We’ve been using cloth diapers and wipes for over three years now. But, I confess, there have been some times when disposables have been necessary for us. No shame here. No shame! I do try to carry over some of natural baby products and ideas where I can, however. And so, I’m sharing my homemade baby wipes and homemade wipe solution.
For example, for wipes, I use cut up paper towels (don’t use the cheapies here. Get name brand like Bounty ones!) and a homemade wipe solution, or with cloth, I use a little spray bottle with the wipe solution and spray the wipes as I go.
It is cheaper to make my own wipes and solution and I know what’s in them.
Homemade Baby Wipes Ingredients
I used boiled water (to help kill off anything growing in it), coconut oil, aloe vera, vitamin E (thanks to reader Jen, I’ve learned “Vitamin E is actually not a preservative, it’s an antioxidant. So it will delay your oils from going rancid, but it will not prevent bacterial growth. I don’t think it’s a great idea to put these on wipes and leave them for too long.”, witch hazel, soap (but Castile Soap, baby body wash or baby shampoo is easier) and essential oils for the wipe solution.
Homemade baby wipes recipe
Boil 2 cups of water in an electric kettle or on the stove. You could even use a microwave. Then, added some shaved soap (that was what I had on hand this time) or baby wash and all of the other ingredients and whisked it to mix it up.
Majestic Pure Fractionated Coconut Oil, 16 Oz
Lily of the Desert Aloe Vera Gelly Bottle, 12 Ouncederma e Vitamin E Skin Oil 14,000 I.U., 2 Fluid OunceThayer Witch Hazel Orgnl AlcfreeDr. Bronner’s Fair Trade & Organic Castile Liquid Soap – (Baby Unscented, 32 oz)
Then allowed to cool.
Using the wipe solution with paper towels
While it was cooling, I got to chopping the paper towels. A knife works, but I think an electric knife would have made things easier for me. I just measured on the paper towels to the height of my container so I was able to close it. I just used an old wipe-sized plastic container, you know, from my store bought wipes!
Take the middle of the a roll of paper towel out and “started” the wipe roll from the middle. Then I poured the wipe solution over the top slowly and carefully. The roll of paper towels will absorb it all. And, you will have nice wipes that slide on the skin easier than just water (what I used to use) and remove everything from their little bottoms easier.
Using the wipe solution with cloth diapers and wipes
If you use cloth wipes, you can add the very same solution to a spray bottle (or that peri bottle you got from the hospital) and spray it onto wipes as needed. Some people prefer to spray directly on the bum when their little one is wearing a cloth diaper, but that’s not my preference.
This wipe solution is way better than just using water and we really like it better than store bought wipes. Plus, you know what is in them! And, I love that I can use them on paper…
Or, on my cloth wipes.
What should I mix my wipe solutions in?
When using essential oils, it’s ideal to have a glass bottle instead of plastic. Grab an empty amber glass spray bottle
What are some good cloth wipes I can use?
Good homemade wipes make a huge difference. If you don’t have the fabric or care to sew your own, I really like these Thirsties wipes
&
Thirsties Organic Cloth Wipes – 6 packEmpty Amber Glass Spray Bottle – Large 16 oz Refillable Container is Great for Essential Oils, Cleaning Products, Homemade Cleaners, Aromatherapy, Organic Beauty Treatments or Cooking in the Kitchen – Durable Black Trigger Sprayer w/ Mist and Stream Nozzle Settings
Do I need to boil the water for homemade baby wipes solution?
Yes, you need to boil your tap water first. You want to make sure you’ve killed anything that’s in the water since you will use it a few days.
Can I use distilled water?
Yes, distilled water is a great substitute and faster option. The only difference is you’ll want to make sure you are using a liquid bath soap instead of solid as it will be hard to dissolve the solid.
How long do I keep my solution?
I keep our solution in a spray bottle for about a week and check to make sure I don’t see anything growing in it. I also check the smell to make sure it doesn’t smell like it’s gone bad or rancid. Do the same if you use the paper towels.
Can you spray the solution on paper towels, too?
Absolutely you can use the spray directly on a dry paper towel. Again, you want to make sure your paper towels are nice and strong, but also soft. This is a great solution if your baby is older and you don’t think you will go through a tub of wipes before the solution goes bad.
Using homemade wipes on the go
I like to use this solution when we travel too. If I have the wipes made from paper towels, I just take my container and go. When using cloth diapers, I used a spray bottle of the solution with my cloth wipes. You could also use the spray bottle on a roll of dry paper towels, one at a time.
Don’t have an ingredient, what can I substitute?
