When I was pregnant I started planning our cloth diaper routine. That also meant making homemade baby wipes as I didn’t want to use disposable wipes that could contain fragrance and other chemicals I didn’t want on my baby. Join me as I share how I make my own homemade baby wipe solution with coconut oil and witch hazel.
In this post I break down how to make all natural homemade baby wipe solution. It was really important to me that for my first baby I kept all the toxins away from her that I could, and making homemade wipes seemed like an obvious (and easy) solution to that. This recipe has been a winner for me for almost 2 years, so I hope you get some good use out of it as well.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission off items you buy at no extra cost to you 🙂
Keeping the Toxins Out
I got lucky today! Allison is having a very sleepy day, so no better time than to put her in my wrap and write up a blog post.
When I was pregnant I decided I wanted to do things all natural for my pregnancy, birth, and beyond. So naturally I chose to cloth diaper. First because I think it would be most comfortable for the baby, but second because I like reducing trash and not going through wipe after wipe. If I can do even one small thing to help the environment, I’m all for it.
What I love about this recipe is its all natural so I know exactly what is going on my baby. Just like when I was pregnant and made my own DIY stretch mark cream. My goal was to keep things all natural from the start.
Now I should say that of course if I hadn’t thought of this recipe ahead of time, there are some great natural baby wipe you can buy at the store. Luckily there are a lot of natural brands out there that I would use if I didn’t have my own mix. So, not trying to say that they are ALL bad, because I don’t think that’s true.
UPDATE: 2 years later
It has been almost two years since I first shared this recipe on the blog and youtube and I wanted to provide a real life update.
Something funny happened a couple of weeks ago.
My baby Allison never had a single diaper rash as an infant. We went over a year and a half with no diaper rashes! And I really think this cloth wipe solution was the key. The cloth diapers also helped.
But a few weeks ago (Allison is 21 months as I type this), Allison got a little diaper rash. I didn’t know why and let it go for about a week. Then I realized that I had run out of baby wipe solution and because I didn’t have a chance to make more, I had filled my spray bottles up with just water and had been using that in the interim. She’s a toddler so she has mostly just wet diapers and I figured just using a warm rag would be okay. But, she got a rash!
I used witch hazel, aloe vera, and coconut oil for 2 days on it and it went away instantly.
That’s when I realized that this solution really was working. I just never knew it because she never had a rash! And now, about a week after the rash is gone, she is all better and no more flare up. And I made another jar of cloth wipe solution. Now I can confidently say, I won’t stop making this until she’s potty trained.
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About the Ingredients for Homemade Baby Wipe Solution
Organic Coconut Oil is a staple in our house. It’s my go-to for anything natural, DIY skin remedy related. It’s a great way to dilute essential oils. One pump of coconut oil mixed with a drop of essential oil goes a long way.
Recently since Allison was born I keep coconut oil by our bed. Sometimes if she is fussy at night I dilute lavender or chamomile essential oil with coconut oil and rub it on the bottoms of her feet, back, and chest/tummy. I do the same thing after a bath only with frankincense and myrrh.
Witch Hazel contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. Some research also suggests witch hazel is good at treating inflamed, irritated, or broken skin (source). It can also help ward off infections and help prevent skin damage. Side note, it was also one of the products I used to help healing after birth!
Aloe Vera is another great one that is calming for sensitive skin. The aloe vera plant dates back thousands of years and is a medicinal plant. Similar to witch hazel, aloe vera has antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-septic properties, making it a great product to help heal and support sensitive skin (source). It can also accelerate wound healing.
Baby Castile Soap (or regular Castile soap) is a favorite in our household. I use it for all of our homemade hand and dish soaps. It is pure, unfragranced, and doesn’t contain any additives or artificial ingredients. It’s the only soap I’ll let go near my newborn baby!
Homemade Baby Wipe Solution Recipe
This recipe is for a half gallon glass jar. I like to make this in bulk and have lots on hand. This half gallon has lasted me several months, and I’m not even out of it yet.
Now I usually just eyeball the proportions for this. But here’s a quick breakdown of my best guess:
about a 1/4 cup each Baby Castile Soap, Witch Hazel, Organic Coconut Oil, and Aloe Vera. (I don’t really measure, I just do a few squirts or pumps of each).
