Or to Use No Oils for a Baby Massage

Baby massage can be done with the use of oil, or not using any oil at all. Both of these options are 100% acceptable, and both have their own perks and draw backs. I hope that this will give you a bit of insight to both options

No oil during a baby massage

I will start with this one, as there aren’t as many options as if you were using oil. When you aren’t using oil to massage your baby, you can give your baby a massage anywhere. And what I mean by this, is that you don’t have to take your babies’ clothes off, so doing a baby massage in the grocery store, while waiting in line to get to the cash, or waiting for a plane in the airport to calm them down before departing. Doing a baby massage without the use of oil opens up a lot of different options as to when you can massage your baby, instead of having to be at home, or finding a private spot. This can be very important for busy, working parents, especially if they don’t have a lot of time at home.

This is also the recommended method when massaging a baby’s face. Don’t worry, oil won’t harm the baby if you get it on their face. The reason why it is recommended not to use oil is because oil creates less friction. This means that if you use oil you have a higher chance of having your fingers/hand slip and poke them in the eye or their nose. Last thing that you want to have happen is bonding with your baby and your hand slips and accidentally hurts them.

Oil is also never used over areas with a rash or opened wound on it. You won’t be generally doing a massage over the area either because it’s sore and can become infected. The only time that you put something on the baby during a time like this, is something that your doctor recommends, and it is generally local to the area of the rash or opened wound. It is also recommended that if your baby develops an unknown rash, let’s say on their feet, you can still massage their arms, but until you know what is causing the rash it would be better to not use oil, in case they are having an allergic reaction.

Using oil during a baby massage

When using oils to massage your baby, you want to use food grade oils. This means that they can be consumed. The reason for this, is because babies like to put their hands and feet in their mouths, so there is always that chance that they could get some of the oil in their mouths. When using lotions, creams or non-food grade oils, and the baby gets some of it in their mouth, it can upset their stomach and make them not feel well. This includes baby oil as it is a mineral oil and is actually very heavy for their skin as well, and shouldn’t be used till they are at least 6 months old.

Before You Use an Oil for the First Time

Not all food grade oils are treated the same. This is because some can have different benefits when being used, to some are less likely to invoke an allergic reaction. So the first thing that you should do before using any type of oil on your baby’s skin is to do what is called a patch test. This is where you take a drop of oil and rub it over the skin on the inside of their wrist or elbow. The oil is to be left there for a minimum of 10 minutes up to an hour. If the skin turns red or rashes, there is a good chance that the baby is allergic to that type of oil and should be washed off with soap and warm water immediately. It is best to keep an eye on the area during the patch test, as some may show a reaction much sooner than the 10 minutes, and it is best to take the oil off the minute that it becomes red so the reaction is able to stay controlled. If the skin stays clear, the baby should be fine with the use of the oil, and you shouldn’t need to do another patch test with this type of oil. Though if you wish to change oils later on, it is recommended to do another patch test.

A Little About Oils

You can do some research about different types of oils you can use, or even ask your doctor what they recommend to use if your baby has a skin condition, like eczema.

Nut oils do have a lot of really good health benefits for the skin, but you have to be very cautious when using them as they are high risk oils to have an allergic reaction to.

The oils I recommend the most would be either Olive oil or Grapeseed oil, as they both have high vitamin E levels (more so in Olive oil) but are hypoallergenic (very unlikely for someone to be allergic to).

Caution about essential oils

Another type of oil that you might have heard about before, are essential oils. These oils are high concentration oils from flowers, herbs, and leaves. All of these oils have a strong scent to them which can have some calming, stimulating or other health benefits to them, but, with most of these oils, if they are put directly on the skin, they can be irritating and potentially burn an adult, let alone a baby’s skin. Though these oils can be mixed with a carrier oil, such as olive oil, so it doesn’t cause this type of effect, it is strongly urged that even when mixed, they shouldn’t be applied to the baby’s skin. If you want these oils to be a part of your massage, it is safer to use them in a diffuser, that will allow the scent to be distributed in the room via vapors.

Benefits of Using Oils During a Massage

When using oil during a massage with a baby, it will be direct skin to skin contact. That means that the area that you are massaging, the baby won’t have any clothes covering it. This can help give the baby more warmth, produce endorphins (feel good hormone), and help with calming down the system, since the movements during the massage will become smoother as there is less friction. Though all of this can be produced when massaging over clothing or when you aren’t using oil with skin to skin contact, it doesn’t take as long to see these benefits.

Final Thoughts

The last few things that need to be mentioned, is not only do you have to make sure that the oil is alright to be used on the baby, but that it is alright for you to use. This means that you have to make sure that you aren’t allergic to the oil as well. And if you are using oil, you don’t need to use a lot of oil when massaging your baby. If you are using a pump bottle, and depending on the size of your baby, using half or a full pump of oil is enough for a baby’s full arm or leg.

At the end of the day, each massage can be different. You don’t have to choose one over the other for every massage. There can easily be days that you find that it is easier to not use oils and there are other times that you may find that you prefer to use an oil for that massage. There is no right or wrong decision when it comes to oils as long as there are no reactions to the oil itself.