How do you treat dry skin in children and babies? £200 voucher to be won

[LibbyMumsnet]

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We know anecdotally from threads on Mumsnet that dry skin can be very common, especially in children and babies, and it can be difficult to know what to do to treat it. With this in mind, E45 would like to hear your tips and tricks.

Here’s what E45 has to say: “Skin forms a natural barrier against allergens, viruses and bacteria, so it’s important to keep skin healthy by keeping it hydrated. That’s why we at E45 have been taking care of families’ dry skin needs for over 60 years. Given the prevalence of dry skin in babies and children, we’d love to understand more about how you are tackling their skin needs.”*

What products do you turn to? And how did you choose the products in the first place? Was there something or someone who influenced your choices? Is there anything that you avoid? Or perhaps you feel something is missing from the current product offering?

Share your experiences on this thread and you will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky MNer will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice (from a list).**

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Insight T&Cs apply

*E45 Cream for dry skin conditions. Always read the label. Suitable for children 1 month and older.
RB-M-37776

**The prize draw is eligible to registered Mumsnet users who are UK residents, 18 years and over. It will run for four weeks after the Mumsnet opening post date and time. Following this, a winner will be chosen at random within one week of the closing date.

Our son had eczema. We use coconut oil (natural, cheap, stores well and easy to apply), less frequent baths, and have largely resolved his diet issues (lactose and egg intolerant). All skin issues have reduced over time and now completely gone. All these commercial products are loaded with rubbish to make them easy to squeeze out of a tube. A jar of coconut oil needs a spoon to get a few lumps and you rub it between your fingers to heat it up in seconds.

My little one suffers really badly with dry skin. I use aveeno cream on her as moisturiser and bath wash. I put a layer on before her bath. More in the bath and put it on when she gets out of the bath. I also reapply it at every nappy change.

I am going to be trying some of the recommendations on here as it is getting to the point she is itching herself and making it bleed. Can’t really explain to a 12 month old that you should not scratch.

I use Epiderm on my boy as aveeno, e45, oilatum etc all failed to work. The epiderm works much better and was recommended by a friend whose children suffer from excema.

I found that putting baseline or similar barrier on the worst patches before swimming or bathing helped. As did using oilatum as a cleanser instead of soap. At its worst when skin was dry cracked and bleeding because of the itching using emollient then a non absorbent dressing ( wet wound healing) and sports tape ( impossible for wee ones to get off and scratch through, along with antihistamine to soothe the itching. We did consult a doctor before this point though. Pharmacies are a good source of advice and can prescribe excema treatment for children.

before I saw who sponsored this thread, my immediate answer to this question was E45, E45, E45!

Doublebase was a winner for my son. After trying various creams- baby lotion, child’s farm etc I finally asked the dr for a recommendation and doublebase was prescribed. After a few days I noticed a big difference.
I have dry skin myself so tried all the usual tricks 🙂

My son goes through periods of having very dry skin on his back. The most helpful thing we have found is to use Oilatum in the bath. We also stopped using any bath foams etc. Aveeno was recommended to us to help with the itchiness & that worked a treat.
I may try E45 for his hands as they have been exceptionally dry & sore with the increase in handwashing (a common problem for many at the moment I imagine!). I did try Doublebase which I like, but he finds too greasy on his hands.

We use zeroderm and then for eczema flare ups steroids and Vaseline does the trick

E45 was in my mums cupboards at home, and now is in mine - I trust this on my children - it works, it helped me as a child, and now I use this on. my children and would not want to swap.
I use fragrance free products, some baby oil in the bath, make sure they are completely dry before getting dressed, and as I find the eczema is worse in the winter I add some water in a container over the radiators in the bedrooms and living room to take the dryness out of the air.

I used to use E45 after it was recommended by the doctor and continued to use it on the kids. However, we've since switched to natural products due to a few skin flare-ups.

Burts Bees has always worked well for me for any skin issues. At the moment though, I'm trying to find something better but have yet to find it.

At the moment, I feel like natural skincare is taking off, but I wish there were more affordable options.

I find aveeno the best!

When my self and you daughter had exema
We used coconut water it did wonders for our skin.

We had to try various prescribed emollient lotions/ creams to finally settle on one so I'd say be willing to try a few before settling. Also allow airy clothes not tight fitting.

What products do you turn to?

E45 and coal tar soap and lotion

And how did you choose the products in the first place?

I used these as a child, and they work and I trust them

Was there something or someone who influenced your choices?

My mum, who is a health visitor

Is there anything that you avoid?

Any fragranced soaps, bath lotions and detergents

Or perhaps you feel something is missing from the current product offering?

I am open to trying other products which give protection and help the skin maintain its natural PH and oils.

I don't have a particular brand that I use over others, it tends to be what I see at Boots or Superdrug that are baby friendly.

I've tried different brands and then within those brands different moisturisers/lotions. I can't say I've found the perfect one just yet, but I have found one that agrees with all the family's skin more than the others.

DD gets very dry skin on her cheeks and around her mouth. She had hydromol on prescription as a toddler and that seemed to work well. She's now 5 and it's flared up again, we've been giving Epaderm a go as I could only find hydromol in massive tubs that would be way more than she needs.

My experiences are if use what you know works, use a product with only natural ingredients, and use sparingly - less is more, I use sudocreme, and E45, and baby aveeno. I find that in winter dry skin is worse, so will apply after bathing and offer oil fish (in fishcakes) for tea

Dd1 developed eczema and dry skin when she was about three months - not a huge surprise as I suffer too. When her sister was born though I only used water to wash her, no soap, no washes no bubbles. I used a mild baby wash when her hair needed more than water. As she got a big bigger I'd use a tiny spot if something on a cloth if she was particularly milky or sweaty, soaps only really got used once she started weaning. It might be a coincidence but her skin is soft and never dry.

Dd1 is now 6 and much improved. She still gets eczema in summer on her inner elbows and knees she we moisturise there at night and rotate shorts sleeves with long on different to give her less opportunity to scratch.

I use E45, Burts Bees, Aveeno, Johnsons, anything mild really, I think diet is also really important to skin health, so make my bolognaise and shepherds pies with lots of vegetables, and vitamin enriched drinks. In the winter I add some water in pots at the back of my radiators to ensure the air is not too dry.

For me its Oilatum in the bath, and johnsons baby lotion on the skin and E45 for patched of dry skin. I only choose cotton clothing and bedding, and use organic when I can for inner skin health.

Skin problems in little ones are an absolute pain and having battled for 15 years now my eldest still has flare up's...
You absolutely must dry their skin thoroughly, especially in all the creases etc. Don't use any normal soap products. You need oil based creams to really get moisture in and keep it there. And a steroid cream (although used sparingly) to get outbreaks under control. Also, be patient, when trying something - it probably takes a good 6 weeks to get a flare up fully cleared.
In 'normal' times though, we have always found the Aveeno oatmeal moisturiser a good general daily use cream.

Aveeno was excellent. Some of the oils make everything too slippery

Don't wash too often - perhaps only the bottom area and don't put too many or any soap projects in the bath water - use skin friendly products.