Gentle, protecting and soothing are three adjectives associated with baby and infant skin products. These terms also describe adult skin care products (especially products for sensitive skin), so it is not surprising to find mothers using baby products on themselves.
In January 2011, the Waitrose supermarket chain in the UK, struggled to keep their shelves stocked with their own label Baby Bottom Butter. This mass-market product, designed to protect babies’ bottoms, keeping them smooth, free from infection and sores had become a phenomenon. This was not because of a baby boom but because, through word of mouth, mothers were telling one another how good it was for keeping their own skin soft.1 Mumsnet.com wrote: ‘I can’t remember what made me put it on my face one day but OMG – it is fab’. As more and more adults tried the product, it soon became associated with anti-ageing and in true Malcolm Gladwell, Tipping Point style,2 sales sharply increased. In just twelve months, Waitrose sold a fourteen-year supply of Baby Bottom Butter.
Infant skin
A waxy fluid composed mostly of sebum with greater than 10% branched chain fatty acids, squalene cholesterol and ceramides (vernix caseosa), protects newborn babies’ skin.3 The underlying skin is wonderfully soft and smooth, and the ‘Holy Grail’ of antiageing products. However, although the function of baby’s skin is the same as in an adult, it is weaker and still developing. Unlike normal adult skin, a baby’s epidermis is thinner, less able to control moisture loss and is a poor barrier to irritants. The organisation of nerves and hair and the epidermis as a whole is not fully developed. The dermis is also thinner, making baby skin mechanically weaker, less insulating and resilient. Babies produce less sweat to cool and lubricate the surface of their skin. Taken together, it is easy to understand why chapping nappies readily produce a rash. Infected nappy rash can then become a problem, as babies do not have fully effective immune systems. Adult skin is a strong and effective barrier. We take for granted the sophisticated processes, which have evolved to cope with invading irritants and microorganisms. Babies are still developing these defences. They therefore need to be cosseted. Baby products should be non-aggressive, gentle and supportive to the new developing skin.4
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