At the time of the toilet, not easy to apply the right gestures to take care of the little face of his infant, especially if you are a parent for the first time. Nicolas Dutriaux, midwife, gives his professional advice and tips.
Summary
- Baby facial care: instructions for use
- Caring for baby ears
- Clean your baby’s eyes
- A clean little nose
- The right products to take care of baby’s face
- Natural care: what you need to know
- Treat your baby’s skin problems
The toilet, a privileged moment of relaxation in the company of your little one. However, some young parents are not always comfortable, especially at the start, and wonder: Should we systematically wash our noses? What products should be favored or, on the contrary, to be banned? From theory to practice, we tell you everything about cleaning your baby’s face.
Baby facial care: instructions for use
In general, facials are rather done after the bath or the toilet. In practice, more or less soapy water is used, at 37/38 ° C maximum.
Pro tip: at the beginning, it is better to prepare a bath at 38 ° C which will have time to cool down to 37 ° C while you are undressing your baby, rather than preparing a bath at 37 ° C which will drop to 35 / 36 ° C …
- If you just use a damp cotton ball to wipe your toes, hot or lukewarm water will be more pleasant for him.
- Also note that cleaning the baby’s face is done from top to bottom, taking care to avoid the eyes, nose and ears.
- The cleaning and especially the cleaning of the folds of the neck as well as behind the ears are to be done every day, even in the absence of bath.
- Once clean, be sure to dry these areas thoroughly, dabbing gently with a clean towel.
- Ear and eye care is then performed, if necessary.
- And we finish with the nose through which the continuous tearing flows which keeps the cornea moist through the internal angle of the eyes.
- As for the material, prefer washing with the hand or cotton (for the forehead, the cheekbones and the chin), rather than a glove, often a little rough.
Caring for baby ears
Among the sensitive areas of the face: the ears. It is advisable to clean the pavilion of the ear only in case of visible soiling , with a cotton wick wrapped around your finger. Since earwax has an antibacterial effect, it is not useful to “strip” your baby’s ear; this will protect it from ear infections .
Pro tip: It is recommended to ban cotton swabs “classic”, because of the risk of damage to the eardrum. If you cannot do without it, it is better to opt for those with enlarged cotton tips to ensure that they cannot fit into the ear.
Clean your baby’s eyes
For the eyes, care will be taken in the event of soiling, using a sterile pad. The simplest and most practical being physiological saline (salt water – 0.9% NaCl) in single-dose pipettes. If the eye flows puruously – which happens quite frequently in the days after birth, it is enough to reinforce the cleaning with physiological saline 2-4 times a day.
Pro tip : Nursing mothers can add a drop of breast milk directly into the eye when caring for them. Indeed, it is an excellent antibacterial! And for all babies, we adopt a good reflex: gently massage the edge of the nose to unclog the small canal that connects the eye to the nose.
A clean little nose
A daily inspection of the nostrils is recommended, as your toddler only breathes through the nose. It is for this reason that babies sneeze regularly from birth …
After childbirth, during the maternity stay, young parents are often shown how to make a cotton handkerchief by turning cotton very finely, which will caress the entrance to baby’s nose to catch visible dirt. A gesture that will especially tend to favor sneezing … for automatic washing of the nose.
In case of severe baby cold , cleaning with a few drops of saline in the nose by turning the baby’s head to the side and aiming for the nostril from the top is to be preferred.
Pro tip : Beware of the baby fly, rather uncomfortable for toddlers. Especially since the hygiene and use precautions are not always observed.
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The right products to take care of baby’s face
As always, the simplest is often the best … and the most economical.
In summary, water is ideal. This will avoid wipes and various lotions which, in addition to their cost, have a complicated composition. However, when traveling or when traveling, a packet of wipes can be useful for a short period of time, provided that your baby’s skin is thoroughly dried afterwards.
Also be aware that toilet milk, like a “classic” cleansing milk, should be rinsed off.
In general, products labeled “special baby” are more marketing. Indeed, most of the time, they have little difference compared to those intended for adults … if not their price, which is often higher.
In terms of shampoo , we will opt for a gentle, basic fragrance-free cleansing hazelnut, with the lowest possible list of ingredients.
Some parents simply use a few shavings of Marseille soap diluted in the bath water.
Pro tip : Be careful to buy “real” Marseille soap. It is not a protected designation, so be careful about its composition and origin.
We don’t always know, but limestone is the enemy of household appliances … not our body. However, hard water can dry the delicate skin of toddlers. So just limit the baths to one every 2 or 3 days at the start.
Pro tip: a few drops of massage oil (calendula or sunflower) or a small amount of shea butter on your baby’s body will keep the water in the skin layer. And the key, good hydration.
Have you found the products that suit your skin? Do not change anything, you will limit the risk of allergies.
Natural care: what you need to know
What to think of organic care? The labels guarantee an organic origin of the ingredients. Their associations and their mixtures may have nothing organic and this will not protect you against the possible allergy problems linked to certain components …
As for natural products, some should be handled with care. In principle, sweet almond oil and nuts oils are to be avoided in the first year (especially peanut oil, karanja, macadamia, hazelnut, walnut, Brazil nut, sesame…).
On the other hand, shea butter is used, without problem, by many young African mothers. Just apply it on baby’s face in moderate amounts, taking care to avoid the eyes, and in the absence of pimples and / or acne. To be adopted especially in winter.
Pro tip: We carry out a test before any application of vegetable oil. We start with a few drops on a clear area of the body to observe a possible reaction. At the slightest sign (redness, pimple…), we stop! Certain edible oils, including the famous Isio 4, have been tested by premature departments and have shown benefits thanks to the omega 3 they contain.
Treat your baby’s skin problems
Do not panic, small skin problems are common in newborns. These are most often grains of milium (small white pimples on the tip of the nose) or acne in infants . The right reflex: clean baby’s face with a gentle cleansing base and rinse well. Pimples are formed when the pores of the skin become blocked. So no excess cream.
On the scalp, ” crusts of milk ” are a classic. A mild shampoo is recommended to gently peel them off. If the problem persists, an antiseptic cream may be offered on medical advice.
Does your baby have atopic skin or, in the family, are you prone to eczema ? Be all the more vigilant with the list of ingredients on toiletries. The shorter the list, the better! In this case, any cream should be avoided without prior medical advice.
