Skip to main content
EMAIL SIGN UP
  • PRODUCTS
  • IDENTIFYING
    • RASH EXPLANATION
    • DIAPER RASH GUIDE
    • DIAPER RASH CAUSES
    • PICTURES OF DIAPER RASH
    • ADULT VS BABY RASH
    • 5 TYPES OF DIAPER RASH
    TREATING
    • RASH TREATMENT
    • BABY SKIN PROTECTION
    PREVENTING
    • HOW TO PREVENT DIAPER RASH
    • BABY DIAPERING
    • OVERNIGHT RASH PROTECTION
  • FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Search
  1. Home
  2. Articles
  3. What is Barrier Cream?
How to Protect Your Baby's Skin

Baby Skin Protection

DESITIN® products create a protective barrier on contact.

What is barrier cream?

Applying a barrier ointment or paste protects the skin from further injury while creating a more optimal environment to allow the skin to heal. It will also help prevent friction from the diaper.

Apply a thick layer of a zinc oxide product, such as DESITIN® Maximum Strength Original Paste or DESITIN® Rapid Relief Cream, at each diaper change to soothe and protect your baby’s irritated skin.

Block Out Moisture from Baby's Skin
Block out moisture
Protect Baby's Skin From Fecal Enzymes & Bacteria
Protect against fecal enzymes & bacteria
Reduce Friction on Baby's Skin
Reduce friction

Zinc oxide treatments can help treat and prevent diaper rash

  • Forms a protective layer on the skin

  • Blocks wetness

  • Protects against enzymes found in feces

  • Protects and soothes irritated skin, allowing it to heal naturally

Apply ointment liberally as often as necessary, with each diaper change, especially at bedtime or any time when exposure to wet diapers may be prolonged.

Don’t be concerned about using too much. You can apply as much DESITIN® Maximum Strength Original Paste or DESITIN® Rapid Relief Cream as needed, and as often as necessary.

The risk of irritation can be reduced by frequent diaper changes to prevent prolonged contact with urine and feces. Gently cleanse the diaper area, ensure the bottom is dry, and then apply a diaper rash treatment to create a protective barrier. An effective barrier can protect the skin from wetness and diaper irritants and, by reducing friction, can help limit the potential penetration of irritants.

Maintain a suitable degree of hydration: If the water content of the skin drops below 10%, the cells of the top layer of the skin, the stratum corneum, contract inward and can form cracks and scales that allow microorganisms to penetrate. Because overly hydrated skin can break down more quickly with friction, it is important to use a barrier ointment to help protect the skin from urine, stool and the friction and rubbing that can come from the diaper. Therefore, the normal water content of the skin should be maintained with appropriate skin care products, which not only create a barrier but also offer skin moisturizing and skin conditioning.

Reduce contact with environmental irritants: Infant skin shows greater susceptibility to environmental irritants, particularly urine and feces in the diaper area.

Reduce friction: Friction can be reduced or avoided by removing one of the opposing surfaces.

  • Dress your baby in soft, loose-fitting garments

  • Dry your baby thoroughly after bathing, with special attention to folds and creases in the skin

  • Apply skin protectors such as DESITIN® ointment, which create a protective barrier between opposing surfaces, thus decreasing friction

Teddy bear on the left, rattle on the right, text in the center: 'First choice of pediatricians in the diaper rash category. Comfort restored.'

#1 Choice of Pediatricians*

Comfort, restored.

*In the diaper rash category

Our products

DESITIN Rapid Relief Diaper Rash Cream

DESITIN® Daily Defense Cream

 Front Pack Shot of DESITIN® Maximum Strength Original Zinc Oxide Paste 4.8oz

DESITIN® Maximum Strength Original Zinc Oxide Paste

DESITIN Multipurpose Ointment

DESITIN® Multipurpose Ointment

DESITIN Rapid Relief Diaper Rash Cream

DESITIN® Daily Defense Cream

 Front Pack Shot of DESITIN® Maximum Strength Original Zinc Oxide Paste 4.8oz

DESITIN® Maximum Strength Original Zinc Oxide Paste

DESITIN Multipurpose Ointment

DESITIN® Multipurpose Ointment

Treating

Related Articles

How to Prevent Diaper Rash
PreventingHow to prevent diaper rash

You may not always be able to protect your baby from diaper rash, but there are steps you can take to significantly reduce its occurrence.

LEARN MORE

An adult changing a baby's diaper on a white mat in a garden with colorful flowers, DESITIN® Maximum Strength Original Zinc Oxide Paste and toy blocks around.
PreventingHow to Change a Diaper & Apply Diaper Rash Cream

LEARN MORE

Products
  • All Products
  • Where To Buy
  • FAQs
Desitin®
  • Contact Us
  • Email Sign Up & Rewards
Learn
  • Identifying Diaper Rash
  • Treating Diaper Rash
  • Preventing Diaper Rash
Legal
  • Legal Notice
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Limit the Use of My Sensitive Personal Information
  • AdChoices

© Kenvue Brands LLC 2026.

This site is published by Kenvue Brands LLC, which is solely responsible for its contents. This website is intended for visitors from the U.S. This site contains links to websites to which our Privacy Notice does not apply. We encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.

Desitin
Desitin