Sensitive skin and skin allergies are a hassle! It takes a lot of trial and error to find the right products. This is a difficult enough problem for adults, but what about babies who have these issues? No one wants to experiment with product after product when their baby is suffering from sensitivity and allergies.
As someone who has suffered with sensitive skin my entire life, rashes, skin irritation and product induced breakouts are no strangers to me. It took me several years to realize that I’m allergic to mineral oil, among other things as well! I don’t even want to think about the thousands of dollars I spent trying to find products that not only were safe for my skin, but worked as well! The benefit of all this haphazard research is that I now know what products to avoid and which ones to stick with when it comes time to use them on my baby.
There are some things to remember when looking for products for babies with sensitive skin. First, it’s a great idea to avoid products with mineral oil. Many people are allergic to mineral oil or they have a sensitivity to it at least. An overwhelming amount of products contain mineral oil, so it is wise to check the labels. Some brands to avoid are Johnson’s Baby Oil, Vaseline, and Aquaphor. Most brands of baby oil do contain mineral oil, so be careful about using a baby oil, unless you have checked it first. It’s also a good idea to avoid products with fragrances, unless the fragrances are natural. Avoid anything with dyes or artificial colors as well.
When using products on any baby, it is important to stick to natural products. This is especially true for sensitive babies. It’s important to check the toxicity levels of any product you want to use on your baby. California Baby products are great and have low toxicity levels. A wonderful line of products for babies and mamas with sensitive skin is Angel Baby, Earth Mama. They provide natural products, including a nipple butter, which is ok for babies to consume, diaper cream and baby lotions. Check out www.earthmamaangel baby.com for a full range of safe and soothing products!
Another alternative to buying products, which can get expensive is to use common household items such as olive oil and coconut oil. They are excellent natural products to help moisturize baby’s skin, however, each of these products can get slippery, so you should use caution when applying them and use them sparingly.
There are several websites that will help you identify the ingredients and toxicity levels of baby products, as well as cosmetics and products for adults . This is very important for women who are pregnant, so they can avoid using products with high toxicity levels when they are pregnant or nursing. Non-toxickids.net is a good site, but www.ewg.org/skindeep/ is extremely comprehensive and very easy to use.