The newborn child's first grooming sessions remain the duty and the responsibility of the mother.
For the first months, only the mother has the necessary closeness to perform these delicate operations.
Two tasks await her:
• Right after birth, she has to remove the protective coat of «Vernix caseosa»,
• Then, for the first years, she should groom her baby with her fingers and nails, in order to remove the folds on the body and face.
These gestures will create a greater proximity between the mother and her child.
Guided by her motherly instinct and her own grooming experience, she will naturally discover when and how to perform these important assignments.

You won't search long before finding folds on a baby's body.
Some are clearly visible as they furrow through the immaculate skin.
But when did these folds first appear?
Some of the folding, such as the vertical folds, seems to be part of the fetal development process.
Indeed, during its growth, the fetus develops into two symmetrical halves with a clearly visible central line.
This means that the center fold is present from the very first moments of life.
Then, the fetus begins to move, and this results in other folds.
Because its skin is so minimally folded, the fetus can make stunning facial expressions.
The folds haven't yet attached its skin to its skull.
At around four and a half months, thumb sucking starts.
The baby is, in fact, exercising its limbs in order to be ready to perform breastfeeding after birth.

Its movements generate folds in the skin, mostly in the neck-shoulder-arm area, and in the leg-hip area.
Ironically, babies who do a good job at thumb-sucking and exercising their members, in order to be ready to be breast fed after birth, are more folded.
Minor problems during the pregnancy may produce several folds in the skin as the child grows up.
You can tell how folded a baby is at birth by evaluating how ugly it is.

A very particular type of grooming is supposed to take place immediately after birth.
The mother is supposed to clean her child by licking it.
This is what all primate mothers do.
The newborn's skin is covered with a layer of vernix caseosa, a white, waxy substance.

Vernix caseosa possibly serves to protect the fetus's skin, and its lubricating properties aid in childbirth.
This layer must be completely removed.
As it is done now, the nurse, wearing rubber gloves, quickly washes the child in a basin of lukewarm water, or simply uses a washcloth.
The job is incomplete and unnatural for the newborn, possibly even cruel.
What better welcome into this world could you wish for than to feel your mother's soft, warm tongue making you beautiful and clean?
It could take a day or two to complete the cleansing.
I am convinced that Vernix caseosa doesn't taste unpleasant.

Licking the baby at birth has another major advantage.
Before birth, the child's microbial flora is virgin.
During the delivery, it takes part of the mother's imprint, but only where they touch.
Certain parts of the body thus remain vulnerable to foreign colonization.

A mother's tongue can thoroughly cover her child's entire body, ensuring they share common bacteria.

The special «licking» grooming, described above, does not replace regular grooming with the nails.
It will take adventurous and dedicated mothers to try grooming the skin of their baby.
I'm convinced that if a mother already grooms herself, she should know how to do it to her baby.
The baby's skin is so tender that every move has to be performed delicately and attentively.
Don't try to achieve too much in one grooming session, you don't want to irritate the baby's skin, nor its mood.
Instead, try to get the child used to your movements, and to enjoy the care you provide with your fingertips and nails.

Human grooming lets you use your nails to unfold the skin of your body and face, and to remove dead cells from its surface.
The following video will get you started:

Human grooming rediscovered - Video

Special precautions have to be taken when grooming a newborn baby.
The bones of the skull have not yet solidified and the skin is very sensitive.
Go gradually and cautiously.
Keep the pressure you apply two or three notches lower than what you use on yourself.
Trust your instincts and be alert to any reaction from the baby's skin, as well as from the baby itself.

Be extremely attentive to any feedback or reaction from the child.
But, remember that you can always see a certain amount of fear and anxiety in the eyes of any primate while they are being groomed.
Go slowly, but daily.

Both pressure grooming and superficial grooming techniques should be employed to groom your child's skin.
You can switch freely from one method to the other.

During your daily superficial grooming sessions, you want to gently scrape the entire surface of your baby's body with your nails, including any recess you may find.
Your goal is to remove the dead skin cells that lie at the very top of the epidermis; not to dig in.
Yes, even if the skin is new, it is already thickening every day because epidermis cells pile-up here and there.

While performing this routine, you should only apply extremely light pressure.
You want to rake and scrape the entire skin of the baby with swift, delicate superficial strokes, except in areas where it is irritated.
Your moves should be so gentle that your nails barely touch the skin.
One way to keep this activity short and fun is to use as many fingers as you can to do the job.
Go with four-finger strokes wherever you can, and put both hands to work.
In areas with obstacles or problem skin, slow down and groom carefully with just one finger.
The kid will probably feel tickled, and will see this as a fun, short, and intimate game.

