When I immigrated to Canada a couple of years ago, I was happy to leave the busy world of The Netherlands behind. In that country, everything is arranged for and everything is taxed. Shortly after my arrival in Canada, my wife became pregnant. We were very excited about adding a new member to our family. And with pregnancy comes the joy of buying all kinds of baby furniture, toys, clothing and baby care products.

One of the biggest differences I have seen so far is the way babies get delivered. In Canada, most women give birth in a hospital, whereas in Holland special trained nurses visit your house. After you have given birth, the nurse visits you twice a day and teaches you how to take care of your newborn. In Canada, most women are on their own.

One day my wife came home with a big box of essential baby care products. As always, the first thing we did when a new products enters our home is to look at the list of ingredients. The first products (Penatal Creme, a very common baby skin care cream) had as its first listed ingredient Petroleum. Petroleum based creams are another example of how a commonly used baby product may actually create problems in some case. Petroleum can block pores and that can lead to a build of sebum and oils in a babies skin. This can lead to irritation, inflammation and the possible build up of the bacteria responsible for acne. Normally I am quite willing to negotiate about almost everything, but this time I said: NO, we are not using gasoline related products on our newborn.

A new study suggests that baby lotion, baby powder, and baby shampoo may be exposing babies to potentially harmful chemicals called phthalates. Phthalates are used to make plastics flexible and stabilize fragrances, and are found in a plethora of consumer products including toys, personal care products and medical equipment.

“At this time, we do not know what the potential long-term health effects might be, but there is a large body of animal studies to suggest developmental and reproductive toxicity (from phthalates) and a few human studies with changes in health outcomes as well,” Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana told Reuters Health (February 2008)”.

Why are so many care givers concerned about only using natural baby skin care? There is evidence that suggests some commonly used infant products may actually do more harm than good for baby skin leading or aggravating skin conditions like cradle cap, rashes and infant acne. The differences between adult skin and baby skin can help to illustrate why some baby products can be so damaging. When a new born comes into the world their skin develops a protective barrier. This barrier keeps out many harsh environmental elements like allergens and bacteria. Harsh detergents may strip a babies skin of much of that protection and may increase the likelihood that damage can occur. Very young infants and premature babies may be at a higher risk.

By: Chris De Feijter

There are plenty of products filling up the market these days, advertising themselves as the best baby natural skin care for your little one(s). But there are lots of shortcomings in these ads especially since many of what these products claim to do just never happen or they fall short of what they are supposed to do. Eventually this leads to your baby suffering from skin irritations, rashes and allergies because of the chemicals and other irritating ingredients found in these baby products. If you are really looking for the top-of-the-line products for your baby, make sure that the products you buy don’t contain anything which would irritate your baby’s skin. The first step for you would be to go for products with natural ingredients rather than those with chemicals.

As you turn towards natural ingredients, remember to avoid ANYTHING (no matter how good it is) which has petrochemicals. Take care when buying lotions and moisturizers because these are the ones which usually contain petrochemicals. This means that you have to take off petroleum jelly from your baby skin care products’ list too.

To keep your baby’s skin as smooth as petals, go for baby lotions made from natural oils. Many of the best baby natural skin care products contain aloe which is an important ingredient in moisturizers and looks after irritations too. Another natural ingredient that you want to be looking for is chamomile. Chamomile is known for its soothing effect on the skin. Watch out what essential oils you buy and if in doubt, consult your pediatrician about prospective products.

Just because you want the best doesn’t mean it has to go out of your budget. There’s absolutely no necessity for you to buy expensive products just because you want good quality products. There are plenty of products out there which can fit snugly within you budget AND look after your baby’s skin too. Start looking from your local health food store!

Smaller companies might actually be the best providers of baby natural skin care. This is because smaller companies are more committed towards making sure that the products you get are of high quality and packed with all the right ingredients. It’d be ideal for you to support a local company as you are more likely to know where all the ingredients came from.

If you still have little or no idea about what might be best for your baby, look for a board or guide that ranks organic and natural products. Read the labels and pick products which don’t have any artificial fragrances or colors.

The more natural the product is, the better it will look after your baby!

By: Susan Hutson