sunscreen under 6 months

[melon]

Hi,
My little guy is about 10 weeks. His pediatrician said to NOT use sunscreen til he's 6 months because it will irritate his skin and cause rashes.
Well, summer has finally arrived in full force and I want to be able to take him out and splash around in his kiddie pool. Also, I want to be able to take him to the park, the beach, etc. It's way too hot to keep his whole little body covered in the sun.

Does anyone know of any sunscreens that are ok for babies smaller than 6 months? I really don't want to burn his brand new pasty white skin!

thanks!

[HeatherB]

Moving to Natural Body Care.

[katmann]

I use a kind from Alba Botanica that is SPF 18. It's free of chemical sunscreens, so I think the active ingredient is titanium dioxide, which is a barrier sunscreen. It's not as effective as the chemical types, but it's not toxic. My ds is almost 6 months, and I've been using it for maybe the past 2 months, but only once a week or so. It doesn't irritate his skin. You might want to check out the skin deep database too: www.cosmeticdatabase.org

[russianthistle]

I'd go the SPF clothes route.................then, go out at non-peak sun times and use hats and umbrellas.

I wouldn't do sunscreen...

[Mrsboyko]

What about california baby sunscreen? It is $$ but it is all we use on both the kids.

[_betsy_]

Big floppy hat, and always sit in the shade. Shirt, even at the pool, UV clothes are better, but a regular tshirt will offer some protection.

[Ruthla]

I use zinc oxide "diaper rash cream" as a sunscreen for my whole family (for faces and necks- everything else is covered by clothing.) That would certainly be safe for an infant's skin as well!

That won't replace using caution- keep the baby covered with clothes as much as possible, limit the baby's time in direct sunlight, try not to bring him to the pool around noon, etc. I'm not sure how the zinc oxide ointment compares in terms of SPF, but it's in a generally water-resistant carrier, and you don't need to slather it on thick- a thin coating works fine.

[Elizabeth2008]

I wouldn't take an infant out during peak summer sun, regardless of sunscreen. Use big hats and cool clothing that covers most of the body and try to do outings in the morning. But, keep in mind that the "no sunscreen before 6 months" rule is mostly because most sunscreens on the market are nothing but harsh chemicals. If you use a completely zinc oxide based sunscreen (california baby, or Badger also makes one) that wouldn't hurt their skin.