There was a time when our grandmothers—and, perhaps, mothers—made do with just water when caring for babies.
There is nothing wrong with that, you can continue like this. But caring for your baby will be much easier if you stock up on a cosmetic bag with everything you need for his birth.
Today we’ll talk about what cosmetics for newborns you should put in your baby’s cosmetic bag in advance to make caring for your newborn easier.
But before we move on to discussing a specific list, I want to say
A few important general words
What we put on babies can be very allergenic. Therefore, the first thing you should think about when choosing cosmetics for your baby is safety:
- We buy only from trusted places
- We choose only well-known brands
Below I will list brands that are worth paying attention to. This is not necessarily expensive - there are good, proven Russian brands that you can buy for very reasonable money.
For the same reason - allergenicity - let's agree that it is better to do without baby cosmetics at all than to buy just any. also not suitable for babies .
Read the instructions for cosmetics carefully. Not all children's cosmetics are suitable for babies. Here, I’ll show you a couple of examples of children’s, but NOT BABY, cosmetics that are NOT SUITABLE for a newborn:
- Princess Shower Gel
- Spider-Man Shower Gel
- Fa Shower Gel
Just remember that it is very easy to give your baby allergies, including anaphylactic shock. But treating the consequences is long and expensive. It’s much more expensive in terms of time and money than using specialized tools.
The second point that I want to note so as not to repeat it further: all other things being equal, choose cosmetics with a pump - so as not to unscrew the lid, but to press on it.
Pigeon Gentle Newborn Bathing Gel
With a slippery newborn in your hands, using such cosmetics is much more convenient - after all, you only need one hand.
Well, now we can go in order and discuss,
Manufacturers you can trust
There are a lot of brands that produce children's cosmetics. But good manufacturers can be counted on one hand. Let's recalculate.
TOP 5 best brands
We recommend reading: Bathing products for newborn babies
- Weleda (Germany) is the best you can choose for your baby: safe ingredients, high quality production. Natrue and BDIH certified and that's it. The downside is that it's expensive.
- Little Siberica (Siberia) is a children's line of the Natura Siberica brand. This Siberian company managed to obtain European certification, which indicates the high quality of its products and absolutely harmless composition. Indeed, in the composition of cosmetics in this series you will see only natural ingredients. And the price is not bad, although in order to maintain its lower limit, the company had to save on packaging. It should be noted that not all Little Siberica products are certified (certification is given not to the entire line, but to each product separately). If the product is certified, there will be a mark on the bottle - COSMOS-Standard organic.
- Sanosan (Germany). The main advantage of this company's products is that they are made with vegetable oils, not mineral ones. But there is also a minus - it contains parabens.
- Bubchen (Germany). The cosmetics of this company are quite widespread; they combine good quality and an adequate price. It is worth noting here that Bubchen produces many lines, and not all of them are of high quality and safe. Without a doubt, you can only take products from the “From the First Days” series. They do not contain a single harmful component.
- Pigeon (Japan). Japanese cosmetics are quickly conquering the world. In Russia it is also becoming more and more popular. Pigeon cosmetics are declared to be of high quality and safe for children's skin. In general, this is true, but there is a minus: in the composition you will find TEA (triethanolamine can cause allergies, dry skin), parabens and compounds with sulfates. If you want to save money (Japanese cosmetics are quite expensive), then choose a product in soft packaging.
What cosmetics for newborns will you need?
As I said above, by and large, a baby doesn’t have to buy any cosmetics at all, except for baby soap and baby cream (the price is less than 100 rubles).
But know: the better and more complete your baby cosmetics bag, the easier your life as a young mother will be.
Now let's go through the list. There are a lot of different cool cosmetics for children, but I won’t tell you about everything, but only about what is directly necessary. You can purchase the rest of the “nice things” as you wish.
Gel - soap for washing the butt
The butt is our everything. A thoroughly washed baby's bottom is the key to mother's peace of mind.
And the better the butt gel, the easier it will be to wash off the sticky poop.
Of course, the gel for washing the butt must be hypoallergenic, suitable in composition for babies, and without a strong odor.
Mustela Soft bathing gel 500 ml, 1130 rub.
