The A-Z of baby skincare

Everything you need to know about those random skin breakouts that pop up on your bub – and how to manage them

When a new baby arrives it brings with it endless amounts of love, joy… and questions. From “why won’t they sleep?” to “why won’t they stop crying?”, those first few months are a total whirlwind of wonder and confusion. But between the musings about sleep and settling and generally trying to keep them alive, there’s another question that inevitably stumps new parents everywhere: “What is that weird rash on their head?”

Yes, it’s true: babies and small children always seem to be breaking out in strange rashes, ones that appear completely out of nowhere and can be utterly perplexing to adults. But while rashes and skin breakouts are common in kids - and usually harmless - it’s not always easy to know when to worry and when to just let it be.

Dr Lexi Frydenberg is a General Pediatrician and educator who is passionate about children’s health, development and wellbeing. She has been working in pediatrics for 20+ years both in private and public practice — and even she admits it’s not always obvious what has irritated your bub and why.

“The simple answer is no, it is not always easy to tell the difference between rashes,” she says. “Even for experts, it can be hard to tell rashes apart, whether it’s a rash due to a viral infection or measles or medication.”

Dr Frydenberg says it’s not the rash doctors usually worry about, but “the company it keeps,” adding that doctors look at the overall wellbeing of a child when diagnosing whether the rash, or skin condition, is of concern. “If you’re concerned, it is worth getting your child (and their rash) checked by a GP as they’ll take a history and examine your child and give you the most likely cause.”

Eczema

Mum-of-two Zoe Marshall has plenty of first-hand experience dealing with newborn skin.

“Ever is really dry,” says Zoe of her oneyear-old daughter. “My husband Benji suffered with eczema as a baby and she is much the same, so what we bathe her in is incredibly important.”

The DermaVeen Baby Calmexa range is a favourite in the Marshall household, with products specifically formulated for dry, sensitive and eczema-prone baby skin. “They’re so sensitive in those early days,” Zoe says. “You want to make sure you’re using really safe products, something that won’t strip and dry out the skin. We moisturise top-to-toe after her bath,” says Zoe, “making sure to give those dry spots a bit of extra love.”

Zoe says the other big lesson she learnt with Ever was making sure to properly dry her daughter off after every wash.

“She has a lot more little cracks and skin creases than her brother so it was super important to learn how to dry her thoroughly in between her little skin folds.” Zoe says.

Ever suffered in the early days from skin sores as a result of her eczema. “Eczema is very common,” says Dr Lexi Frydenberg. “The skin is dry, red and itchy and sometimes these areas can become cracked, weepy and then scab over.” In babies, it’s often found on their scalp, body, arms and legs or behind their ears. While it’s not contagious, it’s often triggered by things like overheating, soaps or chemicals or allergies, so it’s usually easy enough to manage if you know what is triggering it. “Scratching can be the most irritating symptom of eczema, but can make the eczema worse,” says Dr

Frydenberg.

Tips to manage breakouts

Other than eczema, there are plenty of other common causes for your child’s skin breaking out in redness or irritation.

“Some of the more common rashes we see in infants and young children include things like heat rash, hives, cradle cap, molluscum, and nappy rash,” says Dr Frydenberg.

While most rashes and skin conditions don’t require treatment, some severe cases of things like eczema and cradle cap can be managed with a topical steroid cream.

Zoe Marshall certainly remembers struggling with nappy rash in those early days of parenting.

“Trying to manage it was tricky,” she says. “I thought the bath would bring relief, but I learnt that it can really sting, even in water.”

She also revealed her biggest tip when it comes to treating the pain and the irritation.

“I was just putting on a thin layer of nappy cream and I learnt that it actually wasn’t enough. We shouldn’t be doing just a thin layer - it should be a super thick layer so that no water can penetrate it. It needs to literally be a barrier, so you need a huge amount of cream.”

Dr Frydenberg concurs when it comes to using a barrier cream to keep the area clean and irritation-free. But she also recommends “leaving your baby without a nappy for short periods, changing any wet or dirty nappy promptly and making sure to dry your baby thoroughly after every bath.”

If you are finding yourself exhausted managing your kids and their various skin conditions, just know that you’re not alone and these things usually do get better as they grow up.

“It’s one thing after another with kids,” says Zoe Marshall. “My son Fox was quite an allergenic baby and would get rashes from trying new foods… he would flare up with strawberries or tomatoes and the rash would start angry and sore and hot and then when it would fade it would get really itchy. You don’t want to avoid food and you have to keep repeating it but that often exacerbates the problem.”

At the end of the day, Zoe believes the most important thing when it comes to your kids and their skin is to trust your instincts. “You never really know what is going on half the time. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut.”