A lifetime of healthy skin begins with the right skin
care in the first few years
Do you know the answers to seemingly simple questions like why your baby's skin needs special care, for how long you should use special baby products, are adult products good enough for use on the baby? This feature tells you the about the basics of baby skin care which you as a parent must know.



How you care for your baby's skin in the initial years will decide how her skin looks forever.

Your baby is born with beautiful skin which is soft, velvety and smooth. No wonder then it's a source of admiration and wonder. Don't we always wish that our skin were as perfect as a baby's.

In your womb and at birth this lovely skin is protected by a whitish coating called vernix. Once this protective covering is removed your baby in the months and years to come is continuously exposed to various environmental factors and conditions. If proper care is not taken this precious skin can easily get damaged.

Other reasons why skin care is so important

• Defense : It is the body's largest organ and protects the delicate organs inside
  the baby's body.

• Protection : It acts as a barrier that prevents entry of toxins and organisms
  into the body that can cause infection and allergies.

• Temperature Regulation :It keeps the baby's body at the correct temperature
  (by allowing perspiration for cooling and goose-bumps for warming).

• Sensory Experience: Skin with its highly sensitive nerve endings puts a baby
  in touch with the outside world. In fact it is through the skin that they
  experience the tender and loving touch of parents.

 Baby skin is not completely developed till the age of 3

Most parents are most careful with the baby in the initial few months when the fear of harming the delicate newborn is the highest. However after a few months as the baby grows and
the confidence of parents increases the rigorous rules followed in the initial months are relaxed. The child is seen to become more capable of coping with the surroundings and as he starts crawling, teething, walking , the child starts getting classified as a "mini-adult".

An important thing to know is that your "mini-adult's" skin is still different from adult skin. A lot of features of your baby's skin are not fully developed till at least the age of 3 years. Therefore at least till 3 years of age, your baby's skin is still vulnerable and needs special care and attention. It is therefore not just important to start the right practices from birth such as use of mild and gentle baby products but continue them at least till the baby is 3 years old

Good skin care practices

Infant skin has some important differences from adult skin. These are :

• Can break or damage easily: It is the body's  largest organ and protects the delicate organs  inside  the baby's body.

• Very vulnerable to external irritants: Baby's skin is thinner than adult
  skin.It absorbs unwanted substances applied on the surface much more
  easily thanadult skin. Also, fatty substances that may be undesirable and
  cause irritation,penetrate through a baby's skin much more easily.
  The main cause of rashes in children is contact with external irritants

• Very susceptible to sunburn: The production of melanin is lower in infants.
  Therefore the skin can easily burn if exposed to sun.

• Lower ability to control water loss and maintain body temperature:
  The infant has small skin surface area and so the distribution of sweat glands
  is denser. This reduces the ability of the infant's skin to control water loss
  and maintain body temperature.

If the baby's skin is damaged, then its ability to control water loss is further reduced