This recipe is pretty easy and versatile. Not all of the ingredients are completely necessary. I would at least use water with a little baby soap of some sort, but the others will totally help. And if you are really in a pinch and don’t have the ingredients to make homemade baby wipes? You can just use water and all will be okay!
Homemade wipe solution
Ingredients
- Paper towels or washcloths and a spray bottle.
- 2 cups boiled water or distilled water
- 1 Tablespoon aloe vera
- 1 Tablespoon Witch Hazel Extract
- 1 Tablespoon soap I used shaved bar soap or you can use Castile soap
- 1 teaspoon vitamin E
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- essential oils of your choice optional. I used 6 drops of lavender, 6 drops of lemon and 3 drops of joy
Instructions
- Boil the water.
- Mix all of the other ingredients together and stir into the water.
- Cut the paper towels to fit into the container you are going to use.
- Pull the middle out of the paper towels and "dispense" from the middle of the roll.
- Pour the cooled solution over the paper towels and give them time to absorb.
- OR place the mixture in a spray bottle and spray on cloth wipes as needed.
Krystyn has been blogging since 2005. She is a sarcasm-loving, straight-shooting, jeans and t-shirts wearing, wife and mom of four girls (ages 12, 10, 7 and 5). She blogs about life as a mom and wife and includes funny stories, family travel, fitness, recipes, STEM and more. She currently resides in the Atlanta, Georgia suburbs.
Diana @ Nanny to Mommy says
April 22, 2015 at 11:19 pmi don’t know if I’ll try but I want to!
Krystyn says
April 22, 2015 at 11:31 pmSeriously, the only thing I had to buy for these was the paper towels! And, of course, you can modify it if you don’t have one thing or another. The vitamin E for example is a preservative, so if you go through it quickly, you won’t need it.
Keara B. says
April 22, 2015 at 11:33 pmI’d love to try this wipes solution. We just recently started using cloth wipes and my solution is not quite as advanced. 😉 Mine seems a bit “sticky” so I’m sure the oils would help!
Krystyn says
April 23, 2015 at 10:48 amHmmm…I wonder what it is that is causing the sticky-ness.
Keara B. says
April 23, 2015 at 1:07 pmOh, I just meant that the wipes don’t “glide” very well. Not that they’re really sticky. 🙂 But I think adding the coconut oil & Vit E might help, so thank you for that idea!
MommaE says
April 23, 2015 at 7:15 amThanks for posting this great recipe! I am going to get the ingredients and make these. What a genius idea!
Paige says
April 23, 2015 at 7:42 amWhat a great idea!
Lisa Brown says
April 23, 2015 at 8:14 amyes, i would absolutely make this solution, easy and looks like it works great
Julie Wood says
April 23, 2015 at 8:37 amI really like your homemade wipes solution and think it is better than the stores and want to buy the ingredients to make it at Walmart! Thanks for sharing.
Mary Happymommy says
April 23, 2015 at 8:49 amI might try the wipes solution.
Camille says
April 23, 2015 at 8:55 amI will definitely have to try this. I’ve been using just water or watered down baby wash for wipe solution. Thanks for sharing!
Natalie says
April 23, 2015 at 10:09 amI would like to try this homemade solution to see if it works well.
Lauren says
April 23, 2015 at 10:24 amI like your idea!
Janet W. says
April 23, 2015 at 10:24 amI’d like to try and make this solution! I would stock up on Bounty paper towels.
Elena says
April 23, 2015 at 10:26 amI would love to try this.
Patricia C. says
April 23, 2015 at 12:03 pmThis looks like a good recipe. I use almond oil, Dr. Bronners, and a little tea tree oil.
Amanda Sakovitz says
April 23, 2015 at 2:01 pmI would probably try this out.
Stephanie says
April 23, 2015 at 2:22 pmi plan on trying it! thanks!
Jessica Beard says
April 23, 2015 at 2:57 pmI love making my own natural products. I plan on using it!
steve weber says
April 23, 2015 at 2:58 pmI definitely want to try this! it’s good for the environment too
Lindsey @ Redhead Baby Mama says
April 23, 2015 at 3:23 pmI’ll try anything once! I love the essentials oils you included. They must smell divine! If I didn’t try making these, I would snag all the pampers and luvs diapers for a stockpile.
Krystyn says
April 23, 2015 at 3:28 pmThe biggest pain is cutting the dang paper towels!
Jenna D says
April 23, 2015 at 5:57 pmI will definitely try this out, love doing diy.
Jessica To says
April 23, 2015 at 6:16 pmI would like to try the solution. I like your choice of essential oils in the solution.
