If your kids have sensitive skin, there's one skincare step you can't afford to skip.

Well, it's official: "Winter skin" is here to ruin all of our lives.

It’s not just the icy breeze which brings out the very worst in my sensitive skin, although it certainly plays a pivotal role. It's also the environmental factors that go with it: spending more time indoors in central-heated rooms, taking longer, hotter showers and bundling on layer upon scratchy layer, when I do dare to leave the house.

Although my whinging might indicate otherwise, I am an adult. 

This isn't my first winter (although the nights are feeling unseasonably cold in Sydney at the moment), and I'm used to having to manage my sensitive skin as the seasons change. But I'm a parent now and so I have to be on the lookout for a whole raft of new skincare concerns: the ones my kids have.

Well, colour me surprised: a few weeks ago, I noticed something on my toddler that I've been dealing with every winter since I was a kid myself. We used to call it "lizard skin", but in a savvy 2024 rebrand (we are dealing with a two-year-old boy here), my household is now calling it "dinosaur skin".

If you're not immediately familiar with dinosaur skin, I’m sure you can use your imagination. At the very least, mums with dry-skinned babies or toddlers who've lived through a dry winter know what I'm talking about. Call them whatever you want — the dry, scaly spots that pop up on eyelids, knees, elbows, arms and legs are uncomfortable, itchy and honestly, a pain to deal with.

I've always known that I have sensitive skin, which can react to the slightest change in the barometer, so it shouldn't have come as such a surprise that both my boys do too. But while dealing with my own reactive skin is, at most, annoying, watching my kids feel uncomfortable can be really distressing. 

Like so many other mums watching their kids go through the same thing, I was desperate to find a solution. Ideally, it would be one which didn't involve abandoning Australia altogether in favour of a year-round tropical climate, but spending my days sipping from a coconut was starting to look mighty appealing.

Of course, the answer was staring me quite literally, right in the face (and didn't involve emigration). It’s the same way I deal with my own misbehaving skin. My kids needed a consistent, effective skincare routine and they needed it, like, yesterday.

Building a kid-friendly skincare routine. 

Now, I know that having a "skincare routine" for a two-year-old and a four-month-old might seem a little indulgent. Rest assured, I've skipped the serums and vitamin A and headed straight to the good stuff: moisturiser. A family favourite in our house is the QV Dermcare Sting-Free Ointment with Ceramides, which is an ointment, so its super heavy duty. 

Image: Supplied. 

I've come to realise that a good moisturiser for kids looks a little different from your average face moisturiser for adults. You don't want anything fussy or full of fragrance and you certainly can't have something that stings sensitive baby or toddler skin.

QV Dermcare Sting-Free Ointment is dermatologically tested and suitable for use with eczema prone skin. It's fragrance and preservative-free, and provides up to 24 hours of moisturisation, which is a relief because nobody likes rubbing a slippery kid with lotion more than once a day if they can avoid it.

The formula is water-free and contains ceramides, which are components found naturally in the skin. I'm especially a fan of using it on cracked heels, dry lips and eyelids. We call it lotion for dinosaur skin and it's become a regular part of our post-bath routine. 

Image: Supplied. 

And I won't lie — I’ve also been using it on my own neck and legs, which are prone to scales themselves.

Other small steps to take.  

Apart from a good moisturiser, there are a whole raft of other small changes you can make to your kids' bedtime routine to combat sensitive skin. 

While it’s always tempting to run a nice hot bath on a chilly evening, experts recommend keeping the temperature lukewarm to avoid drying out the skin barrier. I keep my toddler's fingernails nice and short to make sure that, if he does feel itchy, he can't aggravate his skin by scratching too hard. I'm also conscious of washing both boys' pyjamas and sheets in gentle detergent to avoid irritants, and using an oil heater rather than air-conditioning where possible to warm up their rooms overnight so the air doesn't get too dry.

Combined with a reliable moisturiser, I know I'm doing all I can to avoid troubling my kids' skin. Combatting the itching helps them sleep at night, which helps me sleep at night (literally, because I'm hoping I never have to hear "Mummy, I have itchy dinosaur skin!" at 4am again).

Shop QV Dermcare Sting-Free Ointment with Ceramides to soothe dry and cracked skin. 

Feature Image: Supplied.