I am due to have my baby boy soon, wondering whats the best baby skin care products to use on my newborns skin? (Bath wash, soap, wipes, nappies, rash cream, lotion,etc)
You asked and our massive community answered! Here’s our community’s recommendations for baby skin care products and remedies.
Why is baby skin care such a big issue?
Baby skin is delicate. It’s prone to drying out, staying wet, rashes, allergies and all kinds of troublesome issues. Baby skin care products may contain ingredients that mums don’t feel are appropriate for such fragile skin. If your baby tends towards eczema, cradle cap or allergies, the baby skin care debate can literally keep you up at night… all night… Your baby’s rash or skin issues may be due to “the usual suspects” or they could be an indicator of bigger problems. Before buying all the lotions, it’s best to talk to your health care provider to make sure your little one’s skin issues aren’t actually being caused by their gut!
Top tips for baby skin care products
- If your baby is prone to skin irritations, speak to your doctor first to rule out any known medical issues.
- If you use a naturopath or other alternative health provider, speak to her about known allergens in your baby skin products. If you find her advice useful, consult your doctor or pharmacist to ensure there are no medical conflicts with the products she’s recommended.
- Don’t assume a “long word” on your baby skin product means a ‘bad ingredient’. If you’re concerned about the ingredients in your baby skin products, research the reason they’ve been included.
- Your pharmacist, doctor or midwife is the best person to advise on baby skin care for problem skin. That doesn’t mean you can’t be educated on the ingredients.
- Always check for recalls and other alerts around baby products if you find your baby’s skin worsens, and cease using a new product immediately if you find it’s doing more harm than good.
- Talc products have been linked to ovarian cancers… stick to pure cornstarch!
Products from the baby section at your pharmacy or supermarket
- Goat soap for anything bath related (soap, shampoo, lotion etc). I like Huggies fragrance free wipes. Or Coles brand fragrance free wipes. I use Sudo cream. Taylor
- My little one has very sensitive skin and eczema. I found the best products for her so as to not dry her skin out were QV bath wash, oil and moisturiser. Curash nappy rash cream I have found to be the best and the wipes too. Although I use large flat makeup pads with water rather than wipes. Don’t forget that the best thing for baby’s skin is nothing unless necessary! Oh and definitely huggies nappies. Jess
- Curash wipes and powder are fantastic. We use the fragrance free wipes (pink packet), as it’s the only one our son doesn’t get a rash with. Steer clear of pretty much all Johnson & Johnson bath stuff… A lot of chemicals and a lot harsher on bubs skin. For bath wash & shampoo etc, we use Gaia. The products are beautiful and have never had a reaction on bubs skin. (Every time we try to change back to J&J, he breaks out in a rash!). Best of luck. Kylie
- I use alpha Keri wash and lotions, Curash wipes, Huggies nappies. Sharna
- I use Sudocream or Curash cream. If you want disposable nappies, I like the Aldi ones. Jessica
- Nappies I do Aldi by day cos they are cheaper n you change often. Huggies at night cos they hold more. Kristy
- I love the Curash oatmeal range, particularly as my dd has sensitive skin but I definitely recommend the Huggies wipes! You can often get samples of products from the hospital, chemists or baby shops and see which ones suit your baby before you buy good luck!! Casey
- We had issues with Huggies wipes. Never had an issue with Aldi or target brand wipes, Aldi nappies, never had issues with Johnson baby bath/wash, vitamin e cream and baby Sorbolene (Johnson brand) are great, nappy cream I generally use breast milk. But Bepanthen works good and so does the Curash brand. If you find anything gives bub a rash/rash flares up n gets worse just use breast milk as much as possible. Our DS had bad cradle cap and everything gave him a rash and nothing worked for him except breast milk, also good for milk pimples/baby acne. Breast milk is great for pretty much every ailment lol. If not breastfeeding tho, don’t worry. Something is sure to work. If u can’t find any wipes that don’t give bub a rash, water on a soft microfibre cloth is the way to go. Pain in butt for cleaning but great for cleaning little butts we used water for baths etc until he was older then used bath products. Jys
- I love Moo Goo products from chemists. Beautiful. I find Huggies wipes to be best, Aldi nappies are pretty good, and Sudocrem is a really good nappy rash cream. Rachelle
- Aldi’s nappys are by far the best. Kylie
- Natural Instinct has a hair and body wash that I found to be very gentle on my newborns skin. Johnson&Johnson products dried it out badly until he was a little older. There is also a Paw Paw body wash you can get from the chemist that smells divine! Gretel
- Baby paw paw bath lotion, can buy it at the chemist warehouse! Also use baby paw paw for his bum, you can get this in the baby section at Woolies!!! Lynsey
Natural baby skin care products and home remedies
The skin care your grandmother and great-grandmother used on baby butts was most likely a home remedy. Since then, the baby skin care industry has BOOMED and there’s a million and one products on the market. These days it’s much simpler to find natural baby skin care options as mums reject the petrochemical based favourites of the last generation. We asked our mums about natural and not so natural baby skin lotions, bath products, nappy rash creams and other products and this is what our community recommended.
