*Links in post are NOT affiliates – just wanted to share what I like/found helpful.
For the first several months of my daughter’s life, she basically had a diaper rash that just wouldn’t go away. We kept her lathered with diaper cream at every diaper change, but the rash remained. And let me tell you, we tried SEVERAL different types of diaper creams (even one recommended by our pediatrician called ILEX that cost $20+ on Amazon but was the only one that seemed to help). After talking to a friend who was having the same trouble with her newborn son, she told me she switched the wipes she was using and it solved their problem!
Up until that point, I had been using Huggie’s Natural Care baby wipes because I thought they would be gentle on Addie’s skin since they were supposedly designed for sensitive skin. It never really dawned on me that the wipes could be the cause of her rash (DUH, Leigh Anna)!! I guess I had so many things going on in my brain as a new mom, that this just didn’t register. Thank you, Alisa!
I decided to try out the Babyganics brand of baby wipes, and MUCH to my surprise they worked like magic! I was ecstatic that our diaper rash woes were over – but then I got to thinking, since it was the ingredients/chemicals in the wipes that were causing the problem, why not try to save some money by making my own chemical free wipes. I had never tried making them before because I liked the convenience of just buying wipes and being done with it, but since I now needed to purchase more expensive wipes to keep my daughter safe, it was worth a try in order to save money.
I hopped on Pinterest and searched for homemade wipes recipes. Yes, there are a lot out there, even though the concept is pretty much the same. A lot of the recipes involve ingredients like essential oils (which I don’t have). I decided to try out this recipe I found from thehealthyginger.com .
Her recipe calls for coconut oil and essential oils. For my first batch I followed her recipe, but used Dr. Bronner’s Lavender Castile Soap instead since I didn’t have any essential oils. That was a mistake because the lavender irritated my daughter’s skin. So I say, stick with unscented.
For my second batch, I was curious if I could keep it SUPER simple and just add the soap – no oils. I found that the wipes worked perfectly that way for us – so that is how I now make them.
So a BIG thanks to thehealthyginger.com ! Since the recipe is not mine, I am not going to post all the details of it on my blog. Please go visit her website at the link provided for the full recipe.
Below is a step by step of my process using just the soap and water.
*Please note, since there aren’t a bunch of chemicals to preserve these wipes for a longer shelf life, it is best to make only one batch at at time as the wipes can mold. I use a batch in about 1 to 1.5 weeks and they do fine.
P.S.
I know I’m not the only one who finds it incredibly frustrating and maddening that there are so many chemicals in products that we think are safe for us and our children. That’s one of the main reasons I recently joined Beautycounter.
Mullett Family Blog 