Dry Skin & Bathing

L.,

Our pediatrician said every other day for bathing and ONLY to use hair/body wash at the end of the bath (sitting in the soapy water is very drying for their skin). Also, water should be luke warm, NOT hot. We like the Aveeno products. We found Eucerine to be sticky (although my kids don't have Ecezema, just dry and scaly skin sometimes). Also, if you go in a pool make sure you wash/rinse them right away as chlorine is also very drying and irritating.

Aveeno also has an "oatmeal bath" that we like (we've used the generic equalivant also) and my kids love it. When we use this there is usually no soap/shampoo used in the tub. I usually do it in winter to "cleanse" them without "washing" them. Also, Aveeno has an "oil" that we use sometimes too. It's fragrant and seems to absorb quickly after a bath. It really seems to help "lock in" the moisture without being sticky for too long.

Also, for daily hand washing, at home AND preschool we switched to Cetaphil. We found the daycare/preschool hand soap was the cheap stuff and they also sometimes use Antibacterial Hand Wipes which have alcohol in them. My daughters hands were a wreck. I offered to supply them with a megabottle of moisturizing Softsoap and then use Cetaphil at home. We use Aquaphor as needed on the tops of her hands/knuckles still as needed usually before bed. She thinks it's fun to wear socks on her hands at bedtime when they are "lubed".

Note: The Cetaphil was just sitting in our closet. It has made a real difference this winter! It even says it can be used without water as needed.

I hope this helps!

Sara

My son has eczema and his skin is extremely dry. We have been told to bathe him 1-2 times per week and just clean up as needed in between times. He is three and loves dirt so sometimes we do bathe him more, particularly in the summer time. It makes a huge difference in his skin to bathe less even though it seems a little gross.

We're just like the previous posters - our son has dry skin and we bathe every third day in the winter and every other day in the summer. We also lotion after baths, using Eucerin and Aquaphor, which seem to help.

When my son had really dry skin, the only lotion that really helped was Shaklee's shea butter lotion. they're also coming out with a brand new line of baby products that will include a baby wash, lotion, and massage oil.

www.shaklee.net/rkklemm

My first born had dry skin when he was a baby so I made the decision then that he would have a bath once a week, not every day. He just turned 10, has had a bath once a week his entire life (with a few exceptions)and he's fine. No dry skin issues. No health issues. Don't drive yourself crazy thinking she needs a bath every day!

Hey L.,

I bathe my kids ever other night. They have eczema and it was suggested that I not "over bathe" either. Since the seasons are changing and they spend almost all there time outside, I tend to bathe them everyday at night (and I only use Dove soap). They trick is to moisturize them more often (I only use Eucerin for there skin). I lotion them up immediately after they get out of the tub and then again in the morning just to make sure they don't get an flare ups. It seems to work.

Hope this helps.