Infant Acne

Sounds weird, but I had success with rubbing a little breast milk in my daughter's skin. Whenever she was eating and a little dribbled out, I'd just catch it on my finger and rub it in. Worked great.

Mostly I think you just need to be patient. You baby doesn't mind the acne and it's not hurting him. I know you don't want anything to mar his perfect visage, but just leave it alone. He is still beautiful.

My son had baby acne too. It does have something to do with hormones but it can also be irritated by sour milk and detergents so just washing his face with a warm wash cloth with just plain water ( or some mild soap if it doesn't help) can do wonders! It didn't take it all away immediately but you can't see it on his one month pictures! :) Congrats on your little man! Good luck!

I was told when giving her a bath, just use a washcloth with only water on it for her face, and then wash the rest of her body with baby soap. She had it really bad from about 1 week old until 1 1/2 months. Then it just cleared up on it's own. But just a warning, when I used baby soap of any kind, it immediately got worse for about a week.

Congrats on the new baby! I noticed that what I ate would affect my (nursing) baby, if I ate fast food a lot, 2-4 times a week, then we both would get acne. Hers was bad when we traveled, due to eating out a lot. But as soon as I started eating better and flushing the oils out, our skin got better. I just washed it with water when I bathed her and avoided soaps and lotions. It took about two weeks to get better.

My daughter had that. I thought it would last forever but it only lasted a week or so. I think I put some hydrocortisone on it... it may have helped a bit. Nothing too much.

I completely agree with Sara R. My daughter had the same thing. Se broke out with any soap, even Johnson's. She would even break out if someone hugged her and touched her face with their's or touched her face too much with their hands. I actually had to not touch her face with my hands for a while. It cleared up on it's own.

Aquaphor helps and it's what my pediatrician recommended. I wouldn't wash your baby's skin daily with soap-- it will just dry out your baby's sensative skin. This is not the result of oily skin, it's a hormonal reaction. I also wouldn't put anything stronger than Aquaphor on your baby's skin. It may just lead to irritation on top of the acne. Infant acne is very common at this age and usually goes away relatively quickly on it's own. Aquaphor helps speed the process a little but don't worry, this is very common and not the sign of a problem at all so you don't need to do anything special. It will correct itself.

The acne is caused by a change in hormones, just like a teenager's. Your baby had a steady supply of estrogen when he was inside of you, but now those estrogen levels are dropping. Treating an internal cause with an external remedy will likely only irritate the skin. It will pass whether you wash or not.

There is nothing really you can do for infant acne. It will clear up on its own within a month or so. I know it is unsightly, but do not pick at it.

Hi, My baby had it really bad when he was about the same age. It looked terrible and he looked like he had leather on his face! oh man I hated it. Well, I tried using pain vasaline twice a day. I put it on his face lightly before his after noon nap, and then again before he went to bed for the night. This really helped him, when i missed a day it would come back. My Mom also used vinigear on his face lightly with water. It didn't smell plesant but it went away quickly. I also changed his bath stuff from Johnson & Johnson to Aveno. It lasted awhile before i tried anything, but once i did this it was gone within a week! Good luck & congrats on your baby.

I wouldn't use any soap on him seeing he is so young, not even on his body, it's not like he is rolling around in mud, and the wipes have soap in them.
I'd just use a warm soft cloth and wipe him 1-2 times a day. Don't pick at it, and don't put lotion on it (it may irritate it more)

The big thing is don't pick at them or it will make it worse. I would use a damp paper towel to keep the area clean once a day but other than that I left them alone.

My son got acne really bad...and I actually used a cotton ball w/ vinegar on it and it's been clearing up pretty quickly.

I have heard from my Dr's that it is not acne and to leave it alone. It will go away, the more you mess with it, the worse it will get.

cotton ball and vinegar