They say "beauty is only skin deep." The problem is, sometimes that skin isn’t very beautiful. Newborn skin is prone to all kinds of dots, bumps, and strange marks. At first, immediately following birth, your baby’s skin is covered with a white, waxy substance. It’s called vernix and it’s actually a protective coating that shields the skin from the amniotic fluid. It can be wiped out of the creases, and the rest will absorb within a few minutes. If your baby was premature, her skin may look thin and you’ll be able to see the veins through it. This is very normal for a baby born too early. Also common in premature babies (and even in some babies carried to term) is the presence of lanugo, a very fine covering of hair that will fall off within a week – so no, your baby girl won’t grow up cursed with hairy shoulders.
Your baby may also have little white pimple-like bumps, called milia, on his face. They’re caused by immature oil glands and dead, sloughed-off skin trapped in the pores. They’ll go away within the first few weeks, but they may be replaced by infant acne. These are pimples, tiny whiteheads caused by hormones – not the baby’s, as will happen later on during puberty, but Mom’s hormones still circulating through baby’s system. It’s unfortunate that infant acne normally occurs during the first six weeks, when people are clamoring for visits and pictures. After that six-week period, it will clear up, no medicated lotions or creams needed.
Crusty, scaly patches may develop on your baby’s scalp or face due to overactive oil glands beneath the hair and skin. This condition is called cradle cap. It looks like it might be itchy, but it isn’t … it’s just unattractive. It can be helped by washing with a mild baby shampoo every few days, or rubbing a little baby oil or lotion into the spots.
Eczema is an itchy red rash caused by irritation from anything from allergens to detergents to baby’s own drool. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, ten to twenty percent of all babies will have a case of eczema before they turn a year old. It typically affects a baby’s face, but can appear anywhere, especially in moisture-retaining creases such as the crooks of the arms or the folds of the neck. A steroid cream is usually prescribed for babies with eczema. If your baby seems prone to it, limit baths to just twice a week or so, and only use water or non-drying soap; afterward, moisturize the baby well.
Your baby may be born with a temporary birthmark of sorts. One variety is called Mongolian spots, which is more common in babies with African, Asian, Indian, or Mediterranean heritage. They’re bruise-like spots that appear on baby’s bottom or back, but they usually go away by the first birthday. Another possible skin discoloration is a strawberry hemangioma – a soft, raised, reddish patch caused by immature blood vessels. They can appear up to a few weeks after birth, and although they aren’t permanent, they do last longer, about nine or ten years. Stork bites are blotchy-looking red patches that appear on the face (usually the forehead or between the eyes) or the back of your baby’s neck. The legend that goes along with the marks is charming; the patches are left on the place where the stork picked your baby up. (If you’ve just been through hours of labor and delivery, you’ll wish that the stork had brought the baby!) They may be more noticeable when your baby cries and her face flushes. One-third of all babies have stork bites, and they tend to disappear around eighteen months of age.