Baby Acne - Smithville,MO

Updated on January 06, 2010
M.J. asks from Smithville, MO
23 answers

My baby is 4 weeks old and has terrible baby acne. It seems to be worse when she wakes up. Is there anything I can try to get it to go away- the doc said just to leave it and avoid putting any lotion or oil on it. We bathe her everyday- so her face is getting washed (with Johnson's baby soap) once a day.

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L.C.

answers from Kansas City on

ok, ive got a couple things.
1) dont bathe her everyday! her skin just cant handle that much at such a young age. bathing a baby once or twice a week is really enough.
2) get rid of the johnsons shampoo, body wash, lotion, etc. they have formaldehyde in them and can cause a plethora of skin conditions! go to http://www.HealthySafeAndClean.com to see a list of products, including baby products, that have caustic chemicals in them like formaldehyde.
3) most babies will grow out of baby acne. but if it is really severe, go to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist for a very low % hydrocortizone cream and rub it on the acne once a day. it should clear it up within a week or so!

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A.R.

answers from Kansas City on

It will go away! My baby had really bad face rash for her first couple of months. I would advise not washing her face with any soap. I would also toss the Johnson's baby soap. I have heard that it is not so good for baby skin. We switched to Aquaphor baby wash and it worked better and was gentle. I did miss the sweet Johnson's baby smell but her face got better. We also did every other day baths with lotion and a sponge bath on off days. My girl had really dry skin and that helped too. Hang in there Mom! I worried over my girl a ton but she is fresh faced and normal skinned now!

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C.B.

answers from Kansas City on

i agree with everything leanne says! stop bathing her every day, that might actually be making it worse. if you want to put a lotion on it, try an eczema lotion if anything, and use sparingly at first to see if it helps. but first and foremost stop bathing her every day. my son is 3 and has eczema, so i only bathe him 2-3 times per week, and then i use a shampoo/conditioner/body wash combo by suave, only i just use it on his head and then let him play in the bath after i rinse it. this is the majority of the cleaning that he gets, besides "spot" treatments after meals, or if he's really dirty from playing outside or something. no lotion can replace the real oils and moisturization your skin produces on its own, and tiny babies skin really can't keep up. i bet if you commit to only bathing her two or three times per week, you'll notice a marked difference.

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E.S.

answers from Kansas City on

leave it alone it will go away. lotion and oil will only make it worse and bathing her face everyday can actually dry the skin out.

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S.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Does your Dr. know that your bathing her everyday? That may be contributing to the problem. Babies shouldn't be bathed that often. My Ped. told me to bath my newborn once or twice per week at the most. All that bathing dries out baby's skin and can cause problems. Cut down on the bathing and follow your Dr.'s advice. Leave it alone and it will probably clear up on it's own.

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C.P.

answers from Chicago on

My daughter had it too and I was told to wash her face with Dove Sensative skin soap. It cleared up in a few days.

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B.S.

answers from Joplin on

when my kids were born it was called newborn acne. I, too, was told to leave it alone. If you mess with it, it could scar. Stop with the soap on baby's face. Just use a gentle warm washcloth. Warm water only. Soap dries a baby's face way too much. This could make the problem worse. I know it is frustrating, but it will go away soon, if you leave it alone.
If it encourages you at all, my little one that had it really bad, now (as an adult) has beautiful, porcelin looking skin. She gets compliments on her skin all the time.

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A.S.

answers from Kansas City on

Your doctor is right. Just leave it alone. Don't even put soap on it. It will go away on it's own, it's completely normal. Also, you really shouldn't be bathing her every day. Babies don't need baths that often, especially in the winter when the air is so dry. Try bathing just 1-2 times per week. Limit the soap. If she needs a spot cleaning, just use a washcloth. Bathing her so often and using soap is really just causing more harm than good.

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L.D.

answers from Topeka on

Completely normal! it could be "baby acne" or Malassezia this is an infection sorta that cause acne looking bumps on the baby and even something called "craddle cap" which is dry scalp looking stuff on the head. They make shampoo for this. The malassezia comes around 2 weeks and could last up to 3 months. I would stick with what the doc said avoid lotion and dont pick at them. The first few months babies have cute moments and odd moments so schedule pictures when they are not so noticiable and dont worry.

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K.S.

answers from Kansas City on

It's totally normal... if you are breast feeding it might be worse than "normal" because of all the hormone chnages you and she are both going thru with pregnancy hormones leaving your body etc.... don't wash it too much. Just like adult skin, to much of anything can also cause a break out.

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K.J.

answers from Kansas City on

M. -

A 4-week-old baby definitely doesn't need a bath daily! In fact, in the winter, it may be way too drying for her skin. Unless she throws up on herself or has a poop blowout, a bath every 3rd day or even weekly is plenty.

As far as the baby acne goes, your doctor is right. Leaving it alone is the best solution. It will pass in time.

Enjoy your new little one!
K.

