What this is about
Unzipping a stroller after a winter walk and finding glowing red cheeks can give any parent a jolt. Most of the time, that rosy color is just healthy blood flow rushing back into cool skin.
That glow fades once your baby has warmed up inside. Red that stays, and feels rough under your fingertip, is chapped skin, which parents often call windburn. Cold, dry wind and drool cause most of it, and a thin layer of greasy balm before a cold walk helps prevent it.
Rosy, chapped or a rash?
Look at where the red sits, and whether it is still there once your baby has warmed up. On brown and black skin the red shows less, and patches can look darker or grayish instead, so feel for dry or rough skin too.
Which red is it?
A rosy glow from the cold
Both cheeks pink and smooth, sometimes the nose too. It fades once your baby is warm again, and it needs nothing.
Windburn: dry and rough
Red, dry, rough patches where the wind reached, high on the cheeks and on the nose. It can sting, it stays for days, and it may flake as it heals.
Drool rash: around the mouth
Small red bumps or chapped skin around the mouth, on the chin and down into the neck folds, where saliva sits. It comes and goes with the drooling.
Eczema: dry, rough and itchy
Dry, rough, sometimes scaly patches on the cheeks that itch, so your baby rubs the face on the sheet or on your shoulder. Patches often show in the elbow and knee creases too.
Cheeks that turn scarlet a few minutes after you step into a warm shop, bus or café mean your baby is getting too warm in outdoor clothes, so unzip the suit and take the hat off as soon as you are inside.
Protecting the cheeks from cold wind
The outermost layer of a baby's skin is about 30% thinner than an adult's, and through the first year it takes up and loses water faster. Cold air is dry, and wind pulls moisture off the skin, so the cheeks, often the only bare skin on a winter walk, chap quickly.
The simplest protection is a thin layer of greasy, water-free wind cream or plain petroleum jelly, smoothed over the cheeks, the nose and the chin just before you head out. The greasy layer slows down how fast the skin loses water. It is worth it below 0°C (32°F) feels-like, in a cold, dry wind, and whenever the cheeks are already dry. A lotion or an everyday face cream is the wrong thing to reach for here, because most of it is water, which dries off outside and cools the skin.
A barrier balm only protects the small patch of cheek it touches. A snug knit hat covering the forehead and ears, plus a windproof outer layer, handles the rest of the cold. Leave the nose and mouth uncovered, and keep the wind off the face with the stroller hood pulled forward instead.
Drool, bibs and collars
When teething saliva soaks a cotton bib or collar, that damp cloth turns cold against the chin in the wind, and a jacket zipper rubbing the jawline makes the skin sorer still.
Swap damp bibs and collars as soon as they get wet, and keep a dry spare in the stroller bag. Before a walk, a feed or a nap, a thin layer of petroleum jelly around the mouth and on the chin keeps saliva off the skin. Pat drool away with a soft, dry cloth, and clean the face with warm water rather than baby wipes, which can irritate skin that is already sore. A pacifier holds saliva against the skin, so let the skin around the mouth dry out between uses.
Sun on a cold or windy day
In winter, the face is often the only skin the sun can reach, and fresh snow throws the sun's rays back up under the hat brim and the stroller hood. A cool wind hides the burn too. The skin feels cold, so nobody notices it reddening, and a sunburned face after a bright day out often gets called windburn.
From 6 months, sunscreen goes on whatever the clothes leave bare whenever the UV index is 3 or more, however cold it feels. A wind balm does not filter the sun. On a windy day, a rich sunscreen cream suits better than a thin lotion or a spray, because it also keeps the skin from drying out. A younger baby keeps the face in the shade of the hood.
Where the sunscreen goes
Nose and cheeks
Sensitive spots that burn easily.
Ears
Rub it over the tops as well, unless the hat covers them.
Back of the neck
Unless a hat flap or a zipped collar covers it.
Backs of the hands
Not the palms, which go in the mouth. On a cold day, mittens cover them.
Tops of the feet
When your baby is barefoot or in sandals.
When red cheeks are not the weather
If the red patches linger, or keep coming back, look beyond the weather. Eczema often flares during cold months, because indoor heating dries the air.
If your baby already has an emollient or eczema plan from a doctor, stick with it. Do not swap prescribed medical treatment for an over-the-counter weather balm, which can contain fragrances or botanical oils that aggravate sensitive skin. Before a cold walk, a thicker layer of the same greasy emollient on the cheeks does the balm's job. Wool and fleece can irritate eczema too, so a cotton layer goes underneath.
Dry skin all over the body in winter often comes from indoors: the heated air and the bath. Bathe in lukewarm water for 10 minutes or less, with little or no soap, and smooth on a fragrance-free cream or ointment while the skin is still damp. Most babies need a bath only a couple of times a week, and a humidifier helps if the air in the bedroom feels dry.
Once solid food starts, red patches around the mouth that come and go after meals are usually food on the skin, so wash the face with warm water after eating.
Bright red cheeks that follow a few days of a runny nose and a temperature can be slapped cheek syndrome, a common virus that often brings a spotty rash on the body a few days later.
When a cream makes it worse
It is tempting to keep testing new jars when cheeks look irritated, but piling on products usually makes inflamed skin worse. Try one new product at a time, so you can tell which one helped. If any balm makes the skin look redder or causes your baby to fuss, rinse it off with warm water and stop using it.
Questions parents ask
My baby has red cheeks but no fever. Should I worry?
Usually not. On a baby who is feeding and acting as usual, red cheeks after a walk or a good cry are rarely a sign of illness.
Can I put balm on my baby's chapped lips?
Yes. A thin layer of plain petroleum jelly or a fragrance-free baby lip balm is fine. Put it on again after feeds, because milk and saliva wash it off.
How long does windburn take to heal?
Most chapped cheeks heal within a week with a thin layer of balm or petroleum jelly three times a day.
Can I use sunscreen before six months?
Shade comes first, and sunscreen this young is a last resort, for when there is really no shade. If you know a day will bring sun you can't avoid, ask your pediatrician beforehand, and keep to a dab of mineral sunscreen on the face and the backs of the hands.
Why are my baby's cheeks cold after a walk?
Cool cheeks after time outside are normal, the same as cool hands. To know whether your baby is warm enough, feel the back of the neck instead.
Can I put a balm on a newborn's cheeks?
Not in the first 2 to 4 weeks, or longer for a baby born early. Newborn skin often peels, which is normal and needs no cream, and skin products this early can cause reactions while the skin's own barrier forms. Keep cold walks short and the face out of the wind instead.
When to ask for medical advice
- The skin is broken, bleeding, or intensely tender.
- Blisters, crusting, or weeping clear or yellow fluid appear.
- The red cheeks come with a fever, or your baby seems unwell.
- Redness spreads, or a rough patch is no better after two weeks of ointment.
- A new product causes sudden swelling, hives, or distress.
- A baby under 1 year gets a sunburn.
Flushed cheeks from a walk settle once your baby warms up inside. For skin that stays sore, ask your doctor or pharmacist before you try another store-bought cream.
