doesnt seem to help with the dry skin. she is exclusively breastfed so i know that it is not due to any formula issues and she shows no signs of being upset by my diet.
You're bathing her too often.
Every 3-4 days is plenty. Use a washcloth to clean whatever needs cleaning in between.
The bath is probably drying her out!! Little babies don't need a bath so often. Now that her skin is cleared up, back off on the frequency of the baths. Don't use oil in the bath, either. Only keep your baby in a warm bath for 3-5 minutes. Anything longer, is very drying. Put lotion on her immediately after the bath. Use some lotion with no chemicals (Johnsons, Aveeno...those all have chemicals.) Try a brand like Earth's Best, California Baby, or Method. (All can be found at Babies R Us, and some Target stores.)
What kind of laundry detergent do you use? Try using one with no chemicals, if she doesn't get better. She could be having a sensitivity to the detergent.
Most people over bathe babies. Babies don't get that dirty!
Now that her acne issue is cleared, I would switch to every other day or even every 3rd bay bathing. Just wipe her face, feet, hands, bum with clear warm water instead. And keep up the moisturizer. You might also want to run a cool mist humidifier in her room at night.
I wouldn't give her a bath as often as you do. Wiping her down, rather than full bath submersion will do as well. My daughter also had skin irritation -- acne, scaly/dry skin, eczema, etc. I would use my breast milk on her acne and dry skin. I actually used it as a topical for any issues (breast milk is your B.'s on personalized natural medicine!) and it worked wonders!
Her eczema did continue and I use California B. Calendula. I put that on the one stubborn spot when extreme weather would aggravate it (on days when it was particular hot/dry or cold/dry.) That worked well, too.
Good luck!
Remember that anything you put on you baby can end up in their mouth. So use ediable oils like grapeseed oil instead of using a petroleum bases Products like Johnson baby oil and most lotions. Lanolin is a great and digestible option to moisturizer.
Less baths, more moisturizers!
Go to a quality health store and find a oil for your baby -- something that will nourish the skin and soak in. There are all kinds of nice oils. Someone at a good store should be able to help you.
You may want to give her a nice little massage with the oil while singing a sweet little song quietly. Always a nice thing to do.
The tipical baby oil like johnsons is just mineral oil which is scented. It's not the best thing to use.
I'm sure your baby girl will be fine. This happens a lot. Hugs and kisses for precious wee one.
I'm guessing you are putting the lotion on her right after the bath? This works best while the skin is still damp. Lotion her right after the bath, and then lightly spritz her with a water bottle when you are lotioning her at other times. Also, are you bathing with, or without, soap? Drop the soap until the dryness is under control.
For places where the skin is painfully dry, something thicker like vaseline might help. Do NOT do this all over, though. It will stop the moisture from getting out of the skin, but it will also block air, and skin does need to breathe, so do this only in small patches (like, behind her ears, maybe? both of my daughters, and myself, had super-dry skin there, or behind the knees). You won't need to try this more than one or two consecutive days per spot.
Hope you find something that helps!
Don't bathe her in chlorinated water and try using Aquaphor.
The Kinetico company makes the best water treatment system in the world-it removes all the chlorine and minerals from your water, cuts the amount of cleaning agents by 75%, makes your skin look and feel incredible, gets your clothes cleaner, doesn't leave any water spotting on your kitchen counter tops and appliances, makes your hair amazing, keeps the bathtub clean for months because there is never any soap or hard water residue-ever-I can't say enough about this unbelievable system-they also make a drinking water system that is installed right at the kitchen sink that produces reverse osmosis water right in your home! Check it out and good luck with your little doll!