5 drops each Frankincense, Lavender, Hawaiian Sandalwood, and Chamomile (optional – you could omit if you don’t have any good quality essential oils at home)
Fill the rest up with water (about 7 cups filtered water). Note: A subscriber on Youtube brought up a good point which is that if you don’t use filtered or distilled water, you increase your chance of bacteria forming in the solution. So make sure to use high quality water.
Diaper Wipe Solution Storage
Once you’ve combined all the ingredients, give the half gallon mason jar a good shake.
Next pour some of the mixture into an amber glass spray bottle. You want to use amber glass to help protect the essential oils from any sun damage. Tip – the bottles I linked come with a small funnel to help with pouring, which is essential to prevent spilling.
Now I’ve read mixed opinions on how long you can keep soap and other homemade mixtures like this. Some people say one year, some say longer. Because this is a homemade recipe, I would use it up within a year. If you are cloth diapering like I am with one baby, you will likely use up the half gallon recipe no problem in under 6 months. That’s a lot of diapers! 🙂
2 year update:
I noticed as my baby grew older and needed fewer diaper changes, my solution was sitting on the counter longer. While I believe it was just fine, I did notice some separation in the ingredients and it just didn’t look as fresh. So my rule of thumb is that your solution should be used up in about 3-6 months. A newborn will go through it much faster, but now that I have a toddler I just make less solution because she takes longer to go through it. Fresher is best 🙂
How to Make Homemade Diaper Wipes for Cloth Diapers
Now going into cloth diapering may be better suited for another post, but I will talk a little bit about how I made these wipes and my cloth diapering routine.
Basically when I was pregnant I decided we were going to cloth diaper for our baby. So I bought some diaper covers and sewed up some inserts. For the inserts, I used organic cotton hemp and fleece fabric. I had a lot of fabric leftover, so I just cut it up into little wipe sizes (about 3×5 inches) and serged around the edges with a serger. They’ve worked beautifully!
It’s amazing how many diapers and wipes you go through on a daily basis! So it feels really good knowing we’re not spending any money on diapers or wipes once the initial cost was done.
So when I go to change a diaper, I pull out 2-3 wipes. If the diaper is only wet, I may just use 1 wipe. I spray the wipe 3-5 times with the solution. What’s nice about this is you can use more or less solution depending on the diaper load size.
Then, I toss the diaper cover, the inserts, and the wipes in my washable diaper bag and throw it all in the wash every 2-3 days.
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Tools:
Amber glass spray bottle (comes with the pouring funnel)
Wipe Solution Ingredients:
Essential Oils:
Get essential oils at a wholesale discount here.
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Homemade Baby Wipe Solution
This recipe makes a half gallon of all-natural, homemade baby wipe solution.
Ingredients
Tools Needed
- half gallon glass jar
- 4 oz amber glass spray bottle
- wipes (i use homemade fleece wipes)
Wipe Solution Ingredients
- 7 cups filtered water (note: be sure to use filtered or distilled water, as tap water can be contaminated and can cause bacteria to grow!)
- 1/4 C Organic Coconut Oil
- 1/4 C witch hazel
- 1/4 C aloe vera gel
- 1/4 C baby Castile soap
Essential Oils
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients into a half gallon glass jar. Shake to combine
- Using a small funnel, pour the solution into a 4oz amber glass spray bottle.
- Use 2-5 sprays on a homemade wipe during diaper changes for an infant, and 5-10 sprays for a toddler.
- Store in sealed jar for up to 6 months. See storage note below.
Notes
2 year update:
I've been using this baby wipe solution for 2 years now and have a couple of updates:
- First, my baby never had a single diaper rash for about 20 months! She got her first rash just recently at 20 months and I realized it was because I ran out of this solution and didn't have time to make more, so I just filled my spray bottles with water for the interim. After a few days she got a rash. Then I realized I hadn't yet changed the bottles out. Once I cleared the rash up I made a new batch of wipe solution and we're all good now, so that's my testimony as to how well this worked out for us!
- Second, I noticed as my baby grew older and needed fewer diaper changes, my solution was sitting on the counter longer. While I believe it was just fine, I did notice some separation in the ingredients and it just didn't look as fresh. So my rule of thumb is that your solution should be used up in about 3-6 months. A newborn will go through it much faster, but now that I have a toddler I just make less solution because she takes longer to go through it. Fresher is best 🙂
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