Mild and soft, gentle on your skin, lasts longer, keeps germs away from your body! These are some of the slogans that soap manufacturers are splashing across various media platforms to attract customers.
Mild and soft, gentle on your skin, lasts longer, keeps germs away from your body! These are some of the slogans that soap manufacturers are splashing across various media platforms to attract customers. Indeed many have been quick to embrace any soap that has a nice scent, ‘lovely’ colour (depending on one’s preferred colour) and attractive packaging. However, experts warn against rushing to buy bathing soap for babies without doing due diligence because it could cause more harm than good to the child.
Medicated soap not a must for children
"Only children with skin problems such as eczema or similar skin diseases may require medicated soap but not all children need special soap,” explains, Dr Lisine Tuyisenge, the secretary general of the Rwanda Pediatrics Association.
Dr Tuyisenge further explains that the use of medicated soaps must only come after medical consultation.
"Individuals concerned with the skin health of their children have to first consult a dermatologist before reaching out for any soap or shampoos to avoid danger,” Tuyisenge adds.
Stanley Ngarukiye, a lecturer of Public Health at Mount Kenya University, points out that for any bathing soap, chemical composition should be everyone’s concern.
"All products, including bathing soap, have details of the chemical components in a table placed outside the package and any customer must be keen to watch out for the active ingredients,” Ngarukiye advises.
He also explains that certain chemicals within certain soap may be harmless to adults but harmful to infants.
"Some of the chemical compounds in soap could evoke allergic reactions in some individuals and that should be a concern for babies too,” he adds.
Avoid the hype about soap
According to Dr Rachna Pande, an internal medicine specialist at Ruhengeri Hospital, as long as baby soap is not regularly used due to the hype created by extensive marketing, it can be satisfactory.
"Soap is okay for removing dust and grime and giving a sense of being fresh but because of the propaganda created by extensive marketing, people think that soap is very essential for babies as well as for adults,” Pande explains.
She, however, warns that some properties in certain soaps may contribute to microbial resistance.
"Large usage of antiseptic products in soaps has also contributed to growing resistance in microbes against antiseptic agents; hence they are no longer effective. Moreover one has to rub the soap for at least 10 seconds for it to have any effect, whereas in reality people just apply it and wash it away,” Pande says.
"Antiseptic substances regularly will prevent building of immunity of the body and create resistance to microbes.
Soap can be used for washing a baby but it can be in a small quantity. Washing with clean, soft luke warm water alone or even with natural herbal products like turmeric is also good enough,” she adds.
Choice for a baby cleanser
Dr Elisah Agaba, a dermatologist at University Teaching Hospital Kigali (CHUK), emphasises that choice for baby soap depends on the age of the child.
"At zero years, children have a soft skin that is highly permeable and only hardens as they grow. They should not be subjected to common soap, they should be subjected to cleansers instead and moist cleansers that are not soap based are the best,” Dr Agaba explains.
He adds that on top of the skin being permeable, it is subject to microflora attack hence a good cleansing agent is one that is slightly acidic.
"When the PH of the skin is altered, its physiology is also altered and this may promote the growth of harmful bacteria. This is why a good cleanser should have PH slightly below 7 (below neutral PH) that destroys cell membranes of bacteria,” he advises.
Dr Agaba also warns that chemicals present in soap can enhance moisturizing or dryness of skin and make it itchy in those who are prone to it.
"Baby skin is more soft and sensitive than an adult skin and baby cleansers maintain this equilibrium. Poor ingredients can cause dryness and manifestation of bumps on the skin,” Dr Agaba warns.
Whereas most parents prefer using scented soaps, US Mayo Clinic also points out that there’s no need to use special soap for a baby bath. In fact, plain water is fine for newborns and if need be a mild moisturizing soap. Bubble bath and scented soaps should strictly be avoided.
Compounds used in soap making
Soap is made through a lengthy chemical process known as saponification. This process requires two main raw materials, that is fat and alkali. The fat may either be vegetable or animal fat. Most alkali used today includes: sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, but a potassium-based soap is more soluble than sodium-based soap, and so it is called "soft soap”. Soft soap, alone or in combination with sodium-based soap, is commonly used in shaving products.
Unlike in the past when animal fat was obtained directly from a slaughterhouse, modern soap makers today use fat that has been processed into fatty acids. The process eliminates many impurities, and it produces water as a by-product instead of glycerin. Many vegetable fats, including olive oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil is also used in soap making.
According to medical experts, after the last stages of the process, there is need to enhance the colour, texture, and scent of soap. It is at this point that fragrances and perfumes are added to the soap mixture to cover the odor of dirt and to leave behind a fresh-smelling scent.
Similarly, abrasives to enhance the texture of soap and improve its scoring effect include talc, silica, and marble pumice (volcanic ash).
Without dye, soap would appear dull but modern manufacturers have learnt what their customers want and therefore decided to produce colour soap to make it more enticing. But even with this attractive appearance, medical professionals warn about random use of soap on babies.
****************************************
Soap and shampoo to use to bathe babies
Baby’s skin, especially a newborn’s, is sensitive, and all soaps are mild irritants. The function of soap is to suspend particles and oils on the skin surface so that they can be more easily removed from the skin with water.
Without soap, some oils, dirt, and surface secretions would simply stick to the skin and require vigorous rubbing with a cloth and water to remove them, which in itself would irritate the skin. Every bathing baby’s skin has an individual tolerance to different soaps. How much soap, how often, and which kind can be determined only by trial and error, but here are some general guidelines: