There's nothing more exquisite than kisses and cuddles with your bubs, skin that is so tender and soft that you marvel at how pure and perfect they are. When it comes to caring for delicate baby skin the choices can be overwhelming, add to this your own skin care routine, which needs to be quick and effective, and it can become daunting.

Not So Sweet Smelling

Lots of us grew-up loving the ‘baby’ fragrances associated with popular brands, they makes us feel cosy and happy. But many of these baby shampoo and talc fragrances are made from coal and petroleum derived synthetic chemicals that can cause respiratory, neurological, skin, and eye damage.

Parabens, common in lotions and shampoos, are neurotoxins linked to reproductive toxicity and skin irritation, especially for adults, children or babies with sensitive skin. This includes dermatitis, rosacea and other allergic reactions. For babies who have much thinner skin this can be even worse with nappy rash and teary eyes.

Skin Care Labelling Black Holes

Go all natural and take away your need for a degree in chemistry when trying to decode the ingredient list on the average skin care bottle. For example, parabens which we want to avoid often appear as methyl paraben or ethyl paraben.

But it’s not that simple, paraben can also be listed as isobutylparaben, isopropylparaben or benzylparaben – frustrating yes! In reality there are hundreds of chemical ingredients out there that we will never fully understand.

Baby and Mum Skin Care Made Very Simple

One simple approach to minimising exposure to harmful chemicals is to take extra special care when choosing skin care products that:

a) Cover a large part of your skin (e. g. body lotion or body oil)
b) Is applied and stays on your skin (you don’t rinse it off)
c) Any product that you apply to baby

The best option is to stick with all natural, nourishing and edible (safe) ingredients like straight oils that include jojoba, coconut and olive. What is unique about jojoba is that it’s not oil, but a liquid wax identical to the protective vernix that babies are born with and then continue to produce into early adulthood.

Jojoba is compatible with baby’s skin, protecting it while allowing it to breath. Look for 100% Natural Baby Oil that is pure and hypoallergenic.

For everyone else in the family feel free to cover yourself all over in natural jojoba. Known as ‘Nature’s Wrinkle Fighter’, it repairs, smooths, plumps and protects your skin without all the nasties. Jojoba contains no chemicals, is non-allergenic, non-toxic, deeply moisturising and naturally high in anti-oxidants, with Vitamin A, D, E and essential fatty acids omega 6 and 9.