Smart Ways to Use Leftover Baby Products, According to a Legit Dermatologist
Waste not, want not! PLUS: 4 Sephora treats to revive a dated makeup collection.
I thought about asking dermatologist and mother of three Marisa Garshick, M.D., an Instagram darling and my very old friend from camp counsellor-ing days, why I thought I needed 17 tubs of Aquaphor for one baby’s tush, back in the day. But then I thought better and instead asked her WTF to do with all this shit now that my first child is almost 5 and my little one’s approaching 2.5. SURELY there must be a use case or self-care moment in store for this mom, given the amount of partially-used baby products I’ve steadily amassed over the years? Here’s what she had to say:
1. Use Vaseline as makeup remover.
Truth be told, I’ve been doing this for decades (thank you mom!) and simply needed a pro to sign off on it: “As an ointment, Vaseline is comprised of petroleum jelly which helps to break down makeup without disrupting the skin barrier,” Dr. Garshick told me, confirming Vaseline is also great for dry or chapped lips.
2. Use extra-gentle baby shampoo as face wash.
If you are in a bind—AND I REPEAT, if you are in a bind—Dr. Garshick says you can go ahead and use baby shampoo as face wash. I might have led the witness here a bit since I always travel with baby shampoo but religiously forget my own skincare stuff. “Some baby shampoos are gentle on the skin and may be used as a face wash,” Dr. Garshick told me with a big but: “Some contain foaming agents to help create a lather that may be too harsh for the facial skin.” My skin is still attached to my face, friends, so go forth and foam up.
3. Use A&D ointment on dry hands, cuts, and scrapes.
Assuming the stuff’s not expired, the A&D ointment left over from my son’s circumcision (biggest TBT/overshare ever, I know) “forms a skin barrier to help protect the skin and lock moisture in,” when used on…not baby penises. Dr. Garshick gives the go-ahead to use it on cuts and scrapes or on dry and cracked hands—genius, since winter is no joke in NYC this year.
4. Use baby oil for softening cuticles, general moisturizing, and makeup removal.
The sight of baby oil gives me so much cradle cap PTSD. (I love every inch of my kids, but their cradle cap situations were…utterly DISGUSTING.) Good news, though! “Baby oil can also be used to help soften cuticles and moisturize the skin,” Dr. Garshick says. So after all that bemoaning and combing (IYKYK), you can get a DIY manicure out of all this! Also? Use it as makeup remover in a pinch—tyvm, Dr. G!
5. Use nipple cream on dry, cracked lips.
Although some people may be allergic to lanolin, an ingredient commonly found in nipple creams, others have found the stuff helpful for lips that just can’t after exposure to harsh weather. (Ed’s note: If you’re emotionally allergic to lanolin after a turbulent breastfeeding journey, I get that, too…so you’ve officially got my permission to simply get it out of your bathroom/nightside table/diaper bag/sight. Bye!)
6. Use Aquaphor as lip balm, cuticle softener, or protection for cuts and scrapes.
All sound use cases, although I still fear I’ll never see the bottom of my Aquaphor tubs. OH WELL!
~BONUS~ Use witch hazel for breakouts.
In anticipation of my second childbirth, I prepared scores of witch hazel ice pads and was quite glad that I did come time for recovery. While I haven’t touched the remaining half-bottle of witch hazel since, I recently recovered it from behind a box of Cheerios stored beside our freezer. (You should see our other cabinets…lol.)
Having already talked to Dr. G., I went ahead and Googled alternative use cases: Turns out when used as a toner, the witch hazel has antimicrobial properties that can help acne flare-ups simmer down. I’ll be sure to report back on this—hopefully with clear skin. 🤞
OF COURSE not every self-care moment has to involve dregs left over from your babies/ pre-kid days. And yet, a recent peek in my makeup bag revealed way too many expired products from the magazine beauty closet sales of my old life.
I always feel lost and anxious wandering around Sephora, so instead, I filled my virtual cart with a bunch of highly rated products and planned to test and edit my bounty right at home. Here are the four items I kept—all worth every dollar for someone who barely replaces drug store mascara once a year, and only invests in real makeup like, once a decade. (I’m gross! I’m sorry!)
This Creamy, Confidence-Boosting Lipstick:
Upon realizing that I didn’t own an unexpired lipstick, I went down a Reddit rabbit hole to unearth a victor in the MERIT vs. Jones Road Beauty debate. I ended up siding with the former; the latter is better for those with drier skin, Reddit says. And so I tried MERIT’s Signature Lip Lightweight Satin Lipstick in “Sunday,” “Millennial,” and one other shade I rejected immediately. While I seriously appreciate the guidance on which day to wear which color (is there anything more genius?!), I ended up really loving/only needing Millennial. It’s just bright enough to make me look like I’ve had somewhere important to be (lol, no) before preschool pickup.
This Dark-Circle-Obscuring Eye Shadow:
I’ve written about filling in eyebrows as a way to kind of steal the show from under-eye circles. Similarly, this very subtle light-brown eye color also does God’s work: The first matte eyeshadow I’ve tried in a while, and the first cream formula I’ve genuinely liked, it pulls its weight on days when I want to look alive without any cringey shimmer. I thought it might do double duty as liner when applied with just the right brush, but found it too creamy for that, jfyi. (I’m still a MERIT convert.)
This Smudge-able Eyeliner:
After my Kat Von D Tattoo Liner dried up (along with my patience to nail a cat-eye, TBH), I tried quite unsuccessfully to use eyeshadow as liner for a little smokiness on nights that called for a full-face of makeup. To start anew, I went with a highly-rated, smudge-able liner in brown for the first time in forever because black is for fancy people and I’m just…not that, not now. I like that this one goes on pretty neatly and still washes off easily.
This God-Sent Foundation Brush:
Before the holidays I noticed I was getting cheek breakouts that I really didn’t ask for, except for the fact that I’d started using a makeup brush that was as old as time to apply CC cream. (Do people use that anymore?!) When I couldn’t wash the pigment out of said brush, I decided to upgrade. I’m so glad I did! This brush has near perfect ratings and applies foundation so evenly that even I can’t tell I’m wearing any. (Sun spots? Acne? Who me?)
I’m hereby very open to whatever other cult-beauty products are on the uptick, so feel free to tell me what I need in the comments below!