
If you're up at 3am, desperately trying to soothe a baby who can't stop scratching, you are not alone. I experienced this 25 years ago too—and it's a nightmare. Infant and newborn eczema is common, distressing and not caused by anything you did wrong. Take heart. There's a lot you can do to help calm your baby's skin, starting tonight.
This guide covers infant eczema remedies, what to put on (and keep off) your baby's skin and the simple daily habits that make the biggest difference.
In this blog you will learn:
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Why does my baby have eczema? The gene, acid mantle and skin barrier connection explained
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Baby eczema and food allergies: what the research actually says
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Soothing itchy eczema at night: a parent's guide
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Natural treatments for baby eczema
Why Does My Baby Have Eczema? The Gene, Acid Mantle and Skin Barrier Connection
Eczema (atopic dermatitis) develops when the skin barrier is weaker than it should be, allowing moisture to escape and allergens and bacteria to enter skin more easily.
Genes play a role, but they are not the whole story
Onset of eczema in newborns and children under age two is associated with filaggrin gene loss of function, which is linked to eczema commonly on the cheeks and hands (Carson, 2012).

This gene normally supports the natural moisturising factors that keep skin acidic, hydrated and resilient. Less filaggrin can also mean drier, more crack-prone skin, so children with this gene mutation are also more likely to have severe forms of eczema (Carson, 2012).
The encouraging part is that filaggrin and skin pH are a two-way relationship, not a one-way sentence: research shows that improving your baby's skin pH can help the skin make better use of whatever filaggrin it does produce, which means genes aren't the whole story and skin pH is something you can actually influence (Choi & Kang, 2024).
So while you can't change your baby's genes, you can absolutely support the environment those genes are working in.
Your Baby's Missing Acid Mantle: Why Skin pH Matters
Babies are actually born with alkaline skin, a legacy of the amniotic fluid they were surrounded by in the womb. This natural newborn alkalinity can leave skin more vulnerable to irritation from chemicals, dust mites, staph bacteria and other everyday triggers in the first few weeks of life (Giusti, 2001). Normally, the acid mantle, the skin's protective acidic layer, forms within the first 2–3 months after birth and helps the skin become more resilient and less prone to eczema. When this acidification step doesn't happen effectively, due to genes or something else, eczema is more likely to appear.
This is important: Normal, healthy skin has an acidic surface pH, around 4.5–5.0, which helps the skin make its own ceramides, the fatty molecules that hold the skin barrier together (Lambers, 2006). (See diagram below)

Diagram 1: Healthy skin has an intact acid mantle with a pH below 5.0. This supports the natural microbiome, anti-bacterial peptides and skin hydration.
In contrast, eczema-prone skin has a higher pH between 5.5 and 6.0 (Rippke, 2004) and the higher the pH, the more severe the eczema presents (Eberlein-König, 2000). This elevated pH is the same pH seen in aged or elderly skin, which is dry and cracks easily. (See diagram below)

Diagram 2: Babies naturally do not have an intact acid mantle when they are born and in eczema-prone skin this acid mantle may not form properly. A pH around 5.5 to 6.0 leaves broken skin vulnerable to dryness and cracking, which may lead to dust mite sensitivity and increased allergy risk. Exposure to tap water, soaps and alkaline skincare can temporarily raise skin pH above 7.5 which can cause the microbiome to dislodge. This may increase infection risk in eczema.
Remember pH 4.5 to 5.0, as it’s going to help your child’s skin.
A low skin surface pH is like a fortress that keeps unfriendly bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus (staph) in check. When skin pH drifts upward, which happens with eczema, ceramide production slows and S. aureus finds it easier to colonise the skin, leading to staph infections that make flares worse and itchier.
This is why "skin barrier repair" isn't just a buzz phrase, it's the actual mechanism we're trying to support and skincare pH is central to that. Unfortunately, most skincare companies don't address the acid mantle first. Terms like "pH balanced" can be misleading, since some products use an outdated range of pH 5.5–6.0, which is closer to the skin pH typically seen in eczema-prone skin rather than healthy skin.
As a general rule, avoid pH-balanced skincare or any product with a pH above 5.0, as it may leave your baby's skin more vulnerable to irritation and infection. Most brands don't list pH on the bottle or website, so it may be worth contacting them directly to ask what the actual pH of a product is.
Why Your Baby's Skin Barrier Takes Time to Catch Up
It's worth knowing that your baby's skin barrier isn't fully "adult-like" until around their second birthday, so some vulnerability in the early years is simply part of normal development, not something gone wrong.
A few everyday situations add extra strain during this window. The nappy (diaper) area is a good example: skin occluded inside a nappy for extended periods creates a damp environment, prone to elevated skin pH, which is why nappy rash is relatively common. Frequent nappy changes and choosing low pH wipes and nappies suited to sensitive skin, can help reduce this extra burden while your baby's skin barrier matures (Rahma, 2022).

