After we talked about the dangerous scaries in toilet paper and moist wipes last week it raised some questions about baby wipes and if they are safe to use. So I did a little investigation and here's what I found:
This is a list of ingredients from the Unscented Soft Care Pampers Wipes. If you want the info on what each of these chemicals are you can find them below:
Water, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid, PEG 40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Sodium Citrate, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Benzyl Alcohol, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Benzoate, Bis PEG/PPG 16/16 Dimethicone, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dipropylene Glycol
Um, no thank you. A few too many chemicals for me!
Alot of "recipes" for wipes that I've seen out there use baby shampoo. Too me that isn't any better than the chemical filled baby wipes listed above! So if you are wanting to make your own, totally natural wipes, here's a great recipe!
Homemade Baby Wipes
- 1 c. water
- 1 c. witch hazel
- 1 t. aloe vera gel
- 1 drop each lavender and tea tree essential oil (optional)
You can either use good paper towels or scrap fabric for the wipes. I recommend using fabric as I suspect that paper towels are made in a similar way to Kleenex. Wet wipes and place in a resuable container or keep the solution in a spray bottle and just spray on towels or rags as needed. I have the cloth wipes pictured above, you can buy the same ones from Amazon or just make your own!
And if you want to take your wipes on the go, just soak or spray ahead of time and take along with you in a plastic baggie! Don't forget your wet bag to store the dirty ones. 
Disclaimer: This post may contain a link to an affiliate. See my disclosure policy for more information.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
ugg. Whoever would have thought. I make my own body cream, diaper rash cream, etc to try to avoid silicones on my baby and me. Little did I know it is in his wipes. I don’t really want to go to reusable ones cuz I don’t want to wash them, but I’ll have to seriously consider it now. Thanks for the post!
Do I dare ask….What about sanitary napkins?
I’ll be writing a post about them next week:)
Use cloth sanitary napkins. You can make your own or there are quite a few companies that sell them. They are wonderful and if you try them you just might find you will never buy disposable ones again.
Is there anything wrong with just using water?
Beth, I started out making a solution similar to the one above, but then I got lazy (and sleep deprived) and just used water. It worked fine for us.
How about Seventh Generation wipes?
They don’t look too bad. Here are the ingredients: Water, Cetyl Hydoxyethylcellulose (plant-derived cleaning agent), Glycerin (vegetable oil derived), Citric Acid (provides stability & pH balance), Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate (food-grade preservatives).
Thanks for this post. I do Thai Yoga Massage and like to clean peoples’ feet before I work on them. I’ve been looking for something natural to make myself – this will work perfectly!
Is there an ingredient that can be substituted for the Aloe Vera gel?
You could just leave it out and they would still work fine.
Another recipe I’ve used calls for baby oil and soap. I also used it with pre-soaked paper towels. The whole batch grew black mold, so I’m excited to see a different recipe, one without vinegar that is. Should I try the baby oil in this recipe?
I wouldn’t add the baby oil, this recipe will work just fine without it and it could clog up baby’s skin.
That’s what I was thinking. Thank you Merissa!
I just ordered the Honest Company diaper and home essentials bundles. We’ve fallen off the cloth wagon, and I needed something a bit healthier for baby. So far I’m impressed with their cleaning stuff and their wipes. Just an idea. Not exactly cheap, but it comes to the door! lol
I just switched to cloth wipes in homemade solution. The solution recipe I found calls for 1.5 c water(I boiled mine first), 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp aloe gel, and 1 tbsp baby soap. I’ll have to try your recipe next, I like the idea of witch hazel and tea tree oil.
I use cloth diapers and love them. I also. Have been making my own wipes. The baby wash I use is all natural so I like that recipe but love the idea of cloth wipes as well. It would be easy to just throw them in the wash with the diapers!