Hello, I' m a mother of a one month old baby-boy. I started with the baby massage 20 days back, from my baby' s 10th day. I first used Johnson n Johnson' s babyoil but it didn' t suit my baby... He gained small pimples and a bit rashes with JnJ' s baby oil... And then I was suggested Olive oil by our elders. Have been using the olive oil, the massage session is of 20 minutes generally, and then a kind of bath for by baby by wiping my baby with a small piece of cloth immersed in warm water... Anyway, since last 1 week, I' ve felt a dramatic change in color of by baby.. Initially my baby was charming pink and very fair in complexion... and now he seem to gain severe tanning... I' m not sure if its the olive oil that' s causing this.. but what I have observed is that the tanning seems more severe in the morning times later to massage and sponging than during the evening which is far from the morning tanning schedule..

I' m very much worried as my baby has truly lost that charming glowing pinkish lusture and I' m not sure if my baby' s going to regain it ever.. But I believe nothing is lost much and things can be turned around somehow..Please guide me if its the olive oil that' s causing tanning on my baby... Should I and CAN I switch over to mustard oil or coconut oil or almond oil or sunflower oil at THIS stage when my baby is just 30 days old? Which is the best oil for my baby at THIS stage and for the later stages? Please please help me at the earliest. Thanks a lot in advance.
Best regards, Sneha. Vimal replied. Babies of most races and ethnicities are born with fairly light and often pinkish skin — the pink tint comes from the red blood vessels, which show through your baby' s still-thin skin.

Newborn skin varies in appearance according to how many weeks pregnant you were when your baby was born. Premature babies have thin, transparent-looking skin and may be covered with lanugo, a fine, downy hair. Babies born prematurely will also still be covered with vernix, a greasy white substance that protects his skin from the amniotic fluid. Full-term and late babies will have only a few traces of vernix in the folds of their skin. Late babies may also have a slightly wrinkly appearance and very little, if any, lanugo.

Most parents assume that this pinkish skin colour is their baby' s \" original\" complexion and fret when their baby' s skin changes or darkens to its \" actual skin tone\" over the next few weeks and well into the first year. Another reason why babies look darker a few days after birth is because they lose water and some weight initially and this can make their skin may appear sallow. However, most babies regain a healthy skin tone (though not necessarily a fair complexion) once a proper feeding pattern is established.

In a country where fair skin is equated with beauty, many pregnant women consume certain foods in the vain hope of delivering fair skinned babies. One such belief is to consume only white coloured foods, such as milk, curd, and rice to have a fair baby. Another is to drink milk or any white coloured food first thing in the morning, yet another is to have milk with a few strands of saffron in it. However, it is important to remember that your baby' s skin colour is decided by his genes depending on the race and ethnic group he belongs to and not by what you eat!

In many households, elders advise mothers to massage the babies with raw milk, fresh cream, besan (gram flour) and turmeric paste to ensure a fair and flawless complexion. However, this practice is best avoided as raw milk can carry a host of bacteria and cause infections, such as diarrhoea, dysentery, TB, E.coli and salmonella especially in a new born infant.

Fresh cream tends to make the skin greasy and may cause rashes in summer. Also the abrasive nature of gram flour and turmeric may result in allergies and even bruises.

Some mothers insist on applying lots of powder on their babies to make them fair -- this practice too is best avoided as the powder can cake up on wet skin and cause a lot of irritation and discomfort.

It is essential to understand that a person is beautiful because of what he is and what he does --not because of how he looks or how his skin tone is.

In some cases a baby' s skin colour may change due to environmental or health reasons. A baby' s skin may look red or flushed due to high temperatures, or he may have a slight pale bluish tinge due to the cold especially if his hands and feet are exposed. Some babies even turn blue or purple due to intense crying. However, if the bluish tinge does not go away after a crying fit, or if your baby has a blue tinge all over his body which does not subside after a few days, it may be a sign of breathing or circulatory problems. Talk to your doctor right away.

Sometimes babies have skin rashes and birthmarks which may need further examination. Pratibha replied. I do have the same problem....It gives we(me & my husband) many sleepless night...at the time of birth, my baby girl was so pink and fair that all my friends used to come and see...and now after 3 months or so after using olive oil her color has brought down drastically....Difficult to believe...We too are concerned...
So lets u change the oil and hope for the best. nandita replied. hi sneha ,nothing to worry abt ur child complexion.just change the oil.all this happen to my son also and i switched to almond oil.just one more thing after applying oil,apply bread and milk on baby' s body and rub it with d help of oil.after few days u will find very fair complexion. mandeep replied. yes oilive oil can make skin drak that wot even, i have heard but then it does suit some n some dont. grape seed oil is good that wot is reccommended in UK to massage babies from 6 weeks of age ( this is the reccomended age to start massage n cant be done be4 6 weeks).but i have always used almond oil n my son skin is fine touchwood. try that, but if u live in india then make sure u dont use almond oil in summer time as its very hot to use. i hope u understand wot i mean u need cooling agent type oil.may be i am wrong here but that wot i was told by my MIL. speak to dr. n ask which oil is good to use in which moosam and after massage give your son plenty of fluid (milk) as they do get dehyderated n let him sleep for a while u can give him bath couple of hours later. leave aleast 45 min to an hour time from his feed be4 massage. hope this is any help love. Sneha replied. Also, I read about grape-fruit oil somewhere... Please let me know if grapefruit oil can be applied to a 1 month old baby..
Thanks a lot,
Sneha.