The Eczema, Gut and Liver Connection
Skin barrier health doesn't exist in isolation from the gut and liver. What your baby eats (and what you eat, if you're breastfeeding) may also influence inflammation and skin resilience over time, which is part of why diet and skincare are often addressed together rather than separately in a holistic eczema care program.
Babies also naturally have under-functioning livers which is why they can have jaundice at birth. Their liver function does not fully kick in until age two (Beath, 2003). This means their little bodies don’t process chemicals, like salicylates, as effectively as older children and adults. So it’s important to feed infants who have started solids a low chemical diet and avoid medications containing aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) because salicylate sensitivity in babies may be more common than you think and it’s linked with eczema.
Gut health matters too and frequent antibiotic use can hamper the development of healthy gut bacteria. This is why using low pH skincare matters, as it may reduce the risk of skin infections and thus, reduce the need for antibiotics.
Unfortunately probiotics do not address the underlying cause of poor gut health and they may not provide the right strains for true gut health for babies.
A healthy diet is the most reliable way to truly support gut health. It's really simple and your baby is the perfect age to get this right: before they become a fussy toddler!
Baby Eczema and Food Allergies
Parents often ask whether food allergy is behind their child's flares and it's a fair question. Eczema and food allergy are genuinely linked for some babies, though not all, and a flaring patch of skin doesn't automatically mean a food is to blame. But it might be.
If you're starting solids, The Eczema Detox recommends introducing one new food at a time and waiting three days before adding the next. This gives you a real chance to notice if a particular food is linked to increased itchiness or a flare, rather than guessing after the fact once several new foods have been introduced together.