Tabathia B says
April 23, 2015 at 6:28 pmNo, I wouldn’t make it. I would probably purchase some plastic utensils and items for grilling
Bridgett Wilbur says
April 23, 2015 at 7:12 pmI would try to make it why not. I love to try new things.
Kim D. says
April 23, 2015 at 8:54 pmI would buy Bounty and Tide.
Thomas Murphy says
April 23, 2015 at 9:30 pmThe homemade wipe solution looks awesome! I would buy tide at walmart.
shelly peterson says
April 23, 2015 at 10:02 pmI think the home made wipes are a great idea, I probably wouldn’t make them . I would buy some Pampers.
Heather Hayes Panjon says
April 24, 2015 at 9:22 amThe Homemade Wipe Solution Is A Great Idea! I’d Try To Make It! I Would Buy Tide.
Natalie says
April 24, 2015 at 11:59 amThe solution looks great. I think I would get the Luvs diapers w/ the gift card.
Madonna says
April 24, 2015 at 5:11 pmI would try it for sure. I am into natural products and less chemicals.
HS says
April 24, 2015 at 10:36 pmI love the idea of homemade wipe solution, would like to try to make it.
James Robert says
April 25, 2015 at 7:06 pmI’d try it if I still had babies using wipes and bet they would smell great as well. I’d buy anything my kids need with gift card which is always something
Leilani G says
April 25, 2015 at 7:49 pmThis looks amazing! What do you think the shelf life is? More than a week?
Krystyn says
April 26, 2015 at 4:18 pmI haven’t fully tested it, but I would think at least a week. Especially with boiling the water (or you can used distilled) and adding the vitamin E. Ours is at a week and looks and smells just as good as it did the first day.
Veronica Arnett says
March 24, 2018 at 11:35 pmThank you for sharing! Would this recipe work for wet wipes rather than spraying? I have about 2-3 days worth of cloth wipes.
Krystyn says
March 25, 2018 at 12:06 pmHi Veronica- I think you would be good to pour it on a couple days worth of cloth wipes. Just keep an eye (and nose) on them. But, I think 2-3 days would be okay.
Barbara Montag says
April 25, 2015 at 10:45 pmI’m all for the homemade wipe solution.
The more natural the better.
thank you
kathy dalton says
April 26, 2015 at 1:46 pmI think the home made wipes are a great idea but I honestly wouldnt make them
kathy dalton says
April 26, 2015 at 1:48 pmI would buy groceries from Walmart
Sarah Hayes says
April 26, 2015 at 4:30 pmi think the wipe solution looks great. the kind i make is a little simpler but I would like to make this one as well
Allison Downes says
April 26, 2015 at 4:55 pmI plan to try this out.
Thanks for the giveaway.
Diana Cole says
April 27, 2015 at 11:16 amMy GF used to make handmade wipes all the time. I used w it my son
Heather Dawn says
April 28, 2015 at 9:51 pmI love the idea of homemade wipes/solution! It seems easy to do. I use cloth diapers, so why not wipes?
Edye says
July 27, 2017 at 10:31 amI love how simple this is to make and use! Thanks for sharing.
Jen says
January 16, 2019 at 9:43 pmVitamin E is actually not a preservative, it’s an antioxidant. So it will delay your oils from going rancid, but it will not prevent bacterial growth. I don’t think it’s a great idea to put these on wipes and leave them for too long.
That being said – this is a great recipe. I don’t want preservatives on my baby’s skin. I make a smaller batch of this and remake often.
Krystyn says
January 17, 2019 at 8:46 amThank you! That makes sense.
I usually end up making the small spray bottle full and it lasts less than a week. And I don’t let it get hot.
I’d definitely keep my eye on the paper towels.
Eve says
March 15, 2019 at 10:41 amGreat recipe for homemade wipe solution. I too prefer to make them in small batches.
I love how you have included so many tips and details that I might have otherwise overlooked, such as keeping the solution in amber glass bottles if we’re adding essential oils.
Thanks for sharing!
Amber says
March 28, 2019 at 5:32 pmI made this and just want to be sure it is correct. I made my own cloth wipes and they seem kind of soapy and left a little residue on my little one. Is that okay? Normal?
Krystyn says
March 29, 2019 at 8:07 amHi Amber
I’d probably dilute what you’ve made with a little more water. It could be the soap you used or your water or another number of factors. I’d see how your LO responds and go from there. But if there’s residue, I’d consider diluting or using less on your iOS
Emma says
May 24, 2019 at 3:13 amGreat stuff