AQA baby Cream-gel for baby bathing 400 ml, 239 rub.
Take the gel with a pump: pressing with your hand is much more convenient than unscrewing the cap when you have a baby with a dirty bottom hanging on your arm.
Recommendations for choosing bathing products for newborns
Immediately after birth, the baby finds himself in completely new conditions to which his delicate skin is not yet adapted. The adaptation period may be accompanied by a reaction to external factors, making the child vulnerable to fungi and bacteria.
Criteria for correct selection:
Age category. Products can be targeted at different ages of children, which is always indicated on the packaging.
- Quality. Children's products should not be purchased from unverified sellers, on unknown sites or on the market. Violations in the composition and production technology can affect the baby’s health. Reliable places of purchase - specialty stores, pharmacies, large supermarkets. You should check the availability of a quality certificate and the expiration date of the product.
- Compound. Parents should know which components are unacceptable. It is important to check the ingredients listed on the packaging. There should be no petrochemical products, parabens, or formaldehyde. The presence of only organic and plant substances is mandatory.
- Description. You need to pay attention to the appearance of the content. The product should be colorless, which means there are no dyes, and odorless or with a light natural aroma. It is desirable to indicate hypoallergenicity and low acidity in the characteristics. When purchasing, you should shake the contents and evaluate the amount of foam. Natural baby product should be without foam or with a minimal amount.
- Child's needs. When choosing, it is necessary to take into account the individual characteristics of the child’s health - the level of dry skin, a tendency to atopy, the possibility of allergic reactions.
- Manufacturer's recommendations. Baby bathing product should be intended for daily use.
Products used by adults
, are too aggressive for the skin of babies and can cause harm. Special oils and emulsions are produced for newborns, which must be used from the first days of life.
Wet wipes for butt
After every pee and poop, you won’t drag your baby to the bathroom.
Life is much simpler if you wash your butt with water 2-3 times a day - after a big poop. And the rest of the time, when changing a diaper, you wipe the baby’s bottom with wet wipes.
Napkins for wiping butts should NEVER be antibacterial! And even more so, they should not be alcohol-based - you will burn the baby’s skin.
Buy baby wipes like these:
Umka Wet wipes
Pampers Baby Wet Wipes
There is no need to buy expensive ones. You can choose the most budget options. For example, the ones I show above are very moist, gentle, safe and do the job perfectly.
Lotion/skin rub
Continuing the topic of washing, in addition to napkins, I recommend buying a bottle of the following washing liquid:
Cleansing water for newborns and children Mustela
I was taught how to use this kind of water in the maternity hospital.
Firstly, it is much more convenient for washing your face than water. I applied it to a cotton swab and wiped the baby’s face: nothing extra got into the ears or nose, no splashes, no unnecessary discomfort for the baby. There is no need to wash it off.
Secondly, with the same water you wash away from your butt what was not picked up with a napkin. Changing your baby's clothes at night makes life a lot easier.
Buying it is not very easy - it is not sold everywhere (under the picture there is a link where to buy it). And it's not cheap at all. But when you wash your baby with this water in the morning, you will definitely thank me.
Diaper cream
Necessary if you want to avoid diaper rash on the delicate skin of your butt.
Regardless of the time of year, no matter how often you wash your baby, no matter how breathable your diapers are, your butt will sweat.
What does this mean: under the influence of heat and moisture, a greenhouse effect is created, as a result of which the skin becomes as steamed as after a bath, and very vulnerable. If you lie on such a bottom - and even more so, fidget while crying - a raw irritation appears.
Diaper rash is such a thing: it is better to prevent it than to treat it. And a baby with diaper rash on his butt becomes so restless that he can turn your life into hell.
In general, don’t skimp on diaper cream.
And - yes - not talc, but a cream with zinc oxide ! Such, for example:
My sunshine Cream powder
Mustela Diaper Cream
Talcs are fine powders that themselves can scratch the skin. Even expensive (and very expensive) talcs are not very good. And inhaling dry talcum powder is not very beneficial. Be careful.
By the way, such creams are very economical. Literally a drop is needed for a small baby’s butt, so it lasts for a very long time.
Why do babies need special products?