After an animated and joyous superficial grooming session, the mood may change when you switch to pressure grooming strokes.
Pressure grooming takes longer to accomplish, and may be a bit annoying at times.
Moreover, you quite possibly may hurt the child on some occasions, because of your inexperience, and of the inherent difficulty of grooming someone else.

Repeatedly pressing the skin with very light pressure does not hurt the child.
Each pressure stroke usually lasts between one and five seconds, and they are applied close to one another.

Over time, these simple movements will unfold and completely free the child's skin, but you may need to use your nail in some places.
You want to slowly accustom your baby to the sensation of your finger gently pricking their skin.

While applying pressure on the skin, you'll discover hardened elements inside the baby's flesh; those are folds and their crossings.
• Gently flatten the hardness; you're in no rush. You have months in front of you.
• Make a mental note of every imperfection or hardness you encounter and appreciate its size and form in order to create a map of all the folds on your child's body.

Any skin structure has its weak spots.

• Start by locating a hardened skin formation, most often a hole or a bump:
• Explore it with your nail, using short pecking pressure strokes,
• Try to find the most structurally unstable part of it, usually situated:
      • At the top of the mounds and bulges or,
      • At the bottom of pits and grooves.

Apply pressure, with your fingertip or your nail, precisely on the weak structural element you've found.
Gently crush it with long (2 to 10 seconds) pressure strokes.
Don't do too much in one day.
You can rework the area tomorrow.

During the first hours or days of life, a newborn's skin is still moist and very hydrated.
It takes about three days for the baby to dry out.
Since human newborns are left ungroomed, their folds become engraved for life.
These early folds form what I call the «fetal mask», on the face, and the «fetal straitjacket», on the rest of the body.

Those are the facial folds you had when you were born, that are now etched-in, and visible on your face as a grown-up person.

These are the circular horizontal folds you had at birth.
They have carved into your skin at each of its articulations.
You can see part of them; they are the numerous large folds located around every joint on your body.

It's important to understand that the folds of the fetal mask and straitjacket were created when the fetus was tiny, months before birth.
Despite the body's growth, the folds retain their small size. Therefore, they put more and more pressure on the joints each day.

Some folds you have today started out when the circumference of your limbs was only a tiny fraction of what it is now.
Your growth tightens the straitjacket deeper and deeper into your skin.
Hurting more and more.

Be on the lookout for all the early signs that your child is self-grooming.
I would expect this event to happen sooner rather than later.
Obviously, this development is 100% normal.
However, you must monitor and observe the baby's actions to ensure it is done correctly.
The danger is that the child may develop unhealthy habits such as scratching, or self-mutilation.
Your guidance is necessary if you want a smooth transition from «being groomed» to «grooming oneself».

Although grooming is an instinct, we all know it can be lost.
Parents grooming their offspring represents the normal method of transmission from one generation to the next.
Baby primates in captivity do not groom themselves properly if they are separated from their mothers.
I don't know at what age a baby should take over the grooming care his parents provide.
One thing is sure, a well-groomed kid will basically know how to do it.
However, teaching, checking, and support seem essential to me.

Teaching grooming isn't really complicated, you essentially want to:
• Observe and inspect all of the baby's actions,
• Coach, guide and train the child,
• Show new techniques,
• Correct bad habits.
Your task depends greatly on how your baby behaves, so you can't plan it.
Here's another opportunity to bond with your child.

Childhood is a time when it is easy to develop bad habits and nervous behaviors.
I remember that, as a child, I would suck my thumb, bite my nails, press my nails forcibly onto the side of my fingers, ...
My parents had to patiently convince me and guide me to help me cease those bad habits.
At the time, it was as difficult for me to stop biting my nails as it was to quit smoking later in life.
Scolding isn't the right attitude; reasoning, perseverance and complicity yield much better results.
If you notice that your child's actions are driven by nerves rather than logic, you must intervene.
Correct any shortcomings or flaws in the baby's grooming technique by correctly performing the same movements on them.
Be sure to clearly explain why such behavior is preferable.

Neoteny, in an animal species, is the retention of juvenile characteristics in the adult.
This is exactly the result achieved with grooming, but with a new perspective;
• In grooming, neoteny is organized into a complete system that includes the tools (nails) and the sensations, originating from the skin, necessary to perform the task.
• It demonstrates that the animals themselves have a role to play in the process.
They are largely responsible for their aging or rejuvenation.

I know that what I'm writing here is highly controversial and unproven.
Here is the theory: the traits we consider racial are simply due to a lack of grooming.
Here are some examples:
• Some racial types have a flattened nose. Well, there is no reason for a groomed nose to be flat. You have to groom the horizontal folds that pass at the center of the nose, and start right after birth.
• Some racial types have slanted eye corners. Well, grooming the folds at the extremity of the eyes after birth (or later) would eliminate this feature.

I'm convinced that we are much more similar than we thought we were.