If you do any cooking, odds are good you’ve got a bottle of olive oil in your kitchen. And why not? It contains heart-healthy monounsaturated fat and can be a flavorful addition to a lot of recipes. Did you know that you can use the same olive oil you use in the kitchen as a skin-soothing treatment for your baby?
Diaper Rash
No matter how diligent you are about keeping your baby’s bottom clean and dry, you may find yourself face to face with diaper rash some day. Olive oil is an effective diaper rash treatment because it acts as a protective barrier on your baby’s skin, keeping moisture and other irritants away. Unlike commercial diaper rash creams, olive oil is completely natural and contains no chemicals. Oh, and did I mention frugal? I usually see the 17 ounce bottles of extra virgin olive oil for about $8 each while 4 ounce tubes of Desitin are around $4 each. That comes to $0.47 per ounce for olive oil and $1.00 per ounce for Desitin. Then consider the fact that two or three drops will coat your baby’s bottom which means that one bottle of olive oil will last you through the length of your child’s infancy and beyond.
Chapped Skin and Lips
Dry air, wind, and the cold can all leave your baby’s skin and lips dry, chapped, and irritated. Again, instead of reaching for the baby lotion or petroleum jelly, grab your bottle of olive oil. Olive oil absorbs into the skin better than lotions and other skin treatments. It is safe if your baby ingests any of it and a little goes a long way. You can even drizzle a few drops of the oil into your baby’s bath water to keep his skin well moisturized. Ounce for ounce, baby lotion and olive oil cost about the same. The difference is, it takes far less olive oil than it does baby lotion to do the same job. So again, olive oil is the frugal option.
For Mom
Olive oil is a great moisturizer for you, too! Smooth a tiny amount onto your face and around your eyes to keep your skin hydrated and soft — I don’t recommend this if you have especially oily skin. You can also use a Q-tip dipped in olive oil to remove eye makeup. If you have really dry heels and feet, apply a generous amount of olive oil before bed and cover with thick socks for an intensive foot treatment. And finally, (I almost hesitate to mention this one because this is family site/blog!) olive oil is a natural and frugal alternative to KY or other personal lubricants.
I do recommend pouring olive oil into small, separate bottles for each use to avoid the risk of cross contamination. For instance, you probably wouldn’t want to use the same bottle for chapped lips that you use during diaper changes. Shampoo bottles from hotels are just the right size and if you save them from a trip, they are essentially free.
