Zoë Foster Blake shares her hilarious parenting advice for bath time

When Zoë Foster Blake announced she was launching a new kids skin care range, we immediately thought ‘Is there anything she can’t do?!’. And tbh, there isn’t really.

In fact, we were kinda suss about whether she was actually human because an alien with three brains (one to write novels, one to rule the skin care land and one to be super mum) seemed much more plausible.

But then, we chatted to her about bath time and rashy baby skin, and her answers were sorelatable, it was clear she’s one of us. 

Tell us about Sonny’s skin as a baby and how this led to the idea of Gro-To?

He had sensitive skin that was sometimes rashy, itchy, and/or red. I’d find myself using Go-To products because I knew what was in them, I knew they wouldn’t irritate his skin, and I knew they would calm and soothe the flare up. I trusted them, in short. So if I was resorting to grown-up skin care for my kids, and I was pretty across the skin care market, what were other parents doing? What did they use? The offering felt small. I saw a gap for a clean, uncomplicated range of essentials for babies and kids, which mirrored what we offer at Go-To: confidence, fun, and simplicity. We had a proven track record with the sensitive demographic, and we had the chops to make it really fresh and cheeky. Also, I really wanted it to be for the kids, to fit in with the rest of their toys and bath fun; something they took ownership of. Gro-To products look like fun toys, and that’s no accident.

@zotheysay

For all the parents out there, how would you craft the perfect bath time routine?

Filthy little clothes off. Commence nudie run up and down the hallway. (Kids, not parents.) Run a bubble bath using Sud Bud; lower children in, and commence splashing and general nonsense, and tears because Someone wants the toy the Other One has, etc etc. Bath is drained, bodies are dried off, and kids are told to choose from “the green one (Skin Wizard) or the yellow one (Super Softy),” and rub it onto their tums and bums, while parent applies it everywhere else. Spend the next 10 minutes trying to get a grip on their slippery little bums for PJs/books/bed. Once kids in bed, Bad Dream Buster to be sprayed around the room, especially in areas monsters hide. Lights off!

How can a parent tell if their baby’s skin is in need of help from Skin Wizard or Super Softy? Can you use them together?

Both are hydrating, calming and aid barrier repair, but they work in different ways. Lotions like Super Softy are excellent for dry skin, as they are creamy and comforting, and good at penetrating the skin because they’re partly water-based, so can utilise ingredients that can help the skin’s ability to retain moisture. Oils like Skin Wizard are occlusive, which means they excel at locking in moisture that is already in the skin. (We recommend applying Skin Wizard on damp skin for this reason.)

Think of Super Softy as a daily moisturiser, (like, say, Very Useful Face Cream) and Skin Wizard as a booster and treatment product (like, say, Face Hero). Or massage product. Or itchy skin soothe-er-er. It comes down to personal preference. Layering them (oil first) will give brilliant results.

Since Gro To’s launch, there have been a bunch of reviews from parents saying the products have cleared up their kid’s rashes and eczema.  Was this a happy accident or something you thought might happen?

Oh man, I love the ‘nothing worked on little Harry’s skin until Gro-To’ the absolute best.

It was definitely my hope we would get this feedback, but young skin can be so tricky. I say that despite Go-To having reams of sensitive skin success stories, and incredible formulators who are extremely experienced in safe skin care, and the fact that for years I have seen amazing results on my rashy kid’s skin, and then of course there’s our quality control, and that all of our products were dermatologically proven to be non-irritating and hypoallergenic… but, look, it’s newborns, for god’s sake! You do NOT take risks with people’s children! Gah!

@zotheysay

Based on your own experience, if a baby’s skin is really unhappy, what’s the best protocol?

As many parents know, for the first 6-12 months of a child’s life, (even longer), every weird red, itchy, flaky, pin-pricky, blobby-spreading-scary rash and skin abnormality possible will visit your child. And IT IS TERRIFYING. Each one of them hurls you into a vortex of morbid Google searches and hysterical forums, because it’s probably meningococcal, right? I’d recommend you head to your doctor or medical practitioner and get a proper diagnosis if you’re worried.

You can shop the Gro-To range via gotoskincare.com/collections/gro-to.

Main image credit: @zotheysay

Did you have little kids? What are your top tips for taking care of their skin?