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L.A.

answers from Reno on

I put lotion on my baby's acne and it cleared up nicely. I used Johnson's fragrance free. Also, i started using it on my hands because I think my lotion might have been making it worse. Good luck

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L.B.

answers from Columbia on

You have a lot of good advice, but wanted to make certain you know NOT to pop any of the pimples.
My sister did that to her son 16 years ago, and he still has scars from it!
lb

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K.B.

answers from Wichita on

Good Morning M.. It is normally called Milk Bumps or they used to be called that anyway. Most babies get them and they do go away. Don't bathe her so often, little ones don't get that dirty. Use only water on her little face, no soap.

Our eldest son had one and it was huge under his lip in the middle of his chin for months. It would be more irritated after he had his bottle. I used a soft baby cloth and wiped it with water only.

Hope this helps some Messa

God Bless you and yours with a Glorious New Year
K. Nana of 5

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S.B.

answers from Topeka on

My son had terrible eczema when he was a baby. He is 3 now and still has it a little, but not nearly as bad. You really need to wash her with non-scented soap, something for sensitive skin. Walgreens has Canus Goat's Milk Soap Fragrance Free. Aveeno makes fragrance free body wash for babies. We have used that many times and it seems to help. We have used a few more that I can not think of the name at the moment (sorry!!). Also wash her clothes in fragrance free, dye free.. just simply FREE of all irritating chemicals.
All this is just to make it easier on your baby, it does not cure baby acne. I assume she will just have to outgrow it.... Good Luck! =)

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T.P.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi M.!

I'm a little late in responding but wanted to give you a little bit of information. As the other responses stated, your baby doesn't need to have a bath everyday. It will actually cause the condition to worsen because it will dry out her skin more and also the products you are using are considered harmful. The human skin absorbs whatever is placed on it and will go internal. Any products that contain Quaternium 15 or D, 1-4 or considered carcinogens/formaldehydes and can lead to cancer, respiratory and many more problems. Please visit this website if you're interested in products that are green and safe for your baby! www.family1st4life.com

Best of Luck,
Latisha

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T.H.

answers from St. Louis on

One other suggestion, when you limit some of those showers is washing the sheets and blankets that are touching her face when she's resting. It could be aggravating her skin, or the oils and such on it getting back on her face. Maybe washing daily, or everyother day. Just a suggestion, and don't worry, it will all work out in the end :) GOOD LUCK!

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H.F.

answers from Kansas City on

My son had infantile acne that was eventually diagnosed by a dermatologist. It took special topical soap & creams to get rid of it. If you are still worried in a couple of weeks, I suggest making an appointment with a dermatologist. True infantile acne is not common but can cause scarring just like in adolescence.

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R.N.

answers from Kansas City on

My Dr said to only give 2 baths a week don't where perfumes or colonges only wash her face with a wet clothe no soaps if she spits up use wet clothe only on face it should clear up in about 5 days if you do this I have a 4 week old little girl too her skin looks great I don't let any one hold her if they are wearing smelly stuff. Good luck

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M.K.

answers from Kansas City on

Just like a lot of adult skin, washing a baby's delicate face with no lotion to provide moisture can have the opposite effect. Stripping the skin can cause more issues. Plus, it may not be due to a dirty face! She probably stll has mommy estrogen hormones floating around in her system. Try not to overwash and just let it go for a little while longer. I think you'll see things start to improve!

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S.M.

answers from St. Louis on

The skin is one of the organs used by the body to detoxify, so if the liver and kidneys are at capacity, some toxins will escape thought the skin. It will probably just take time for it to clear, and lotions, etc. probably won't help. If you are nursing, it is possible that the baby is allergic to something you are consuming that is coming through the breast milk. Consider any foods that you crave and/or eat every day. There is a great section on Infant Allergies in "Is This My Child" by Doris Rapp, MD. She suggests that to see if a food is the culprit, TOTALLY eliminate a food (or any food with that food as an ingredient) for FOUR days. Then, on an empty stomach, binge solely on that food. Most reactions occur within an hour, but sometimes there is a delay up to a day or two in very sensitive people. Acne is one of these, and it could be showing up in your baby from it. I have discovered many food allergies this way, and it has improved my health significantly.
Good luck with the acne....
S. M.

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S.T.

answers from St. Louis on

Only bathe once a week. Also stop using J&J immediately. Switch to an all natural soap such as California Baby or Burt's Bees.

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L.B.

answers from St. Joseph on

Is it acne or Molesculum? My children has Moslesculum which looked like acne but never really "went away" for a good long time. It wasn't like a regular pimple that disappears in a few days or a week...these things linger on for months and months! My poor daughter had one right in the middle of her forehead! It was awful and ruined every one of her baby pictures!

I was informed by every Dr. I saw that it was non-contagious but the children's center on our military base had to have all kinds of documentation proving it (which was a real pain in the butt)...but what everyone says about popping it is true...if you do pop them, they WILL scar just like good old Chicken pox...sad to say, my son has a lot of them, my daughter only a few...but each survived...for us the molesculum lasted until they were nearly 2-2 1/2 and then cleared up just as suddenly as it showed up.

Definitely, DO NOT put any lotions or anything on it. I didn't truly see a difference in bathing them everyday or less frequently. Frankly, my kids were pukers so if I didn't bathe them it was really intolerable to be around them. My best recommendation for soaps would be something that is free of fragrance, dyes, parafins, and all that goop. Both Vanicream and (believe it or not) good old Lye soap seem to work best for my daughter!

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