02/05/2021 by Meg
There are many options for oils that you could use when giving your baby a massage. Which is the best? The answer isn’t so easy! Many online articles will give conflicting advice, so I dug a little deeper by looking at scientific studies on the topic. I couldn’t find a definitive answer but read on, as I do get on to some general advice!
As we all know, every bub is different! And the most important thing you need to remember is that whichever oil you use on your bub, ALWAYS do a patch test on the baby and see how he/she reacts to it. If there’s any allergic reaction on the small test area of the skin (for example, red or splotchy skin), stop using that product and try something else.
Various oil-based preparations have been used in Asian cultures depending on regional availability of the ingredients. There are numerous studies that discuss the pros and cons of using olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, mustard oil, sesame oil, clarified butter, almond oil, grape seed oil, and the list goes on and on.
When my bub was born, midwives recommended that I use olive oil. So, of course I thought that would be my go-to oil. Indeed, olive oil is widely recommended by health professionals for new parents to use on a baby’s dry skin and for baby massage. Surprisingly, there’s no strong clinical evidence to support this practice. The use of olive oil may even be harmful to skin, affecting the skin barrier function as it has a high concentration of oleic acid. This effect may be a contributory factor in the prevalence of childhood conditions such as atopic eczema and related diseases. If your bub is affected by these conditions, it may be worth looking past olive oil.
Based on the research I reviewed, I found that coconut oil, sunflower oil and sesame oil are often recommended for application in clinical practice. While other harmless and diverse oil types are still waiting to be explored and identified. For example, oils such as sunflower oil contain low levels of oleic acid and high levels of lino-leic acid that can enhance/repair the skin barrier as it helps to improve hydration of the skin. When coconut oil is applied on preterm infants, they had less transdermal water loss, better skin condition and lower bacterial growth.
In practice, apart from making sure your desired massage oil doesn’t cause skin irritation, also make sure the oil is not itchy or introduces an unpleasant smell.
Some may say why not just skip the oil and give massage without the oil? Studies show that giving massage with oil leads to more weight gain in infants than giving massage without any oil. Multiple studies also found that bubs who were given massage without oil had higher cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone, which suggests discomfort possibly related to the greater friction in massages without oil. So I would highly recommend you to use oil for massage.
Take away message: Whichever oil you choose to go with, do a patch test on your bub’s skin and if it works well on your bub, go ahead and use it and let your little one enjoy those gentle massage strokes.
