To help you keep your little one’s skin ‘baby soft’:

Use only water to cleanse your baby’s skin for at least the first month – this will give your little one the chance to build up their skin’s protective barrier.

• Wash your hands before and after carrying out any baby care.
• Bathe your baby in lukewarm rather than hot water and dab rather than rub the skin dry. This is less dehydrating and will be kinder to developing skin.
• Two or three baths a week are all your baby needs to stay clean, you can ‘top and tail’ in between when necessary.
• Once you start to introduce washes and wipes make sure you go for those without perfumes, alcohol and other chemicals that could irritate the skin.
• Use a thin layer of barrier cream on the nappy area to help protect against the development of nappy rash.

Use a natural, non-biological washing powder and fabric softener as your baby’s clothes and bed sheets also have the potential to irritate their sensitive skin when they come into contact.