Feeding Your Baby for a Happier Gut (and Calmer Skin)
When you start solids, try offering vegetables first, rather than rice cereal or sweet fruits. This gives the savoury-loving bacteria in your baby's gut a gentle head start, so the sugar-loving bacteria have less chance to take hold. Baby rice is perfectly fine to bring in next, followed by fruit, kept in moderation.
This small choice can make life easier down the track, since the balance of gut bacteria can shape a child's food cravings later on. A baby whose gut leans toward savoury flavours from the start may grow into a less fussy eater. On the other hand, child with a sweet tooth (under the influence of sugar-loving gut bacteria), may be more resistant to eating vegetables and other gut-supporting foods.
If you've already started solids and worry that you introduced fruit a little early, please don't worry at all. It's still early days and gut bacteria respond quickly. Simply serving more vegetables now and stopping the fruit for a week or two can help shift things in a gentler direction within just a few days.
Avoid itch-promoting fruits:
Avoid (for now) apple, kiwi fruit, strawberries, citrus, grapes, avocado and maybe even banana as it's rich in amines which can worsen eczema. Favour peeled stewed pear and mashed blueberries, when choosing fruit. Avoid all other fruits for now as they are rich sources of salicylates that may make eczema worse according to this peer-reviewed research we recently published. If you are interested in learning more about foods to feed your baby, refer to The Eczema Detox and the updated shopping guide here.
Supporting skin while breastfeeding a baby with eczema
Healthy skin need vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, C, D and biotin, plus zinc, glycine and more to function properly. Even one missing nutrient in the diet, like vitamin B3, can cause skin rashes to appear.
Mothers breastfeeding their baby can require extra nutrients as pregnancy and breastfeeding can deplete them and may lead to nutritional deficiencies. Skin Friend AM and Zen Friend PM can be taken by the mother to improve nutrients in breast milk. These supplements are also designed to support skin repair and liver detoxication of chemicals, including salicylates. For babies and children over the age of one, AM and PM can be given directly to reduce symptoms of eczema and support gut health, liver detoxification and sleep.
A Parent's Guide to Soothing Itchy Eczema at Night
Night-time itching is often the hardest part of caring for a baby with eczema... those long, broken hours when all you want is for your little one to settle and rest. Be gentle with yourself here too. Below are some small, comforting steps you can try tonight if you'd like to, each one a simple way to help your baby feel a little more at ease.
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Keep the bedroom slightly cool, since overheating is a common trigger for night-time scratching. A quality fan may be sufficient.
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Dress your baby in soft, 100% cotton or bamboo fabrics and avoid itchy wool, flax linen, polyester and other synthetic fabrics (plus remove the tags from clothing as they can irritate skin).
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Apply a low pH barrier-repairing rash cream (see below) and/or an ointment, shortly before bed.
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Keep nails short and consider soft cotton mittens if scratching is a problem.
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Stay calm yourself. Babies pick up on stress in the room and a steady, soothing presence may genuinely help settle them.
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Ensure they drink enough water for hydration—little sips of water throughout the day are important for eczema babies (boiled and filtered water or bottled water, depending on which country you live in).
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Eczema-prone skin already has a weaker barrier, which means bacteria can get in more easily than on healthy skin. So, always wash your hands thoroughly before applying any cream or ointment to your baby's skin to reduce the risk of introducing bacteria into broken or inflamed areas.
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Avoid bubble baths and don't use foaming cleansers or soaps on your baby's skin as they can dry out the skin and further compromise the skin barrier. Water is enough to wash your baby's skin and it's often the gentlest option.
- Avoid salt baths as they may encourage treatment-resistant Staph (bacteria) colonisation in the skin. That's because salt stress can trigger staph to form biofilms (Feng, 2022; Valero, 2009).
A note about self care: it matters too
As a caring parent, it's easy to focus on your baby and family and forget about you. But babies are remarkably sensitive to the stress of the people around them and your inner calm may help a baby settle a little better at night.
This isn't about being perfect. It's about giving yourself permission to look after your own nervous system too, whether that's a few minutes of breathing exercises before a feed, a short walk, trying yoga or simply asking for help on the hard nights. You don't have to be unshakeable, just steady enough and that's something you can build with practice and support.
Natural Treatments for Baby Eczema
There's no shortage of infant eczema remedies online, but not all of them are safe for a baby's developing skin barrier. It may surprise you but “natural” does not mean it’s safe, or even natural.
The UK Government website warns that some natural herbal eczema creams sold online contain hidden potent steroids that should not be used on children as they may cause thinning of the skin barrier and suppress the skin’s protective response to infections.
So be careful where you shop for eczema creams as there is a lot of false labelling online.
The first thing to learn is that not all natural ingredients are safe for eczema and some synthetic ingredients could save your baby’s skin.

Skincare Ingredients to Avoid
A few categories are worth steering clear of, even though they sound natural and gentle:
AVOID common food allergens: coconut oil (Cocos nucifera), wheat, beef tallow, nut oils such as almond oil (Prunus dulcis), oats (Avena sativa), which are common in eczema bath products, goat's milk and other animal milks.

