Is Bubble Bath OK for dry skin?

[KatsuQueen]

Hi Minikatsu has never had bubble bath because he had terrible eczema when he was a baby so we have always avoided bath products. He still doesn;t use soap or shampoo in the bath, but he would love a bubble bath. Are there any brands which are better for dry skin? And any that I should definitely avoid?

[Saffron]

I use the Earth Friendly Baby brand of bubble bath for me and my daughter. Sainsbury's has it online, but I think lots of other places stock it too. It's actually very soothing IMHO. You don't have to use much to get lots of bubbles, and the bubbles really last. I think the occasional bubble bath is ok as long as you don't use too much soap, don't let your LO stay in too long, and always rinse your LO with clean water before getting out of the bath. Also, when my daughter has a bubble bath, I don't use any other soap or shampoo on her in that bath. The bubbles are enough. xx

This one:

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4ADSA_enGB470GB470&q=earth+friendly+baby+products&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&ion=1&biw=1441&bih=646&wrapid=tlif133175775482110&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=3587150483340167229&sa=X&ei=uQJhT9-YGee_0QXbwsWjBw&ved=0CIIBEPICMAI#

[sanity girl]

My son had eczema as a small baby and now bathes in Nature babycare bubble bath with no problems. E-45 also do a moisturising bubble bath for kids which is good. Both are unperfumed.

[Saffron]

Hi, just had some other ideas re bubble baths... In the past, if the irritated skin was worst eg on the face & hands, you could put a heavy barrier cream on these areas before putting your LO in the bubble bath. You could also make up the bubbles in the sink or a laundry bucket, then just transfer the bubble lather to the bath in a few big handfuls. This would reduce the amount of bubble solution actually in the bath.

Instead of a bubble bath, we occasionally let Little Saff play with shaving foam in the bath. I just buy the cheap one. If your LO has eczema or other skin problems, you could look for a foam specially designed for sensitive skin.

A bit a science? Surfactants like sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) are one of the ingredients that help bubbles to be foamy and lasting. Some recent research from the US has suggested that for some (not all) people SLS can be an irritant or can exacerbate eczema. (Sorry I don't have the reference to hand. I'm sure it's in Google Scholar.) Therefore I was suprised and annoyed to find that many skin creams for eczema and sensitive skin actually contain SLS! If your regular skin cream contains SLS, consider using and SLS-free cream on the night you do the bubble bath. This would minimize SLS exposure. Aveno does an SLS-free cream that we like and use, but there are others.