There are reasons that your baby does not sleep at night, sometimes. And it can be frustrating when you can’t figure out why.
So, here’s why the wrong pH value of your baby’s skin can make your baby cry at night and cost you your sleep. The pH value tells you how acidic or alkaline your skin is. Baby skin has a pH close to neutral at birth.
When your pH levels are at the correct level, your skin microbiome will also be balanced. Your skin microbiome is your first line of defense against dangerous toxins, bacteria, and viruses. When it works at its absolute best: there are less issues like rashes, eczema, infections, or itching to make you uncomfortable. When there is a pH level problem, there will be a skin microbiome problem, which will create a skin problem.
And now to your baby. Your baby is much more sensitive than you and all of these irritations are very uncomfortable and may keep your baby up at night. The result: A lot of crying and sleepless nights.
So this is probably not something you want to ignore, especially since there are real health issues related to wrong skin pH-levels.
It matters what you put on baby’s skin. When you pick a skin product for your baby, always remember that baby’s skin is more delicate and it needs to develop the skin microbiome and healthy, strong skin.
So, what can you do to maintain your baby’s skin pH levels?
Just think about how often you wipe, clean, and balm your baby. 5, 10 15, 20, 40 times a day? Actually, it is more according to some studies – see our other post. Many soaps, lotions, moisturizers, and bubble baths are alkaline and will disturb the pH of your baby’s skin and make it prone to irritations.
A good way to get around this is to look for products that say that they are baby-safe, water-free, and chemical-free skin care products and pH-optimized or balanced for babies. They are made without preservatives and also with plant butters and oils as sole ingredients so that they don’t irritate your baby’s skin over time. These emollient plant butters and oils will improve your baby’s skin appearance, nourish, and maintain their pH levels.