These can sensitise a baby's skin, raising the risk of developing a food allergy to that exact ingredient later (Boussault, 2007; Kruse et al. 2021). Researchers from Monash University put it plainly: "food is meant to be eaten, not rubbed into inflamed skin." Professor O'Hehir notes that repeated application of ingredients such as goat's milk, nut oils and oats onto eczema and dermatitis may sensitise patients, potentially triggering a severe allergic reaction the next time that food is eaten.
So check your baby's skincare products ingredients list.
AVOID: Topically-applied olive oil (Olea europaea). Despite its popularity in baby skincare, research has shown olive oil when applied to skin can damage the skin barrier and may worsen eczema rather than help it (Danby et al., 2013).

Be mindful that even trendy brands get it wrong. And trusted brands like Blackmores, L'Oreal and Burt's Bees are even being sued by customers because they made unsafe or questionable ingredient choices in some of their products. Please do not entirely trust your favourite brands—investigate and ask questions before using anything on your baby's skin.
- Does the product have the right pH for your baby's skin? Ointments and balms don't have a pH as they are water-free and water is required for pH (this is fine), but all other creams should have a pH between 4.5 and 5.0, or don't buy it.
- Is it free of food ingredients that could lead to the development of food allergies? This is important as food allergies are a nightmare. So avoid food ingredients like coconut oil, beef tallow, oats, almond and other nut oils, wheat, goat's milk and other milk ingredients. Even if they are trending on TikTok!
Is Vaseline safe to use on baby eczema?
If your baby's skin reacts to almost everything, plain petroleum jelly such as Vaseline can be a reasonable short-term, sting-free, low-allergy option while you work out what your baby tolerates. It's occlusive, meaning it sits on top of the skin and locks moisture in, which is good, but it won’t fix a skin pH problem and it may temporarily raise skin pH, but rest assured, it’s safe to use.

Image: Petroleum jelly is a thick, sticky ointment. It contains no water so it does not have a pH.
A small note here, not science, just an observation: if you've ever used an ointment like petroleum jelly on your lips for several days running, you may have noticed they feel dry and sore as soon as it wears off. Skin can become reliant on occlusive ointments rather than being supported to repair itself. So while petroleum jelly is fine as a stopgap for extra-sensitive baby skin, it isn't a long-term skin barrier repair strategy and it's also synthetic and non-biodegradable, which some parents prefer to avoid.
To be transparent: twenty years ago, I used to recommend petroleum jelly as a go-to for eczema-prone skin. But skincare science has moved on a lot since then and today there are far better options that may actually repair the skin barrier rather than just sitting on top of it.
The pH of your skincare product matters, especially when you have eczema, and food ingredients are a no-no so check the label before purchase. There are hundreds of safe and wonderful ingredients, so take heart, this switch is easier than you might think, and it might save you heartbreak later.

