Beauty Top tips for skin-to-skin with your newborn baby

How to keep your baby’s skin clean

Your new baby’s skin is so soft and smooth. But to keep it that way, you need to give it the kid-glove treatment from day one. Don’t worry, you don’t have to bathe your baby every day. Young babies don’t get very dirty, apart from the obvious areas such as face and bottom, so topping and tailing between baths using cotton wool and plain water is fine.

Keep bath-time simple

Wash your baby with plain water using a clean flannel, sponge or just your fingers. You can add a dash of mild baby wash, but not too much as it can dry out delicate skin.

Wash your baby’s hair once a week

Newborns only need to have their hair washed about once a week. Use a mild baby shampoo to help keep your baby’s hair clean and soft and their scalp clear.

Gently treat a flaky scalp

Babies can develop scaly skin on their scalp. To help prevent this, softly massaging baby oil or olive oil into the delicate scalp area and wash out with a mild baby shampoo. Very carefully dry their head, then gently brush out any loose scales with a baby hairbrush. See your GP if cradle cap spreads to other areas of the body, or if the scalp becomes inflamed or infected.

Treating dry skin

Babies can be prone to small patches of dry skin which appear on the face and elsewhere on the body. Soothe any affected areas with a suitable baby emollient cream (skin moisturiser) after a bath. You can ask your health visitor to recommend one. For severe dryness or eczema, see your GP.

Protect against nappy rash

Try to remove wet nappies as soon as possible – a sore bottom usually means you need to change your baby’s nappy more frequently. To help prevent nappy rash, clean their bottom gently with cotton wool and warm water and make sure they are completely dry before you put on a new nappy. Apply a barrier cream after washing and try to allow your baby to go nappy free occasionally to let the skin breathe a bit.