In summer, more than ever, we must pay attention to the baby’s skin. We give you some basic tips to take care of it.
Baby’s skin is much more delicate than that of adults, as it is still in the process of maturing, and this must be taken into account when caring for it, especially during the hot months.
These are some of the recommendations that specialists suggest:
1. Baby’s skin is thinner: Babies’ skin has fewer layers that protect it and the cells that form it are more separated. This causes the water to be absorbed and lost further and influences its barrier system and elasticity. Also, during the first month of life, there can be no sweating. Beware of excess soap: it can lower the baby’s skin defenses.
2. Hydration: precisely because this barrier system has not yet formed, the baby’s skin must be well hydrated. To recommend it is to hydrate it after the bath.
3. Bathing, maximum 2-3 times a week: bathing is part of the baby’s routine, and it is also a very nice moment of contact with parents, in which you can take advantage of doing a massage that relaxes and stimulates the little one . During the first weeks of life, the bath should not last more than 5 minutes and will be done 2-3 times a week. According to experts, it is better to use a small amount of soap and distribute it by hand gently.
4. Sun protection: before six months, avoid direct contact with the sun. From the age of seven months, a cream with a physical filter is required, evenly distributed. And above all, we should not expose children to the most intense hours of sunlight.
5. Care with the diaper: the skin of the diaper area must take special care aimed at decreasing the humidity of the skin, minimizing the contact of the skin with urine and feces and eradicating the presence of germs. The bacteria in the stool have a pH that is very irritating but affects each baby differently due to their specific skin type. For this, it is recommended to use diapers with absorbent capacity that must be changed frequently, cleaning with water and a gel suitable for the baby’s skin.