Life of a 6 month old: Skincare Edition
I like to keep things simple with Nori. During my pregnancy, I made sure that I ate plenty of good fats because the skin thrives off good fats and DHA (but that’s a different conversation for a different day).
Nori went through quite the skin journey because he was born end of summer and exposed to the cold dry months. He went through the infant acne stage, the shedding phase, and then the one I call the "teething cheek phase".
What’s amazing about all these phases is that I kept the routine very simple and consistent throughout the process. Using fewer ingredients is always better. I didn’t run to the Johnson & Johnson of skincare care products, which I’m proud of. This is what I use/do:
- The Infant Acne phase: I only used a wet warm washcloth to cleanse his face daily. Then followed up with a baby moisturizer by Tubby Todd and used our Unscented MP Butter. That’s it!
- The Shedding phase: We only wiped him down with a damp warm washcloth, then followed up shortly after with our Unscented MP body butter.
- The Teething Cheek phase: This was tricky because I wasn’t sure what was causing it. After some research and the doctors telling me, "It's normal.", I found that it’s when excessive drooling starts. The saliva gets on his cheeks causing them to dry up leaving behind rough patches of dead skin behind.
When we’re being affectionate and rub my cheeks with his, you feel little dry patches on his cheeks. The solution was to always keep his cheeks moisturized. Especially between wiping the saliva away periodically from baby drool-apalooza.
I also take into account that the air is very dry so his cheeks are exposed to the cold, so they should be protected. I create that barrier with our whipped shea butter. in combination with the Tubby Todd when it’s available.
Now Nori is 6 months old and likes his bath water very warm, which helps him relax before bed. I feel that he can be exposed to “real” soap now. So I introduced our Gentle Baby Oats cube soap to his bath time routine.
Disclaimer: Do not leave real soap unattended or in the possession of your baby. Real soap can still burn the eyes. Nori is still learning and puts everything in his mouth.
Once I’m done rinsing everything off, he’s toweled down. While his skin is still warm and damp, we don’t wait until his skin is completely dry, we moisturize immediately. We seal in the moisture with our Unscented MP butter or the Calm Tranquility MP butter and get him dressed for bed.
If you know me, which you will more and more through these newsletters, you’ll know that I swear by the all mighty, humidifier. I know we’re talking about skin but the way our skin flourishes in humidity is unexplainable.
This dry air will make our skin feel so dry, chapped, and chalky. It will also make your nasal passage very dry and congested, so breathing comfortably can be a challenge in my home.
The humidifier stays on around the clock in our rooms in the house. We live in a fairly large house so it’s difficult to keep it humid all the time. Between the radiator heat to the dry air, it’s rough, but I’m learning to only control what I can. So, part of our bed/nighttime routine is to make sure the humidifier is filled to the top and pumped up to the highest level.
I switched out our new humidifier. We went from Crane to Vicks brand. I didn’t want an expensive one, but my girlfriend Ri from Healthy Hoe’s told me about hers, by Vitruvi. It’s easy to clean, holds plenty of water and that’s a good enough reason to buy a $230 humidifier. I’m getting too busy to keep up with the intricate cleanings of these humidifiers, so I’m thinking about investing.
It may seem like a lot of money to blow on something that pumps steam, but owning a humidifier is so important to us that it’s been made a lifestyle haha! It supports our very simple ingredient routine for our skin and overall well-being.
I hope whoever reads this, that you and your loved ones find healing, moisture, and comfort for the remaining cold months.
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With Purpose,
xx Kim