After having my first child, I took a long hard look at everything in our house. Every cleaner, every personal care product, even baby wipes! Wow, I was shocked to see just how many chemicals that were in everything we used. Then I went onto the EWG Skin Deep database to look up just how toxic all of these chemicals were. I was beyond shocked, I was horrified!
- Amodimethicone: a silicon-based polymer
- Polysorbate 20: a surfactant and emulsifier used in cleaners and personal care products — here is how it’s rated
- Methylparaben: in the paraben family of preservatives used by the food, pharmaceutical, and personal care product industries. Parabens mimic estrogen and can act as potential hormone (endocrine) system disruptors — here is how it’s rated
- Sodium Lauryl Glucose Carboxylate: a product obtained by the reaction of Lauryl Glycol(q.v.) and sodium monochloroacetate.
- Lauryl Glucoside: a sugar- and lipid-based surfactant
- Methylisothiazolinone: a widely-used preservative; has been associated with allergic reactions. Lab studies on the brain cells of mammals also suggest that methylisothiazolinone may be neurotoxic!!! — here is how it’s rated
I bet those wipes are not looking very good to you anymore. So, I just decided to make some of my own homemade baby wipes. The bonus about these is that they are also washable, so they have less of an environmental impact too!
Homemade Reusable Baby Wipes
Materials
- 1 roll bamboo paper towels
- 1 cup of witch hazel
- 2 teaspoons organic aloe vera
- 10 drops Gentle Baby essential oil
- A container
Instructions
- Cut the paper towels in half, you can stack them and cut three at a time.
- Fold them into thirds and stack them in the container of your choice (you will only use about 1/3 -1/2 of the roll of paper towels for this recipe).
- Mix the witch hazel, aloe, and essential oil together in a bowl.
- Pour the mixture over the middle of the wipes, so it soaks all the way through the stack.
- Close the lid to keep them moist.
- I suggest making two batches of these, so you can wash one while using the other. You can also just add new ones to the container as you wash them and pour more of the mixture over the dry ones. I have done it both ways. They get softer when you wash them too!
Washing Instructions:
- I will add that I have washed and DRYED these so many times that I have lost count, and they still hold up. So, they are able to go into the dryer.
Notes
Learn more about essential oil here.
We reused the wipes container from the store-bought Huggies wipes.
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Jennifer
March 14, 2015 at 2:03 pmWill this work about the same with cloth wipes? And what do you do about dirty wipes once you have toddler poop?
Kate
March 16, 2015 at 7:19 amJennifer, that is a very good question! Toddler poops are a whole different ballgame, so I will see what we do when I get there. Right now they work great for breastmilk (benign, non-smelly) poops. BUT, I remember what happens when they start solids. You can certainly use this recipe with cloth wipes too. I plan to use them, so we will see how it goes. Starting solids in about 6 weeks. 🙂
Suzanne Turner
October 2, 2016 at 3:02 pmAfter opening 50 tabs from 50 pins, THIS was the one I was searching for! I wanted washable/reusable wipes that could fold into an OXO dispenser. You nailed it, thank you!! 🙂