best soap and lotion for dry skin?

[skohng]

hi everyone

i'm sure my question is answered somewhere on the board but it's almost time to put ds for a nap so no time... :)

ds has very dry skin but not eczema. we've been using eucerin but even though it's quite greasy it doesn't keep him moisturized ( i use it 3X daily). what else should i use, and what kind of soap in his bath to keep from overdrying? (i've been using J&J baby wash very sparingly but it still dries his skin out)

he also seems to scratch his head a lot and it's getting flaky. he did have cradle cap when he was younger and i was worried it's coming back. is there a way to "moisturize" their scalp too?

he also developed heat rash- does anyone have any tricks to make this go away?

thanks !!

selena

[Janeinnyc]

Our pediatrician recommended using Aveena lotion (the regular kind, not the kind specially produced for babies) and Cetaphil wash for his bath time. I think the Cetaphil helped with the dry skin for us.
I don't know anything about heat rash though - when I was younger and had it, my mom used baby powder, but I guess that wouldn't be recommended anymore. Sorry!

[skohng]

thanks jane - funny b.c we do have the Baby Aveeno and it does nothing for us! i'll try the "real" Aveeno.

[amp]

We like Aquaphor and Eucerin Calming Creme (which it sounds like you are using). I've heard great things about Cetaphil too.

There are also cradle cap shampoos out there to consider.

[lynettefrancois]

Cetaphil on the skin, no soap ever!!!! I use baby aveeno shampoo on my dd's hair- just a tiny amount though- it is still a bit drying (but MUCH less drying than J&J). I only bathe her every other day unless she's absolutely filthy (otherwise she gets full out eczema). Her bath water is just barely warm... I know all this because I've had eczema since I was 10. HTH!

ETA When they have cradle cap, you can put olive oil on the scalp and rub to get dead skin off, then wash as normal. I don't know if this works for older babies-
Also, aquaphor is good for really rough patches, but I wouldn't use it on the face- it smells faintly like petroleum by-products or something! :P

[SpaceGal]

My DS has super dry skin too. The ped suggested unscented/sensitve skin Dove soap. It has helped although I haven't used it recentlly. I use J&J on his hair since he loves to get his hands up there too so at least when he goes and touches ita nd then his mouth and eyes it's not gonna be as "soapy" as the Dove.

For lotion, the Baby Aveeno caused him to break out so we use Eucerin and Aquaphor...2x a day...and I slather it on right away after a bath...which he gets once ever other day or two days depending on how icky he gets.

[samiam]

My ds has extremely sensitive skin and eczema. After playing around with TONS of products, the things that work best for us are washing with Cetaphil (no soap ever), and moisturizing with Moisturel (I couldn't find it locally but ordered it off drugstore.com). I also use the Aveeno baby stuff for his hair. Another great moisturizing product for severely dry skin is called Theraplex. You can have your pharmacy order this for you. It's basically like vaseline with wax in it - adheres to the skin better than vaseline or aquaphor. Pricey but you can use sparingly and it lasts a long time.

Good luck.

P.S. - My son is also extremely prone to heat rash. I haven't found anything that takes it away sooner, but those Aveeno oatmeal soaks for the bath help with any itchiness. You can bathe your child in it and not use anything else to clean - you don't even need to rinse it off. The days I use this I just wash my son's hair with water so that no other product (shampoo being rinsed off) touches his skin.

[jadamom]

Our pediatrician recommended Dove soap and Vaseline petroleum jelly for our DD. We only use the Vaseline at night after baths (only every other day), and yes, she's totally greasy then, but by morning, she's fine. Sounds like you shouldn't use Vaseline if your child has heat rash, though. (See below)

More info from dr.greene.com:
Dry skin-
http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=49&action=Display&articlenum=3250
Cradle cap-
http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=detail&ref=1062
Heat rash-
http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=detail&ref=541

[luvtoshop]

http://www.gentlenaturals.com/

I use this brand (Eczema cream) when my dd's skin gets really dry. I don't care for the smell so I lather her up at night and by morning her skin is soft. It's a bit pricey but worth it. Can be found at a drugstore or Target. Good luck


Sandra
Mommy to 2 sweet girls!

[ett]

Our ped recommended using unscented Dove soap. She says that the J&J baby wash will dry his skin out.

[LittlePrince_Mom]

My dermatologist also recommends Dove liquid soap. He says to make sure to get the ultra moisturizing kind (the one with 75% moisturizer not 25%), use lukewarm water for his bath and moisturize after.
If his cradle cap returns massage olive oil or wheat germ oil into scalp before shampooing.
To prevent heat rash make sure he wears only cotton clothing.
HTH

-E
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[skohng]

this is awesome. thanks so much for the tips! i wish i knew all this while i was pregnant... i hate how BRU only carries J&J and baby-brand lotions.

so i keep hearing different things about the heat rash. some say creams help it clear faster, others say to just leave it alone? ds has had it for almost a week now.

thanks again!

[Java]

Kael gets a lukewarm bath every night and gets soaped once or twice a week. We alternate between Burt's Baby Bee Buttermilk lotion, Burt's Apricot oil and Weleda's Calendula Baby Oil for his post-bath rub down. The only time he started getting dry skin was when DH (unbeknownst to me) started lotioning Kael every other day as opposed to everyday. Needless to say, DH now follows my instructions to the letter!

Kael did get a heat rash on his chest at my IL's house and I didn't do anything to it except made sure he stayed nice and cool. That meant running around in just a pair of shorts and sometimes just a diaper. It went away after a couple of days.

This may be an old wives' tale but I also make sure his diet is rich in good fatty foods like eggs and avocado. Lots of water too. My skin tends to get dry and really flakey when I don't drink enough water so make sure Kael gets his fill.

[supercalifragilous]

For after-bath lotion, we use Shikai Borage Oil Pediatric Formula. We got it mainly b/c DD was getting eczema behind her knees. We switched to California Baby Sensitive Skin Unscented body wash b/c the ped said stuff that's scented may be aggravating any existing skin condition.

We also get a skin salve called Moon Valley Eczema Body Heal which is SUPER moisturizing and her skin just drinks it in. Here's a pic/description http://www.adiscountbeauty.com/page513.html but we get ours locally so I don't know if that's a good price. We absolutely love Moon Valley stuff.

I think the trick to long-lasting moisture is applying lotion/salves within 2 minutes of getting out of the water and not bathing in water that's too hot. Once we started following this, we noticed her skin stayed moist much longer.

For shampoo, we switched to Jason Organics shampoo in the For Kids Only line. I noticed that Jason shampoo doesn't dry her hair out as much as the California Baby body wash. DH sometimes skips the conditioner after the pool and I can tell if he's used Jason shampoo versus California Baby body wash, so it must be more moisturizing. I love love love the Jason conditioner too. If it was cheaper, I'd use it myself!

Anyway, I hope this helps!