Having a baby is a life-upending experience and one that, especially in those early months, often pushes any kind of personal skincare or beauty or fitness regimen to the wayside. The only thing that matters is: keep this baby alive; figure out what she needs and give it to her. I certainly found myself in this position after I had my daughter, only I didn’t have much of a beauty routine to begin with before she arrived. I was never loyal to any particular shampoo or moisturizer or mascara. So when I had to start buying Amazon subscribe-and-save-level volume of products for my daughter (and was devoting most of my time to taking care of her) I just started borrowing her products. Here’s the stuff I liked the best.

Aquaphor

I had never been an Aquaphor devotee before but I always had it on hand once I had a baby to treat any diaper rash or skin irritation. I started to use it on any dry spots, on my cuticles and hands, on my lips, and on any little skin irritations. It works so fast.

Baby Oil

OK, I lied about never being loyal to a product. My mom used Johnson’s Baby Oil so I used Johnson’s Baby Oil. I have really dry skin and always found it easier to apply baby oil right out of the shower than slathering on lotion that never seemed to absorb fast enough. When I had my daughter someone gifted her this Kiehl’s oil made mostly of apricot “kernel” oil and olive “fruit” oil. It has a really nice smell and it’s perfect for bedtime baby massages as well after-showing moisturizing. When I ran out of that, I got into multi-packs of this Burt’s Bees baby oil.

French Baby Lotion

If I’m not going the oil route I like Mustela’s lotion. Mostly because I’m a sucker for the French packaging, but it’s also a good product! It’s super moisturizing, though I do wish it absorbed faster.

WaterWipes

Dealing with diapers is annoying but always having wipes on hand is... kind of great? They come in handy for so much more than their designated purpose—they’re good for wiping faces and hands and generally cleaning up messes. They’re also great for taking off makeup and “washing your face” when you’re too exhausted to do anything else.

2-in-1 Weleda Calendula Shampoo and Body Wash

I love a two-in-one product—I’m an admirable combination of impatient and lazy when it comes to beauty. I often use Head and Shoulders 2-in-1 but this product takes it even further. I generally like Weleda’s products and this gentle cleanser with Calendula extract works great on hair and body, somehow even detangles a bit, and doesn’t cause too many tears when it gets in eyes. The Calendula oil extract is supposed to be soothing and have replenishing and restoring effects on skin.

Babyganics Mineral Spray Sunscreen

I don’t know as much about sunscreen as I should but I trust that this mineral-based one made for babies is good enough for me. It’s easy to put on, thanks to the spray, and rubs in fairly well.

—Leah Chernikoff

Photos via the author.