Baby Care Products

Special formulation considerations for baby care products:
General considerations:
●The skin of the infant and the adult differs both histological and physiologically in many respects
It is less hairy, thinner and less cornified in infants. There is tendency towards peeling and flaking of skin during first
3 weeks after birth.
●Newborn children produce little sebum and eccrine sweat. Sebum production typically does not begin until the
hormonal changes of puberty occur, thus, most children have dry skin. This creates a challenge, since children
frequently get their skin dirty, which necessitates washing. The child may not produce enough sebum to combat the
effect of cleansing that may remove the intercellular lipids resulting in barrier damage. This creates the need for
thorough mild cleansers and moisturizers for children. Careful formulation is essential, since the skin of children is
also thin and their well-functioning immune system is likely to respond aggressively to irritants and allergens. It is for
this reason that children are considered to have sensitive skin.
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●Being comparatively thin, skin of infant is expected to be more permeable to topical agents applied.
●Another important developmental variation of the infant skin is the “acid mantle” or the functional capacity of the
skin to form a surface pH of less than5. There is close association between the skin surface pH and its microbial flora,
because an increased skin pH from acidic to neutral can cause a transient increase in the total number of skin bacteria
and a shift in the species present, hence it is important to maintain this acid mantle on the baby’s skin.
●Certain principles of skin care have to be emphasized such as gentle cleansing, adequate hydration and
moisturization of the skin, preventing friction and maceration in body-folds, and protection from irritants and bright
sunlight.From the functional point of view, baby skin care product should protect baby skin from hostile environment
by cleaning the skin thoroughly from sebum, grime and excreta.
BABY OIL
Though there is some evidence that oils used and greasy materials can, by occluding the skin surface, predispose
infants to prickly heat, but surprisingly baby oil remains a popular product.
In the formulations of baby oil, bland vegetable oils like ground nut oil, lanolin derivatives and some higher alcohols
can be used. The most popular brands of baby oils contain mineral oil of high purity without perfume or a trace of
perfume with solubilizer.
BABY CREAM AND LOTIONS -

Traditionally baby creams and lotions can be prepared by using triethanolamine stearate , an anionic emulsifier . Non‐
ionic emulsifiers based on sorbitol can also be used in baby cream and lotions.
Polyoxyethylene sorbitan lanolin derivatives are through to be fairly mild in nature. Presently emulsifier based on
sucrose esters of palmitate and stearic acids are used widely for heir nontoxic and mil property. These are avilable
under the trade name “crodestas”. Crodestas are admixtures of di‐and tri‐esters of sucrose.
Anti septic baby lotion and cream can be prepared using cationic quaternary ammonium compounds like pyridinium
chloride.Lotions and creams invariably contain small amount of free fatty acids. These free fatty acids will inactive
cationic compound on a molecular basis. Thereafter an excess of quaternary compound is required. It may be
calculated from acid value of the oily phase
BABY POWDER -
These powders are intended to make the infant feel more comfortable and to help prevent skin rashes that arise from
or aggravated by excess moisture. Main ingredients are stearates, colloidal clay starch and talc. These powders are
usually only lightly perfumed and not perfumed at all. These powders are free from boric acid.
CLEANSING AGENTS (BABY SOAP) -
Cleansing is a process of removal of dirt, bacteria, dead skin cells, sweat and other debris from the skin surface.
Newborn skin is more sensitive to cleansers. Baby soap shall possess good cleaning and lathering properties, is
normally a mixture of alkali salts of long‐chain fatty acids.Triglycerides for example tallow, palm oil and coconut oil,
provide the basic ‘fats’ from which the fatty acid mixture used for soap are derived.
Cleansers can be broadly categorized into two categories, alkaline soaps and acidic or neutral synthetic detergents
(syndets). A cleanser is composed of a surfuctant or detergent; a skin conditioner like glycerine; fragrance, color and
preservatives. Ideally, a baby soap or cleanser should be devoid of fragrance and colors to avoid irritation.
Syndets or synthetic detergents are soap substitutes or non-soap surfactants which have a pH closer to normal skin and
are less irritating and milder than soaps. A distinct advantage is that as they do not alter the pH of the skin and the skin
microflora remains unaltered. However, the disadvantage is that they are subject to rapid disintegration and can cause
excessive dryness if moisturizers are not added. Cocoyl isethionate, sodium lauryl sulphate, and betaines are examples
of commonly used syndets. Certain agents that include excess fat in the form of lanolin, paraffin or mineral oil are
added to soaps as conditioners to make the skin soft and supple. This is called superfatting. Glycerin is another
conditioner used in soaps. There are some non-soap, lipid-free lotions which contain a syndet as a surfuctant and
emollients like glycerin, cetyl alcohol and propylene glycol, but no oils or fat. These liquid products can clean without
water. They can be applied to the dry skin, rubbed to produce lather and the area can be wiped with a soft cloth.
CARE OF THE SCALP (BABY SHAMPOO) -
Baby shampoos can be used to remove crusts and scales from the scalp. Shampoos are soaps or synthetic detergents
especially formatted for cleaning the hair. Shampoos should have minimal time of contact with the scalp to avoid
irritant dermatitis. They usually contain both cleansing agents and lather enhancers. The best cleansers are usually
medium to long chain fatty acids such as laureth sulfate, which are good emulsifiers. Just as soap has “foaming
action”, lather is important for its visual and psychological effects in a shampoo, not so much for cleaning. Short chain
fatty acids such as cocamide diethonolamine, are some of the best lather producers. The other ingredients are
preservatives, dyes, antioxidants, chelators, fragrance and conditioners. Although a baby shampoo has most of these
ingredients, they should be free from fragrance, anti-inflammatory agents and natural products. Most baby shampoos
in the market contain anionic surfactant which ensures adequate cleaning. The pH of the shampoo should be close to
that of tears and should be non-irritating to the baby’s eyes. Special ingredients such as ketoconazole, zine pyrithione
and selenium sulphide are added for seborrheic dermatitis.
EMOLLIENTS FOR THE NEWBORN -
An emollient in as agent that softens and smoothens the skin. They are also referred to as “moisturizers” and
“lubricants”. They are essentially composed of lipids which may be animal or vegetable derived, or obtained from
mineral oils or alternatively, may be synthetic in origin. Emollients can be of the following kinds:
• Hydrocarbons – Vaseline, paraffin
• Fatty substance – Cetyl or stearyl alcohol
• Waxes – Bees wax, lanolin
• Oils – mineral oil, vegetable oils such as coconut oil, palm kernel oil, ground nut oil, olive oil, mustard oil, synthetic
oil.
There are two important types of emollient formulations i.e. oil in water emulsion (cream) or water-in-oil emulsion
(ointment), out of which cream preparations are generally preferred because the other preparation would be occlusive
in the hot weather. The application of an emollient serves the following purposes in a neonate, namely: safe and
effective way to decrease neonatal peeling and scaling dermatitis, maintains barrier function, reduces irritation in the
napkin area, and also has a role in massage.

Baby Care Products

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Baby Care Products

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Special formulation considerations for baby care products:

BABY CREAM AND LOTIONS -

CLEANSING AGENTS (BABY SOAP) -

CARE OF THE SCALP (BABY SHAMPOO) -

EMOLLIENTS FOR THE NEWBORN -

• Hydrocarbons – Vaseline, paraffin

• Fatty substance – Cetyl or stearyl alcohol

• Waxes – Bees wax, lanolin

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