dry winter skin

yonge said:
You might also want to try pharmaceutical grade, generic Aqueous Cream. I get them in 500g tubs at Mannings or Watson's. We slather it on the children after their bath which they take before going to bed. We also reapply throughout the day whenever their skin is dry. My husband had pretty severe childhood eczema and both children had mild infant eczema, so our family doctor recommended this since their birth as a precaution.

If you're using a heater in the children's room, try to use one with a humidifier or use it along with humidifier. You might also switch from baby soap to a non-soap cleanser, such as Cetaphil for her bath. Hot water is also more drying, so try a comfortably warm instead of hot bath. I use a heater in the bathroom so that it doesn't feel so cold even when the bathwater is only warm. Good luck!
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I have extremely dry skin all-year round. Where I grew up the climate was semi-arid so I was constantly itchy and uncomfortable and went through tubs and tubs of skin cream--especially in the even drier wintertime. In Hong Kong, it's improved but winter still is pretty hard.

I totally second using the aqueous cream. I just bought two 500 g tubs at Mannings yesterday for less than $50 HKD. Aqueous cream is the base for almost all skin creams--it's good to use it because it is non-scented and scents and weird oils can really make bad skin worse.

DO NOT give your daughter HOT baths--even if it has oil in it. This is really damaging to the skin and will dry it out even more. I've had to see dermatologist after dermatologist for my own skin problems and the clear message that they hammer home every time is "LUKE-WARM water for bathing." As the weather is so cool lately, it might be hard to give a baby that cool of a bath. You might consider just giving her a sponge bath in the meantime. Unless she's really playing in the dirt and getting filthy, most babies don't need a full bath anyway. Every time you bathe you wash away skin oils--which sounds like a good thing and it probably is, unless your skin is dry and itchy.

The dermatologists I've seen also say no soap or cleansing products at all for bathing. If soap is needed get something like Cetaphil cleanser that is soap-free and use it sparingly (feet, bottom, armpits etc.). Soap and cleanser of all kinds dries out the skin.

As soon as I get out of the shower, I immediately put aqueous cream on. See, the job of a good skin cream is not really to "moisturise"--by the cream itself providing the moisture. The job of a good skin cream is to seal the moisture into the skin and create a protective layer. So, once you're wet, don't even dry off--just put on a thick layer of thick skin cream and massage the water and cream into the skin. Someone mentioned cold cream--this is a good idea because it is so thick that it seals moisture in better. I personally put on 2-3 layers of cream, massaging it in each time just to keep my skin from cracking when it gets dry.

Take it from a veteran of dry skin--unless you've got some other dermalogical problems (eczema etc.) going, on you need to use cool water for bathing, only use non-soap cleansers (sparingly) and use a good, thick, non-scented cream, often and generously.

I hope that your baby's skin gets better because dry skin is horrible!
 
Bumbeeno, really appreciate your valuable suggestions and answers!!!! It certainly has eased the "guessing game!"

Thanks!!!!
 
Thanka2, thanks for your valuable advise too! Can lite baby oil be used on them right after their baths, like the cream you are using to massage together with the water?

Will check out Cetaphil & aqueous cream today at Mannings, since it sounds so incredible! :)
 
the sugar water is actually quite diluted - your baby should not come out sticky at all. I put about 3 tablespoon in a large baby bath tub (not the NB ones).
 
And I can tell you, I've tried most of the products mentioned here, the aqueous cream, the QV oil, the QV intensive moisturiser, the mustela products and none beats melted slab sugar!! You really must try it to find out. If wary, try it on yourself first - your hubby will definitely love your soft skin after your shower!!
 
Query said:
the sugar water is actually quite diluted - your baby should not come out sticky at all. I put about 3 tablespoon in a large baby bath tub (not the NB ones).
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There are several sizes of tubs for different ages?? I didn't know that!!! :b

I am using the the blue one from Ikea now. What size is that, NB?
 
Query said:
the sugar water is actually quite diluted - your baby should not come out sticky at all. I put about 3 tablespoon in a large baby bath tub (not the NB ones).
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So just warm water + sugar water? What about the cleaner? Or no cleanser? So do I wash her face first with the tub of water, then hair, then put her in the bath, then towel dry followed by moisturizer?
 
NB means newborn. These tubs last only for about the first 2 months then your baby becomes too big for it. I got my bigger tubs from B2B.

When my son was young and not moving about too much, i would use just use sugared water with a couple of squirts of qV oil - no soap or shampoo as they dont sweat much, esp now it's winter.

Now he's bigger and running about, in addition to the sugared water and QV oil, I use either the cetaphil cleanser for washing his hair and body (if his skin is not very dry) or the aqueous cream for doing the same (if his skin is esp dry).

What I found is that even if I bathe him with all of the the above skincare products but not in the sugared water, his skin will not be as moistured and soft and is still quite rough and dry. So I cant do without the sugared water at all!! You will immediately see the difference after the bath!

After the bath, i rub AV intensive moisturiser on him (this is a bit like vaseline only not as thick). Not sure whether sold in HK, I got these in Oz.
 
miriam228 said:
Thanka2, thanks for your valuable advise too! Can lite baby oil be used on them right after their baths, like the cream you are using to massage together with the water?

Will check out Cetaphil & aqueous cream today at Mannings, since it sounds so incredible! :)
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Baby oil is definitely not as effective as thick cream--it rubs off easily too. Also, baby oil has scents added to it--frankly, I never use baby oil as it irritates my skin more.

Cetaphil is not a facial cleanser--yes, they do have a facial cleanser now but cetaphil (and there are other brands like it) is a thick skin cream and also comes as a cleanser.

Also, try this--put oatmeal in your baby's bath water--it is really soothing for the skin--one of the few things I've ever tried that completely took itching away. There are some skin creams like Aveeno that also use oatmeal but since they likely have other scents added are probably not good for troubled skin. Oatmeal does work, though. Dump a cup of oatmeal in the warm bathwater, let it sit for a few minutes and then soak the baby in it. Pat the skin to remove any chunks of oatmeal and then put the cream on.
 
I always used olive oil on my baby'skin and it worked wonders ,never bought any creams .......still do
Almond oil is good too
 
OX Jess, since my bb's skin is similar to your baby's (LIKE sandpaper) i bought the MUSTELA Cold CREAM.
the first night i applied, she stopped scratching her tummy in the middle of the night. and after a few nights applying, her tummy is back to her old self, smooth,, and soft,, like how a baby should be.
thanks for that recommendation.:)
 
With my DD, the Dr, after ruling out an allergy via a prick test and controlling the eczema with antibiotics, anti-histamine and cortisone gave us this eczema management plan, which 3 yrs on is working completely -
avoid soap & shampoo
use bath oil (eg Hamiltons or QV)- consider bathing on alternate days
Moisturise - esp after a bath, maybe twice a day (eg: sorbolene, QV cream, or Dermeze - a paraffin heavy duty moisturiser - I found this one the best, not sure if it's avail in HK got it in Oz
use cotton clothing - don't use sheepskin underlay or woolen blankets. this included our stuff too.
cover up area to prevent scratching
avoid enzyme containing washing detergents and consider extra rinse cycle.
limit exposure to drying environment - heaters / AC.


Hope this is of some help, but seeing a dermatologist was the best thing I did.
 
I was advised by paediatrician to add Oilatum to bath water in winter. My baby's skin seems less dry after doing so.
 
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