- Just water, we used a tiny bit of coconut oil in his bath when he was a couple of months. Stay clear of Johnson and Johnson products. Carly
- I’ve been using half a teaspoon of coconut oil in the bath. It’s amazing leaves babies skin soft and smooth. Candy
- Organic coconut oil for moisturizing and massaging (and they smell so yummy!), pawpaw ointment for nappy region, Lanisoh (lanolin) for sore nipples – and its great for chapped lips! Leoni
- I use chux I just put them under warm water squeeze the water out and keep them in a glad bag as advised by a midwife because my bubs got red from wipes!! Sarah
- Olive oil in the bath and on skin- avoid any other commercial products for a while, no soap, use face washers instead of wipes- cheaper and heaps better for their skin. Jessica
- Just water and cotton wool for cleaning their bottom, and plain water for a bath maybe with olive oil or coconut oil if skin is dry, or coconut oil for nappy rash . Anything else is too harsh for brand new skin. Rachael
- Newborns don’t need soap! It’ll dry out their skin and they don’t do anything to require heavy washing. Also wont need nappy rash cream or powders until they’re older. Lotion also not a necessity. Claire
- QV bath wash and for everything else coconut oil (nappy rash, cradle cap. Moisturiser). Letisha
- Just water is best for baby’s skin in first few weeks but I don’t feel like she’s clean so add a drop of baby bath to her bath water… I also use coconut oil on her skin. Good luck with baby Xx Donna
- Pure water and Gaia products are my go-tos. I use Bambeco natural baby wipes (Gaia also make great wipes). Carolyn
- Paw paw all the way! Lyn
- When first born we only used warm water. After a month or so we started using QV sensitive. It seems gentle and doesn’t seem to affect her, even though she’s now sucking on the wash cloth at 7 months. Stirling
- Arbonne ABC skin care range is kind and gorgeous for the skin. I am an Arbonne consultant because I fell in love with the baby products after using it on my son. It’s super gentle and vegan. Nappy rash cream I swear by Daktozin nappy rash cream. Kimmy
- I try not to use anything on that beautiful baby skin where possible… use olive oil on cotton wool wipes if he gets nappy rash and I use Moo Goo milky wash in the bath sometimes, which is a natural cleanser. Catherine
- Nothing! Just use water. I’ve had three babies and never used any lotions, potions, soaps or products on ANY of them! (Well, once they turn two boys can start to get a bit smelly…but until then you’re home clear!) just buy some lovely soft face cloths. Sarah
- Gaia is great for all aspects. Little harsh chemical in their products but QV is good for bath and shampoo too. Moo Goo products also natural and wonderful for bub. I make my own wipes google recipes for it you won’t regret it. Kristy
- Reusable wipes, olive oil, coconut oil. Claire
- When they are newborns you don’t need bathwash and soap on them, water is fine. But Gaia and Brauers products are lovely, they are natural and Organic and so much nicer on bubs skin. The Gaia wipes & natural Naty wipes are also great, but definitely fragrance free wipes are better for bubs skin. Everyone has different experiences and preferences, you will soon find what you like/ don’t like. Good luck. Georgia
