Baby massage needs very little: a warm room, warm hands, a few drops of a baby oil or a little lotion or balm, and a few unhurried minutes when your baby is calm and alert. The bath is an easy moment for it, once your baby is dry. Use slow, light strokes on the legs, the tummy and the back, and let your baby lead: carry on while they are content, and stop when they have had enough. Below is how to set it up, how to choose what goes in your hands, and the strokes themselves, with the oils, lotions and balms we would choose.
Why Massage After the Bath?
After a bath your baby's skin is clean and the room is usually already warm, so the moment arrives ready-made. A few minutes of massage turns drying and dressing into something slower: time for your hands, your voice and your full attention. On the skin itself, an oil or lotion simply helps it feel soft and comfortable. There is no right length and no need to do it every day. A short, relaxed massage your baby enjoys is worth more than a long one they tolerate.
Setting the Scene
- Choose a time when your baby is settled and alert, rather than hungry or tired.
- Make the room comfortably warm and free of draughts, since your baby will be undressed.
- Lay a soft towel on a flat, safe surface, such as the floor or a changing mat on the floor.
- Take off rings and bracelets, and check your nails are short and smooth.
- Warm your hands, then warm the oil or lotion between your palms before it touches your baby.
- Keep everything within reach, so one hand can always stay on your baby.
Oil, Lotion or Balm?
An oil gives the most glide, so your hands move easily and a few drops go a long way. A lotion is lighter and absorbs as you work, which suits a shorter massage or a baby who dislikes the feel of oil. A balm is richer still, best kept for small dry areas rather than the whole body. Whichever you choose, use a product made for babies and very little of it. We have chosen products without nut oils, and it is always worth reading the ingredient list on the pack if allergies are a concern in your family.
Before the first massage with anything new, try a patch test: a little on a small area of your baby's skin, then wait a day before using it more widely. Keep oil and lotion away from the eyes, and remember that oiled skin is slippery, so lift your baby with care afterwards.
Baby Oils for Massage
Mustela's Bebé-Niño Baby Oil is a massage oil built on avocado and sunflower seed oils, with a fast-absorbing, non-greasy texture, presented as suitable from birth; the house suggests warming a little in your palms and using slow strokes after the bath. Klorane's Baby Multi-Purpose Oil, with calendula and sunflower seed oil, is made to cleanse, nourish and massage from birth; the house describes it as fragrance-free and tested under paediatric supervision. Johnson's Baby Cottontouch Baby Oil combines sunflower, coconut and cottonseed oils with a cotton-derived extract, for a fast-absorbing, non-greasy finish.
Unscented Lotions and a Balm
If you prefer no scent at all, a lotion made without fragrance keeps the moment simple. Mustela's Very Sensitive Skin Soothing Moisturising Lotion is an unscented body lotion for very sensitive skin, with schisandra and avocado fruit extract, for babies and children from birth. Dexeryl's Nourishing Lotion is a light, fluid body lotion for dry to very dry skin, which the house describes as fragrance free and suitable from birth, in an easy pump bottle. For the small dry patches, Mustela's Baume Universel Multi-Purpose Balm is made with three avocado extracts for dry areas such as hands, elbows, knees and feet, and is designed for the whole family.
- Very Sensitive Skin Soothing Moisturising Lotion
- Nourishing Lotion Body Lotion
- Baume Universel Multi-Purpose Balm
Softly Scented Baby Lotions
Some families like a gentle scent that comes to mean bath time. E'lifexir's Baby Care Hydrating Body Lotion is built on olive cream with aloe vera, calendula and lavender flower water, in a fast-absorbing, non-greasy texture for daily use. Denenes' Original Body Lotion pairs shea butter with a subtle petitgrain fragrance, with a lightweight finish suitable from newborn onwards. Nenuco's Original Body Lotion carries the house's Original fragrance, light with citrus and herbal notes, and the house suggests massaging it in until absorbed.
How to Massage Your Baby, Step by Step
Use the flat of your hand and your fingertips, with a pressure that is light but sure, never pressing hard. Talk or sing quietly as you go. A full massage can take five minutes or fewer, and you need not do every step.
- Begin with the legs. With your baby on their back, hold one ankle gently and stroke from the thigh down to the foot with your other hand, one hand after the other. Finish with small circles on the sole of the foot, then change legs.
- Move to the tummy. With a flat, relaxed hand, make slow circles around the navel in a clockwise direction, or stroke gently downwards, one hand after the other, from below the ribs.
- Then the chest and arms, if your baby is enjoying it: smooth both hands outwards from the centre of the chest, then stroke down each arm to the hand and open the palm with your thumb.
- Finish with the back. Turn your baby onto their tummy across your lap or on the towel, and stroke slowly from the shoulders down to the bottom, keeping your hands either side of the spine rather than on it.
- Wrap your baby in the towel, wipe any excess oil from your hands, and dress them warmly.
Following Your Baby's Cues
Your baby will tell you how the massage is going. Steady eye contact, relaxed hands and quiet attention usually mean they are content. Turning the head away, arching the back, stiffening, fussing or crying mean they have had enough, so stop, wrap them up and try another day. Some babies love having their legs stroked but not their tummy, or the other way round. Follow what your baby enjoys, and keep the rest for later.
When to Ask for Advice
Massage is for skin that is comfortable and whole. If your baby's skin is broken or irritated, or if it is sore or a rash does not settle, leave the massage for now and ask your pharmacist or doctor. Stop using any product your baby's skin does not take to. For the wider routine around the bath, our guides to a gentle baby skincare routine and to bath time for babies cover cleansing, moisturising and the bath itself.
If you try one thing this week, make it the warm room and warm hands: a few drops of oil, the legs first, and a few slow minutes while your baby is happy.
