Raising Resilient Skin: What I Actually Use on My Kids

I don’t have a separate cabinet for my kids’ skincare.

We’ve done winter and windburn, bug bites and barn rash, sun-kissed shoulders and muddy faces—and we’ve done it all without a shelf full of products. What I’ve found is this: kids don’t need much. What they need is support, not control.

I like my kids dirty and tanned.

They dig in the dirt barefoot. They drink creek water (sometimes on purpose, sometimes not). They climb, fall, scrape, run through sun and wind and grass. That’s their job. Mine is to back them up when they need it—without jumping in too soon, and without scrubbing the nature out of them.

I don’t reach for sanitizer at every cut or cream at every redness. I watch. I wait. Then, if something’s hanging on or looking raw, I reach for fat.

One balm, all the skin.

We use the same balm on scraped knees, dry cheeks, chapped lips, mystery rashes, sun-flushed noses, and mosquito bites. It’s called Fatbaby, but it works just as well on big kids and grown-up hands. It’s made with tallow, cacao butter, and jojoba—nothing unnecessary, nothing synthetic, nothing that smells like cupcakes or comes in neon.

I’ve used it on:

• a toddler with wind-chapped cheeks after riding in the sled

• a newborn with dry skin on day four of life

• my own hands after washing 900 dishes

• and a barefoot four-year-old who got a little too confident on gravel

It’s the balm I pack for road trips, the jar I leave in the diaper bag, the thing I forget about until someone’s skin asks for help—and then I remember why we don’t use anything else.

We don’t block the sun—we build tolerance.

I don’t lather them in sunscreen. I build their resilience to light the same way I build their appetite for real food: gradually, intentionally, and with a little trust.

They get morning sun on their skin and in their eyes. They eat fat and minerals. They rest when they’re tired. And I watch their melanin come in like it’s supposed to. Some days we add hats. Some days we don’t. But either way, we don’t live in fear of the sun.

Their skin is smart. It just needs space to do its job.

Most skin “problems” I see in kids aren’t about deficiency—they’re about interference. Too many products. Too many fragrance-loaded creams. Too much panic at every red patch.

Their skin isn’t broken. It’s adapting. And when it needs help, I want to reach for something that respects their biology—not something that overrides it.

That’s why we use FATSKN.

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Here’s what’s actually in our summer kit:

• One jar of Fatbaby

• Sunlight

• Clean food

• Dirty hands

• A hose

• Sleep

That’s it.

Because skin doesn’t need to be spotless. It needs to be supported.

 

Disclaimer: 
This blog is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before starting any new health protocol.