The Best Skincare Ingredients for Baby Eczema
The goal is to move toward ingredients that actively help repair the skin barrier and protect the skin's microbiome, rather than just providing a temporary seal.
I spent a year searching for effective skincare ingredients that were scientifically proven to repair eczema and I found only one ingredient that fit this criteria: see ingredient #5
1. Glycerin
Glycerin (glycerol) is a natural humectant that enhances skin hydration and skin barrier function in eczematous skin. This ingredient is absolutely essential in any good eczema emollient but, like most ingredients, it won't cure eczema (Breternitz et al., 2008).
2. Lactic acid
Lactic acid (as lactate) is naturally present in healthy skin. Low concentrations of lactic acid in a skincare product acts as a gentle humectant and may inhibit S. aureus infections through a synergistic pH and membrane-penetration mechanism (Rode et al., 2010; Hayashi et al., 2021). It's an important support ingredient in eczema skincare.
3. Sunflower seed oil
While topical use of olive oil damages skin, the same study showed that four weeks applying sunflower seed oil to skin protected the skin barrier and improved hydration without skin redness in people with and without eczema (Danby et al., 2013).
In another study, topically applied sunflower seed oil increased collagen production and filaggrin content by 65.6% (as mentioned earlier, filaggrin can be deficient in eczema-prone skin). This oil also demonstrated anti-Staph. aureus biofilm activity (Chen et al., 2025). It won’t cure eczema but sunflower seed oil impressively supports the normalisation of some defects commonly seen in eczema-prone skin.
4. Zinc oxide (non nano)
Zinc oxide is a common barrier-protective ingredient often seen in nappy rash (diaper rash) creams. It is anti-inflammatory and may accelerate wound-healing in the skin (Xiao et al., 2025). It’s not an eczema cure, but it will soothe and protect open wounds so it’s a great ingredient to have in your bub's eczema care regime.
Image: A zinc barrier cream with non-nano zinc oxide, sunflower seed oil, dexpanthenol, glycerin and Kakadu plum.
5. Dexpanthenol
This is the winner by far. Dexpanthenol is an impressive provitamin the skin converts into vitamin B5. Unlike most ingredients that claim to help eczema, this one is scientifically proven to enhance skin barrier repair and reduce inflammation (Proksch, 2017).
Dexpanthenol is NOT a drug or a steroid but it could be a useful adjunct or alternative to topical corticosteroids when managing eczema. It certainly shows promise:
In a split-body RCT of 26 children with mild-to-moderate eczema, 5% dexpanthenol and 1% topical hydrocortisone produced near-identical results, both significantly improving eczema symptoms over four weeks: SCORAD 20.85 point reduction (67.3%) versus 20.70 points (67.9%) respectively. Hydrocortisone showed faster results at week 1, but no statistically significant difference between treatments was observed at any time point (all p-values >0.05). The researchers concluded that a 5% dexpanthenol may be an effective treatment for mild to moderate childhood eczema (Udompataikul, et al. 2012).
Image: A low pH rash cream with 5% dexpanthenol, lactic acid, castor oil and glycerin.
Remember low pH is as important as the ingredients
A low-pH formula matters here too, since it helps the skin maintain its naturally acidic protective surface and supports the skin's own ceramide production rather than working against it. So ensure the eczema cream you use on your bub has a pH below 5.0— around 4.5 to 4.7 is ideal for childhood eczema.
If you'd like more natural alternatives to petroleum jelly and topical steroids, Wonder Zinc and Eczema Friend are both worth looking into. To make it easier to navigate finding baby eczema products, see the information and FAQs below and download the printable handout Eczema Care Checklist for Babies. It’s useful to keep on your refrigerator for easy reference.
Key Takeaways
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Baby eczema is linked to a delayed or weaker acid mantle and a higher (more alkaline) skin pH, which affects ceramide production and bacterial balance
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A filaggrin gene variation is common in eczema-prone skin and reduces the skin's own natural moisturising factors, but a healthier, low-pH environment helps the skin make the most of whatever filaggrin it does have
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Avoid skincare labelled "pH-balanced" or anything above pH 5.0, since outdated pH balanced of ranges 5.5–6.0 can leave eczema-prone skin more vulnerable
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Avoid food-based skincare ingredients (coconut, nut oils, oats, goat's and other milks) due to allergy sensitisation risk and avoid olive oil (Olea europaea) due to barrier damage
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Petroleum jelly is an acceptable short-term, low-allergy option for very reactive skin, but isn't a long-term barrier repair solution
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Look for low-pH formulations with dexpanthenol, zinc and glycerin to actively repair the skin barrier
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Wash hands before every application to reduce infection risk
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Introduce solids one at a time, three days apart, to identify trigger foods
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Skin Friend AM and Zen Friend PM can support breastfeeding mums or children over age one
Take heart. Your baby's eczema will improve and you don't have to carry this alone.
You now have real, solid information behind you, so it will be so much easier to see through the fancy marketing claims and know what your baby's skin actually needs. Eczema is a complicated condition and there's rarely one single fix, so as your baby grows and starts on solids, it's worth gently keeping an eye on diet too, since some babies do have food intolerances that play a part. You can find more on that here, whenever you're ready.
For now, take a breath. You're doing a wonderful job. When you're ready, download our Eczema Care handout below for a simple summary of the main important things discussed in this blog, so you don't need to memorise anything. You really can help your baby's eczema calm down naturally. See below for more details.