The baby's skin is thin and sensitive, it often suffers from diaper rash and irritation.
Her acid-base balance is about 7, not 5.5 like an adult’s - this also matters. In addition, due to the imperfection of the immune system, the baby’s skin does not cope well with protection against bacteria and fungi. And finally, cosmetic ingredients penetrate the baby’s epidermis quite easily, and infants’ metabolism is very fast, and inappropriate substances can immediately cause allergies and other undesirable manifestations.
Therefore, products for the little ones should enhance the protective functions of the skin, be distinguished by a delicate, soft consistency and hypoallergenic. And in order for cosmetics for newborns to be safe, it is necessary to exclude ingredients such as silicones, petroleum jelly, paraffin, mineral oils, parabens, dyes, SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate), PEG (polyethylene glycol).
Bepanten
The same greenhouse effect occurs in the hollows: in the armpits, in the groin, in the crook of the neck, in the “interpopia”.
But there it is better to smear it not with diaper cream, but with bepanthen. Just not with ointment, but with cream (ointment is more effective, but very greasy and disgusting - this is not necessary for children’s purposes):
Bepanthen cream 5%
Why do you need bepanten? Diaper cream - white. If you smear it everywhere, the baby will look untidy. And bepanten is transparent and very effective.
And also: if something goes wrong with the diaper cream - diaper rash has happened, and your life begins to turn into hell from a screaming baby - bepanten will save you!
We rinse the diaper rash with water every time we change the diaper and apply Bepanthen generously. After 2-3 days everything goes away as if by magic.
Eco-label
Not every mother can afford to carefully study the compositions of various cosmetic products, analyze tons of recommendations and read reviews from other parents. This requires a lot of time. The easiest way out is to buy a certified product. If the product is certified, you will find the following markings on the packaging:
- ECOCERT: products are 100% free of any harmful substances (dyes, silicones, emulsifying agents, mineral oils, fragrances, fatty alcohols, propylene glycol, etc.).
- BDIH: products with this quality mark are made without GMOs, they do not contain petroleum products, fragrances, dyes, and only beeswax can be found from components of animal origin.
- ICEA: products with this certificate are strictly standardized. All ingredients in cosmetics are environmentally friendly, all have certain requirements, and there are no prohibited or harmful components.
- COSMOS (COSMetic Organic Standard) includes several other significant European certification schemes and combines them into a single standard, which, by the way, is the most stringent regarding the quality of cosmetics. There are 2 levels of certification here: ORGANIC and NATURAL. The packaging will bear a primary certification label (for example, BDIH or ICEA).
- NATRUE: this sign on the packaging indicates that the cosmetics are guaranteed to be natural.
Body milk or baby cream
You will almost certainly need body milk in the first days after giving birth. In almost all newborns, in the first week or two after birth, the skin peels and dries slightly.
And then, in most cases, the situation returns to normal, and the milk will stand without use. And only in rare cases - if the baby has congenital atopy - will you need body milk all the time.
But you won’t be able to avoid buying it: you can’t put anything else on flaky newborn skin. In particular, bepanthen simply does not have enough fat content to bring the newborn skin in order.
Our Mom My Duckling Cream for children
Mustela Moisturizing Body Milk
Therefore, as an option (if you feel sorry for money), you can
- buy a small bottle, or
- a large bottle, and divide it among several mothers, or
- try to get samples
It will be much cheaper this way and will be enough.
Scissors, wire cutters or nail file
A makeup bag wouldn't be complete without a tool for cutting children's nails.
It can be scissors, nippers or a file - each mother chooses what is convenient for her.
If you have your first baby and you don’t yet know what is more convenient for you to use, buy all three items or a complete manicure set and try it out. They cost pennies.
Safety 1st Set of baby care accessories
Uviton Manicure set
However, in any case, I advise you to buy children's scissors. Even if they are not useful for nails, they have a lot of uses.
The best scissors are, again, the Japanese Pigeon. They are noticeably more expensive than other brands. But cutting children's nails is so stressful that high-quality scissors will be necessary and will greatly facilitate this procedure for you.
Pigeon Scissors for newborns
The main thing is not to cut everything with them and handle them carefully so as not to become dull.
