“I started my baby line because I have a four-year-old and I wouldn’t trust any other products on her skin,” she told the Post last year.

Zoe Foster-Blake, the Australian founder of the Go-To skincare range, a former beauty editor and a mother-of-two, encountered a similar problem. She launched her collection for children, Gro-To, last year after struggling to find the kinds of products she felt comfortable using on her children.

Foster-Blake says she used products from her Go-To range on her children whenever they had dry, irritated or red skin. “The idea dawned on me: why isn’t there a Go-To for kids? A range of simple, plant-based products for babies and kids that parents would trust, and kids would actually want to use,” she said when launching the products.

The range, which ships internationally, has four products, including a body oil and gentle bubble bath (in fun, bright packaging). Like the main line, Gro-To’s simple, useful formulations are PH-balanced and made without synthetics, silicones, sodium lauryl sulphate and other “nasties”. They also have nourishing oils and butters for soothing delicate skin.

Sigourney Cantelo, a mother of two, founder of the beauty website Beauticate and a former beauty director at Vogue, shares this philosophy when choosing products for her family.

Dermatologist Dr Natasha Cook says it’s important to look after the skin of babies and children, but says parents fundamentally over wash their children’s skin (especially babies) and you don’t necessarily need “children only” skincare.

“When it comes to bathing children and babies, it’s important not to overdo it, mainly as this can give them issues like eczema and dermatitis,” she says. “Young children’s skin is a little more sensitive so we want to make sure we are treating it with kid gloves.”

Cook recommends soap- and fragrance-free products where possible and says bath oils are preferable. If children have dry skin or dermatitis, she recommends using a moisturiser after bathing – this can be a plain old drugstore brand such as QV Cream or Cetaphil lotion.

“Using such products is [a] safe and effective [way] to gently cleanse your child’s skin without irritation and safely hydrate, keeping it soft, healthy and supple,” she says.

When looking for a moisturiser, Cook says to remember that lotions are more water-based, easier to spread but less hydrating, while a cream is thicker, harder to spread and more hydrating so it is suited to children with particularly dry or eczema-prone skin.

Evan Chang, brand manager for French botanical based brand Klorane, says its eco- and vegan-friendly Natural Baby Care range appeals to parents because of the nature-based approach.

The range is, he says, “for every parent looking for a natural baby care range that is tested under dermatological and paediatric control to reduce the risks of allergic reactions”.

The bestselling product in the range is the versatile Klorane Baby Moisturising Cream.

Klorane Baby products use ingredients such as organic calendula and isoleucine, an essential amino acid. Chang says the range is gentle and especially good for sensitive skin (and as many parents can attest, skin sensitivities, reactions and rashes can be a common occurrence).

Three children’s skincare brands to try

Moana Baby

This New Zealand brand is organic and uses native ingredients.

Moo Goo 

Australian brand Moo Goo was started when its founder noticed the thick paste his mother used on the cow udders to keep them from cracking. He retooled the formula and turned it into a range of effective products.

Chantecaille 

Luxury skincare brand Chantecaille’s lovely range for children, Bébé, is fragrance-free, dermatologist-tested and gentle.