Are Skin Products Necessary For Children?

With all the skin products available for children on the market today, you’d think that children have major skin care needs. The truth, though, is that most children don’t need much extra help to maintain healthy, happy skin. Instead of commercial skin products, many moms just wash their children with a light oil-based soap, and use baby oil in their kid’s bathwater to keep their skin glowing and soft. 

 

This is not to say, though, that all skin products for children are bad. Sometimes children have specific skin issues that require special skin products. For instance, your child might start developing acne before he hits his teenage years. In this case, you might need some specialized acne skin products to take care of the problem.

 

Dry skin is another problem that may require special skin products for children. If your child’s skin gets so dry that it’s flaky or painful, you may need to look at special moisturizers just for children. You want skin products that will lock in the skin’s natural moisture, add more as needed, and not clog pores. This is particularly a problem in the winter, or in climates where it is very hot or cold and your little ones stay inside most of the day.  If your child is prone to Eczema, then an oil-based soothing cream can work wonders to cool and moisturize their skin. 

 

The #1 best skin-care product for your children, no matter where you live, is sunscreen.  As adults, we now know that a ‘healthy’ tan is not healthy at all, and although your children may look sun-kissed and healthy after a day at the beach, you must always be aware that children’s skin is much more delicate than adult’s skin and take the necessary precautions.  If your child will be spending time outdoors in the sun, be sure to apply a minimum of Factor 50 to all exposed parts of their bodies, especially faces and shoulders.  Make sure they wear a hat to protect the tops of their heads if the sun is very hot, and avoid letting them play outdoors in summer between the hours of 11am and 1pm, when the sun is at its strongest.  Some lotions come in a spray form, which children usually have much less objection to wearing.  A sunburn at a young age can set your child up for developing more serious skin issues when older, such as melanoma (skin cancer).  The younger they are when burned, the greater the risk, so the sunscreen you buy can literally be a lifesaver as your kids get older.

 

Skin products for children aren’t usually necessary for healthy, well-nourished children. Usually you can get by with bathing children with mild soap and shampoo until they start to hit puberty. At that point, you may need to take your child shopping for skin products that suit her needs. Just make sure that you aren’t purchasing overly harsh or ‘trendy’ skin products. Even at this age, a child’s skin is delicate and needs to be treated with mild, gentle products. Help your older child pick out the products that are right for his or her skin, and teach them the importance of sunscreen and moisturizer.  They’ll thank you for it when they get older!

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