Caring For Baby Skin During The Cold Snap
Harsh winter conditions take their toll on the skin, be you five days or fifty years old. But while there’s a plethora of products for adults, caring for a baby’s delicate skin can be quite a task during a cold snap. With this in mind, Belle About Town consulted Katherine Frizoni, Research and Development Expert at Baby Dove, for her Top Tips on caring for a baby’s skin this winter.
Katherine told us: “Baby skin is thinner and has a less well developed natural protective barrier than an adult. A baby’s skin can lose moisture up to five times faster than adult skin. This means that it can quickly dry out.
“With temperatures dipping again this week it’s important to take extra care of your little one’s skin. Cold temperatures result in very little water evaporating into the air, creating an atmosphere with low humidity. This dry air combined with regular movement between hot indoor temperatures and the colder outdoor environment dries skin out even faster during the winter months, especially babies’.”
Here are Katherine’s Top Tips for caring for a baby’s skin in cold weather conditions:
- Make sure baby’s bath is at the correct temperature and try to limit time in the bath to a maximum of five minutes
- Consider moisturising baby’s skin more often – the best time to moisturise is after a bath!
- Dress your baby in layers of soft breathable fabrics such as cotton. Using layers allows you to quickly adjust your baby’s temperature when moving from inside to outside – it’s just as important to not be too hot as it is too cold. As a general guideline, babies need one extra layer than adults
- Invest in an indoor humidifier to stop the air at home being too dry for baby’s skin
- Try and protect your baby from cold winds by placing a cover on your pram/pushchair and remember a hat and gloves if you’re outside in the cold for an extended period of time
