When taking care of their children, few parents pause to reflect on the health of their child’s skin. This is understandable because children’s skin is about as good as nature can make it.
However, even a child’s perfect skin will change over time and if care is taken at a young age, it may be possible to preserve the natural beauty of their skin through their teenage years and into later years. Newborn’s skin is particularly sensitive and so special care must be taken to keep their skins healthy with mild soaps with the right pH balance.
Although a child’s skin is close to ideal, it is nevertheless still affected by environmental damage and by nutritional choices. Depending on where you live, you may have to take certain simple steps to reduce the negative impact of the environment.
For instance, if you live in an apartment above a busy street, then it’s a good idea to have air purifiers in your home; or if you live in a hot, dry part of the country, then you should get a humidifier.
Sometimes, too, a child’s skin can also be highly sensitive to garments like undies, socks, and tee-shirts. With this in mind, gentle fabric and seamless clothing will make life much easier for your little one.
While there is no shortage of articles on skin care for teenagers and adults, perhaps the best time to focus on skin care is long before skin problems arise.
5 Skin Care Tips For Young Skin
So how do you keep your child’s skin happy? Here are 5 simple tips:
1. Feed your child fresh, organic, and clean foods.
The closer to nature a food is, the healthier it is likely to be. Natural foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds that are not compromised by artificial ingredients or preservatives will nourish the skin from the inside out.
The body has no idea how to absorb many of the ingredients foods manufacturers add to packaged foods. Skin rashes and irritations are a sign that there is a noticeable amount of chemical toxicity in a diet. However, it’s not enough to just insist that your child eat healthy food like kale and spinach.
Prepare nutritious meals to be tasty, too, as this will encourage kids to eat healthy.
2. Try to find out why your child may be having recurring skin problems.
If your child does have skin problems, it could be due to pesticides sprayed in a friend’s garden where they frequently play or it could be due to food allergies.
If your child has persistent skin problems, it’s important to figure out the cause so you can take preventative measures.
Relevant: Tips for caring of the newborn’s skin
3. Teach your children skin care hygiene.
Explain to your child why you wash their little hands with soap and water after they use the bathroom, before and after they eat, when they bathe, and so on. As they grow older, they will internalize these habits even if there is no one watching.
4. Use high quality soaps designed for children.
Be picky about what type of cleansing products you have in your home. The main thing is to avoid soaps and skin care products with chemicals like phthalates, sulfates, and parabens. Soap with fragrances and ingredients often dry and irritate a child’s sensitive skin.
5. Apply moisturizers when skin is dry.
Use a high quality moisturizer if your child’s skin tends to get very dry after a bath. Often thick creams and ointments are more effective than lotions.
If the skin gets unusually dry because of the weather, then apply moisturizer as much as two or more times a day.
Don’t Take Healthy Skin for Granted
Like any other organ, the skin needs tender, loving care to thrive. Unfortunately, when any of our organs are healthy, we take their well-being for granted.
While the idea of “don’t fix it if it isn’t broken” may work for inanimate things, it’s bad advice for the health of organic tissue. As biological beings, we have to be able to maintain the health of our bodies through proper protection and nourishment.
It’s important to think of the well-being of a living organ like skin even when it isn’t dry or chapped or burned or scaling, and a few simple daily habits are all you need to maintain healthy, glowing complexions.