Back to Basics — What That Means for Your Baby’s Skin

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The basics are coming back around on our culture’s radar — and it’s due time to go back. When it comes to baby skin care, labels can be lengthy and laden with hard-to-pronounce ingredients that are harmful to your baby and the environment. These gnarly ingredients have received some pretty brutal press and rightfully so! With several notable baby skincare products having been recalled in the recent years due to harsh toxins (1) and parents having a wide range of access to in-depth information on these products through apps, blogs, and the news, the secrets of baby products (and their hidden ingredients) are out. Now, more than ever, parents are choosing to go back to the basics for the health of their little ones.

Basics can mean using as little as water to bathe a baby and olive oil or coconut oil to moisturize. The upside to this minimal approach to baby skincare is that you know exactly what’s going into your baby’s permeable skin (2) and do not have to worry about the common toxic chemicals found in most baby skincare. Moisturizing your baby with coconut or olive oil does, in fact, provide moderate skin protection and moisture. But is it the ideal solution? The answer is that it isn’t (3).

The ‘Too Simple’ Water Bath

The downside of minimally bathing your baby in water is that sometimes, depending on what types of compounds are found in your water source, it can strip the skin of its natural oils. (4) These oils are vital for protecting and nourishing your baby’s skin. Furthermore, moisturizing the delicate skin of a baby with the basic and pure oils of coconut or olive, despite them being pure and effective, is not always recommended. During hot summer days, due to the oil’s thick texture, along with the fact that they heat up when exposed to high temperatures, can sometimes suffocate the top epidermal layer of baby skin, thereby slowing the skin’s ability to eliminate toxins. The oils can also increase the absorption of UV rays into the skin, which can be seriously harmful to the delicate skin of a baby.

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Why Moisturizing Is Vital

You may think that it could be best to just not moisturize your baby’s skin whatsoever — this actually causes more harm than good. The underdeveloped, delicate skin of a baby loses moisture rapidly (5) and needs to be consistently nourished. A better alternative than the basic oil or no-moisture approach is lotion. Most lotions are lightweight and can successfully penetrate into the skin for deep moisture. Many lotions are enriched with glycerin, vitamin E, and other essential nutrients that have protective properties and help support the baby’s skin barrier which is essential for their healthy development.

When selecting which lotion you want to use on your baby’s skin, be sure to read the ingredients and have a clear understanding of what each ingredient is doing for your baby’s skin. If you find that there are any toxins or chemicals, it’s not a product that you can rest assured won’t cause possible harm to your baby. The best solution to bathing and moisturizing your little one is to approach baby care products with a “back-to-basics” mentality but without being too extreme (i.e the only-water method or solely using thick natural oils for moisture).

Promising New Discoveries in Baby Skincare

In recent years, eye-opening studies in the baby skincare space have chanced upon discoveries that are now guiding the creation of innovative products — products that are safe for an infant and their permeable skin. These products are proving to be the best of both the “back-to-basics” world and also that of leading science. No matter what, parents should look for the most natural, toxin-free, and allergen-free products available. Fortunately, there’s a new and innovative brand in baby bath and skincare on the block and their products are shaping up to be quite impressive. Babyology offers parents a worry-free experience through a range of skin and bath products that are made from ‘edible’ ingredients.  When these ingredients permeate through the delicate skin barrier of a baby, there is nothing toxic or harmful entering their developing body. And if you’ve any doubts, you might want to have a look at what real parents are saying about the products via their Amazon page.

There is hope yet, parents! Stay on the pulse of what the latest research findings are in the world of baby skincare and be sure to continue to read the back of every label. Going back to basics doesn’t have to mean going backwards in time to water and oil. It just means to nix the nasty ingredients that do not belong anywhere near your baby’s skin.

 

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