The Specificities of Baby’s Skin
Dr. Valleteau de Moulliac,
Consulting Pediatrician for Laboratoires Sarbec
At birth, the skin may be covered with a greasy, white, yellowish coating, which is more pronounced if your baby is premature. This is the vernix caseosa, mainly present in the folds, which protects the skin. It disappears quickly, naturally, but also with successive washings.
Your newborn may seem "hairy" to you. Often, a fine down covers the shoulders, back, forehead, and thighs. This is the lanugo, which usually disappears within a few days.
Your baby may "peel." This is normal during the first fifteen days, especially in the folds and at the extremities (hands and feet). This skin shedding is more pronounced if your baby was born a little after term. So, don’t talk about "dry skin" just yet.
Your baby’s skin (at term) is very similar to your adult skin. However, it has some specific features that you need to know about, as they affect the care you should provide.
It is much thinner, especially on the buttocks, diaper area, and face.
- It is much more fragile, much less hairy and therefore less protective.
- It is more permeable because the bonds between the cells that compose it are looser.
- It is much more sensitive to the sun because it is very fair: the functioning of the cells that protect against UV radiation (melanocytes) is much later.
- It cannot yet fully perform its role as adult skin because not all its functions are fully developed: such as barrier functions, sweating, temperature regulation, antimicrobial defense. Immune maturity appears only around 9 months.
- It is therefore particularly sensitive to certain aggressions specific to babies: these aggressions are linked to sphincter incontinence (your baby cannot control either stools or urine), frequent regurgitation, and maceration in the folds. Diapers in particular (even though their quality keeps improving) create an occlusive and humid environment that maintains prolonged contact between the skin of the diaper area and stools and urine, and encourages microbial proliferation. Moreover, occlusion increases by 10 times the penetration of substances applied to the skin of the buttocks and scrotum, which increases the risk of infection. Similarly, the lying position promotes friction from clothes and sheets, which weakens the skin in the folds. Finally, repeated cleaning can dry out the skin.
- This is why you must provide careful, rigorous, and frequent care to the diaper area (changing) using products adapted to the specific characteristics of your baby’s skin covering. Particular attention should therefore be paid to the substances applied to the skin and their frequency of use to avoid any risk of toxicity, irritation, and sensitization.
