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What kind of oil should I use to massage my baby? |
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As with any new product we use with our little ones, it is recommended that a healthcare practitioner be consulted.
For infants without any special needs, Infant Massage USA and the International Association of Infant Massage-Sweden recommends the use of a natural, edible and food-grade fruit or vegetable oil. Organic and cold-pressed oils are recommended, but by no means are they the only choice. This means we look in the baking and cooking aisle of the grocery store. You probably are already stocked with a suitable oil in your pantry.
Babies will tend to chew, suck and gnaw on their hands, feet and the hands of their caregivers. They end up eating the oil. If it is an oil that you would cook or bake with and be comfortable feeding to your child, then it is an oil that that can be used to massage your baby.
Generally, a patch test is advised. Rub a small amount on an area that your baby cannot further irritate (if irritation occurs). If no redness, rash and/or bumps appear after about 30 minutes and/or if your baby does not seem to be having any systemic reaction (check respiration and skin & muscle tone), then you're probably doing fine with the chosen oil.
Oils generally considered safe are:
- Grapeseed
- Apricot Kernal
- Safflower
- Coconut
- Almond - botanically, almond is a fruit related to the plum & peach family. It is a tree nut, so do take care.
- Shea Butter - A lubricant not commonly found in the baking or cooking oil in mainstream markets, but it is edible, is Shea Butter. Shea Butter is a solid fatty oil extracted from the nuts of the karite nut tree in West Africa. The shea nut has a seed like an avocado seed. The butter that is extracted from inside this seed nut is Shea Butter. It is used for cooking, food preparation and cosmetic purposes. Among it's many uses, it has been used as a baby massage lubricant for babies in Africa for centuries.
Beware of oils produced for comsetic puposes only. Typical "massage oils" are not food grade. Consider this scenario: You find a bottle of oil that is labeled something to the effect of 'Oil For Baby Massage" - it's all natural, it's organic, it's all that a baby needs!...it was found at a most exclusive store or site for the worlds most all- natural beauty and skin care products. Would you pop the top open and use it to bake a biscuit that your child can chew on?
If the answer is "no", then go back to the food aisle, your pantry or try an edible Shea Butter at www.infantmassageusa.org.
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