Recently commercial baby wipes have come under fire for a sudden breakout of nasty, painful rashes in children and infants. These rashes are frequently caused by a reaction to the many chemicals used in the wipes. Rather than subject your hands and your children’s sensitive skin to these caustic chemicals, here is a simple money-saving homemade antifungal baby wipes recipe that you can make yourself.
This particular recipe helps to discourage Yeast diaper rash and is soothing to the skin. In our house, there are a few essential ingredients that we always have on hand- a set of quality essential oils (not to be confused with fragrance oils, which are synthetic and should NOT be used directly in skincare products!), aloe vera gel, vinegar, and homemade calendula oil (which we frequently use in various homemade salves and lotions for its excellent healing benefits).
This solution creates silky soft wipes that are gentle on skin, but harsh on bacteria and fungi.
How to Make Your Own Antifungal Baby Wipes
Use a decent brand of paper towels, then using a serrated knife, cut the paper towel roll in half and place that half in a gallon size zip-style bag.
Mix all the ingredients of the solution together and pour it over the cut paper towels in the zip-style bag. Allow the Anti-Fungal baby wash solution to absorb the moisture for at least 20 minutes.
Carefully slide the cardboard center out of the paper towels by grasping the edge, twisting gently and pulling.
Starting from the center of the roll, pull out one at a time to use.
We always start the wipes from the center before placing them in the jar/container because sometimes they get squished in the process.
Place the wet paper towels in the container you plan to store them in. You can leave them in the zip-style bag, or you can transfer them to a coffee can, or mason jar.
The little bits of yellow you see in the wipes are pieces of calendula flower from the homemade calendula oil. It is recommended to strain the oil thoroughly first, but I knew our wipes were going to be used up so quickly it wouldn’t matter.
We’re opting to use a quart mason jar. Seal with a lid. In the photo here we are simply using a mason jar with a plastic recap lid.
If you don’t have calendula oil or don’t have time to make it for whatever reason, you can omit it completely. This will reduce the antifungal properties of the finished wipes, but will still create a decent cleaning wipe for your little one.
Antifungal Baby Wipes Recipe
In order to make your own Baby wipes you’ll need the following three items:
1. Paper Towels (preferably a soft brand)
2. Anti-Fungal Solution (below)
3. Container to put them in (we used a mason jar & recap lids)
Paper Product (choose one)
Paper Towels (soft), Bounty, Viva, or a good brand that won’t fall apart.
Baby Wipe Solution:
1/2 c. distilled water
1 tsp. vinegar
1/4 c. aloe vera gel
1 Tbs homemade or commercial calendula oil
2 drop lavender essential oil
2 drop tea tree essential oil
How to Make Antifungal Baby Wipes:
First, using a serrated knife, cut the paper towel roll in half and place that half in a gallon size zip-style bag.
Mix all the ingredients of the solution together and pour it over the cut paper towels in the zip-style bag. Allow the Anti-Fungal baby wash solution to absorb the moisture for at least 20 minutes.
Carefully slide the cardboard center out of the paper towels by grasping the edge, twisting gently and pulling.
Starting from the center of the roll, pull out one at a time to use. We always start the wipes from the center before placing them in the jar/container because sometimes they get squished in the process.
Place the wet paper towels in the container you plan to store them in. You can leave them in the zip-style bag, or you can transfer them to a coffee can, or mason jar. We’re opting to use a quart mason jar. Seal with a lid. In the photo here we are simply using a mason jar with a plastic recap lid.
Paper Product (choose one)
Paper Towels (soft), Bounty, Viva, or a good brand that won’t fall apart.
CONTAINER (choose one)
Empty Shortening Can
Ice Cream Bucket
Mason Jar with Recap Lid
Any small round container with plastic lid
With all these containers, you can cut an “X” into the plastic lid and then pull them out that way. It will hold the moisture in better. Have fun decorating the container if giving as a gift!
In addition to being more economical, most people claim these formulas cause fewer irritations on the skin, like this one below.
Photo Credit: Dr Mary Wu Chang
coffee filters work well, also
in the above you mention “homemade calendula oil (which we frequently use in various homemade salves and lotions for it’s excellent healing benefits).”
where do i find the directions for making this? i searched all over the website without any success. thanks.
It’s super hard to make 😉 you put 1 oz of calendula flowers in a pint jar and cover with a carrier oil such as almond or grapeseed. Seal it, store it in a dark place and shake it once per day. After 10 days, you have Calendula oil. Strain it and use it as needed.
i’ve taken the homemade baby wipes one step further and instead of using paper towel, i’ve cut fleece into squares and made reusable wipes and stored them in a recycled wipes container. just toss ’em in the wash when soiled.
great idea, nuzzlebug! i’m gonna try that!
what would be a good alternative to aloe? we have several members in our family that are alergic to aloe.
Thanks for the ideas. I used to make some wipes for sticky kid fingers out of paper towels, but am/was buying flushable wipes for the bathroom. I could be making my own from toilet tissue, duh!
I got so worried when people would use the sanitizing wipes at the store for kid’s mouths. These were hospital strength. Now they changed to hand wipes which are a bit less caustic.
People, protect those little ones and READ the directions!
This looks like an excellent idea, on my to do list.
As much as I prefer good old soap and hot water I can understand how these would come in useful for people with small children, nice recipe