Newborn babies have skin that is delicate and fragile, so you need to be extra careful when you put anything on it, including natural moisturizers. The best thing to put on a baby’s skin is nothing at all, but there may come a time when you need to put on a moisturizer to keep the skin from drying out.
Soap can dry skin out fast, so use it sparingly. I use to bath my baby everyday in warm water and only use soap every other day. If you use soap every day, you will find that your baby’s skin will dry out and problems will occur. Unless the baby gets real dirty, I would skip using the soap. That way, you will find that you don’t need to moisturize so much.
When your baby does get dry skin, choose a natural moisturizer to help moisturize the skin. Baby oil is made to moisturize the dry skin of babies, but when you use it, only use a very little amount, and rub the skin a limited amount. You can put a teaspoon of baby oil in the palm of your hand and rub your hands together. Once the baby oil covers your palms, then place your hands on the baby’s skin and rub sparingly to cover the skin of the baby. Gently patting the baby is better then rubbing.
I like to use plain old olive oil, the same kind you use to cook with, as a moisturizer for my babies. Olive oil is a great skin moisturizer, and I can’t find anything better to keep skin from drying out. I like to use fresh olive oil, since a bottle of olive oil that is open too long can start to turn rancid. You can put your open bottle of olive oil in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it, but you will need to let it warm up some before you spread it on the skin. To use olive oil on the soft skin of a baby, just pour a small amount of olive oil in your palm and rub your hands together. Place a hand on each arm of the baby and then each leg of the baby. After that you can gently rub the olive oil all over the baby.
When moisturizing the dry skin of a baby, just use a small amount of moisturizer, and don’t rub too much, or you can irritate the skin. It is best to use all-natural moisturizers instead of ones that have chemicals in them.
