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My two-year-old is starting to get chapped cheeks as winter approaches. Last year, his cheeks were red and seemed sore, so I tried rubbing lip balm (chap stick) on the cheeks to help him out. However, I recently read that lip balm will not provide much benefit for chapped cheeks.

What's the best way to prevent or heal a toddler's chapped cheeks in winter?

(I live on the west coast of British Columbia, North America, in a temperate rain forest area, so although it's not very cold for most of the year, it can dip below freezing for weeks at a time in January and February, which is when the chapping seems to occur.)

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    Face lotion and sun screen becoming a daily part of the routine will help on the prevention front - some kids need the lotion too - especially during the months when the air in our houses is drier because our heaters are running.
    – balanced mama
    Commented Dec 18, 2013 at 21:07
  • look into coconut oil. My daughter has some sensitive skin and this stuff seems to pretty much eliminate eczema rashes without the unknown additives from common lotions, or even lotions specializing in eczema while claiming to be all natural.
    – Kai Qing
    Commented Feb 2, 2015 at 20:51

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We have the same issue. Our doctor told us to apply some fatty face cream, like vaseline. She insisted on the fatty part.

We normally do it in the morning and evening and the problem is much reduced, but it didn't go away completely. My kid still drools a fair amount in his sleep and I have the impression that this makes the problem worse. However if we miss even one application I'll notice that his cheeks get worse, so it is clearly helping.

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You may want to see or call a dermatologist to see what they recommend for dry or chapped skin. They will most likely recommend an over the counter remedy or even something that can be prescribed. I also believe vaseline that has already been suggested may be a good place to start.

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Vaseline is the best. Most lotions will sting very chapped skin and the child will resist, but vaseline doesn't sting.

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  • Often lotions sting because there's other stuff added to them (e.g. essential oils for scent), so looking for unscented options can expand the range of choices.
    – Acire
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 12:56

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