Baby's Delicate Skin--How Softness Works

For new parents, especially first-time parents, choosing the right infant diapers for your baby can seem like a difficult task. What diapers your baby wears can actually have a large effect on your baby’s overall wellbeing and happiness. Choose poor diapers brands, and your baby could be subjected to uncomfortable diaper rash and leakage.

Not all baby diapers are created equal, and several factors affect how different diapers perform. However, no factor is more important than the softness of the diaper you choose. Babies have incredibly delicate skin, and even a properly fitting diaper that agitates their skin will result in an unhappy baby. Choosing a super soft and hypoallergenic diaper (possibly cotton diaper) can ensure that your baby is as happy and comfortable as possible while also helping prevent dangerous rashes and irritation. 

In this blog post, we will break down the importance of softness in a diaper, how diaper softness works, and what choosing a soft diaper can help prevent.

What Makes a Diaper Soft?

The main thing that impacts the softness of a diaper is the materials used. Generally, disposable diapers are made up of three parts: the top sheet, absorbent core, and the outer shell. Choosing a diaper made from soft, sustainable cotton-based materials is critical for ensuring that your baby is as happy and comfortable as possible. Cheap and poor-quality diapers are often made of harsh and rough materials. Quality brands use soft, soothing materials to create breathable diapers.

1. Top Sheet - The top sheet of a diaper is the part of the diaper that touches your baby’s skin. This means that it is also the part of the diaper that needs to be the softest. Because it touches your baby’s skin, the top sheet is the most prone to irritating your baby’s skin. Before purchasing any diaper, check to see if the manufacturer specifies what the top sheet of their diaper is made out of. Many diaper brands hide this information to try and save costs by using rough top sheets in their diapers.
2. Absorbent Core - The absorbent core is the part of the diaper designed to absorb any liquid that the baby produces. Usually, the absorbent core is made of a complicated mix of materials optimized for maximum absorption. If the core is poorly made, there is a chance that your baby’s diaper will leak, and excrement might spread on their skin. This is not healthy for your baby. Before purchasing a diaper, make sure you choose a strong absorption baby diaper.
3. Outer Shell - Disposable diapers usually contain a waterproof material on the outside to keep any leaks inside the diaper. This layer does not touch your baby’s skin, so it does not affect the softness of a diaper. However, before buying a diaper, make sure that the outer shell does not contain harmful petroleum-based plastics or other potentially toxic materials.

Importance of Super Soft Diapers on Delicate Baby Skin

Soft diapers are important because a baby’s skin is incredibly delicate, especially when compared to the skin of an adult. Fully formed adults have ten layers of skin on top of each other, with a tough outer layer designed to provide protection against any intrusions or damage.

This is not the case for babies. A baby’s skin is extremely fragile and delicate. Because babies are not fully formed, their skin dries out very easily and loses moisture quickly. In fact, the average baby’s skin is 20-30% thinner than that of an adult.

This means that babies are highly prone to any external irritant harming their skin. Usually, because of this, babies are very susceptible to rashes. The number one external irritant that causes a rash on a baby’s skin is a diaper. Even when not wearing clothes, babies almost always have on diapers. If a baby wears a diaper made of improper, rough material, diaper rash will almost certainly be an issue.

Choosing a Soft Diaper to Prevent Baby Rash

Choosing a soft diaper is vital to preventing diaper rash. Diaper rash usually appears as a patchwork of red marks on a baby’s skin. It can show up anywhere that a diaper touches. Although a common issue, diaper rash can scare parents and be very uncomfortable for babies. If left untreated, diaper rash can grow severe and result in more significant health problems.

Traditionally, diaper rash is attributed to infrequent diaper changing. However, diaper softness also plays a big role in preventing diaper rash through the prevention of chafing and product irritation.

• Chafing: One of the main causes of diaper rash is chafing. This is directly related to diaper softness. Babies naturally love to crawl around and move. When your baby wears a rough and uncomfortable diaper, they are prone to having that diaper chafe their skin. Because babies often wear diapers for hours at a time, a rough diaper can wreak havoc on a baby’s skin, even if it is free of excrement. Soft, breathable diapers prevent chafing by allowing your baby to move freely without the diaper rubbing on their skin.
• Product Irritation: Diaper rash can be caused by the irritation of a baby’s skin by certain materials in disposable diapers. Some disposable diapers contain petroleum-based products or other materials that are known to irritate a baby’s skin upon contact. Choosing a soft diaper can help prevent this cause of diaper rash. A soft diaper will not contain materials that irritate your baby’s skin, even if left on for hours.

 

Conclusion

Choosing a soft diaper for your baby is vital for their happiness and health. However, not all diapers are created equal. Soft diapers contain few plastic-derived products, especially on the top sheet. The top sheet of a diaper is the most important for diaper softness, as this is the part of the diaper touching your baby’s skin.

Soft diapers are important because babies’ skin is so delicate. Compared to the skin of an adult, a baby’s skin can be significantly thinner and is therefore much more prone to irritation by a harsh diaper. Choosing a soft diaper for your baby is also vital to preventing diaper rash from chafing and product irritation.

Those in the market for a soft diaper should use BabyCozy diapers. BabyCozy diapers are some of the softest diapers on the market, offering both soft and hypoallergenic diapers for those with sensitive skin.