Special Natural Skin Care For Babies

We spend hours and countless amounts of money on our own personal skin care, trying different lotions and potions to find the perfect product for our needs. Our babies deserve the same special attention when selecting skin care products as well.

Babies and little children seldom actually need lotions and creams unless they have dry skin. Commercial products on the market contain synthetics and chemicals that can be harsh on tender skin, so many parents are opting for natural skin care and bath products for their babies.

For babies and toddlers especially, the skin care product most frequently used are baby wipes, and the perfumes and dyes found in commercial brands can play havoc with their sensitive bottoms. Parents use baby wipes not only at diaper changes, but for all sorts of reasons, cleaning little faces and hands being two very common tasks. Although possible to find brands with little synthetics, another alternative is to make home-made baby wipes to make certain the ingredients are all natural.

Another skin care problem parents with babies face is diaper rash. Even with the best of changing routines, diaper rash can occur, and frequently applying chemical rash creams can often aggravate the problem even more, causing prolonged discomfort for baby. Help prevent diaper rash with frenquent diaper changes and cleaning baby with natural soap and water.

Natural Baby Wipes

1/4 cup aloe vera juice

4 drops lavender essential oil

1/2 roll paper towels cut lengthwise

1/4 cup water

2 drops tea tree oil

Simply mix the ingredients and store in a plastic container.

There are many natural baby and child skin care products available online. Marlo Quinn is a new natural skin care company with impeccable skin care products for families. It’s also possible to prepare natural baby wipes at home using the recipe above. Products made from natural ingredients are the best choice for babies and children.

Dealing With Dandruff

CAUSES OF DANDRUFF

Although the cause of dandruff is not completely understood, it is currently theorized that one of the main causes is a breakdown of the scalps natural lipid barrier, leaving it more exposed to infection by the microscopic yeast that is commonly found in the scalp. When the yeast overgrows, it leads to an inflammatory response that kills off scalp cells at a high rate, which in turn slough off in sticky patches and flakes.

The condition is identified by:

- White or clear flakes on the scalp, through the hair, and on clothing.

- Itchy scalp which may be red and inflamed.

Some young teens find they develop dandruff when they hit puberty because their hygiene habits haven’t changed to meet the challenges of newly accelerated sebum production.

Stress, poor hygiene and poor diet can make the scalp more susceptible to dandruff. High sugar foods in particular are known to exacerbate yeast infections.

The hair should be brushed regularly to loosen flakes and stimulate blood supply to the scalp, which will accelerate the natural immune response to infection.

TREATING DANDRUFF

There are few habits you can develop and natural treatments you can use to treat dandruff.

Nutrition: An excess of sugar in the diet can exacerbate any yeast infection. Try reducing your intake of all sugars and refined starches while treating for dandruff.

Cleansing: Massage your scalp thoroughly with your fingertips when shampooing. This will help loosen and remove any dead skin flakes and help prevent the infection from continuing. Wash your hair daily until the infection is cleared up.

Conditioning: Use a protective hair condition on the ends of hair only. Avoid getting conditioner on your scalp where it can clog pores and interfere with healing of the skin.

Other Treatments:

- Massage: Massaging your scalp several times a day with the pads of the fingers only will stimulate blood supply to the hair follicles and help loosen the dead skin flakes.

- Brushing: Brushing your hair thoroughly on a daily basis will help loosen and remove dead skin flakes, increase the smooth flow of sebum along the hair shaft, and increase blood supply to the hair follicles.

- Wash Hands After Brushing and Grooming Hair: Fungal infections of the skin are highly contagious, and it is easy to reinfect and spread to other areas of the body. This is why it’s important to wash your hair daily and to brush out any loose dandruff flakes – so that healthy areas of the scalp will not be infected. Washing your hands after brushing, massaging and grooming your hair will also help prevent reinfection or cross infection.

The following herbs and nutrients have been shown to reduce dandruff infections:

Natural Internal Treatments for Dandruff

Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Vanadyl Sulfate, Gynema Sylvestre and Chromium are all natural regulators of blood sugar levels. The can help prevent feeding the infection by keeping blood sugar levels normalized.

Olive Leaf and Oregano Leaf are both natural systemic antifungal agents.

Natural External Treatments for Dandruff

The following herbs can be used as a tonic for reducing fungal infections on a topical basis. Extracts of these herbs or a several drops of their essential oils dissolved in aloe vera gel or witch hazel can greatly relieve the symptoms of itching and flaking in dandruff. Tea tree oil is particularly effective against fungal and bacterial infections.

• Clary Sage
• Desert Sage 
• Eucalyptus
• Fumitory
• Ginkgo Biloba
• Ginsen
• Grapefruit Seed Extract
• Grapefruit Essential Oil
• Grapeseed Extract
• Juniper Berry Essential Oil
• Lavender Essential Oil
• Lemongrass
• Myrtle
• Oregano
• Poike Root