Homemade Baby and Hand Wipes

Article contributed by Shayla. Some out there may be wondering to themselves “Why on earth make your own wipes?” There are a couple good reasons for this, though! Baby wipes, for instance, often contain chemicals that are known to be dangerous.  It is so important to realize that the skin is the body’s largest organ, and what you put on yours and your child’s skin is absorbed into the body. The Safe Mama website (a great site for parents, dedicated to finding non-toxic, child-safe products for parents) provides a wonderfully educational PDF showing what dangerous ingredients that are in common wipes, like Huggies and Pampers.  According to their PDF, Common ingredients in your baby’s wipes include the following;

• Polysorbate 20 (has not even been assessed for safety),
• DMDM Hydantoin (a type of formaldehyde and rated “High Hazard” and cancerous by the non-profit organization Environmental Working Group)
  
• perfume (possible phthalaltes) These are banned in Europe’s cosmetics. They disrupt the body’s hormone levels among other dangers, read more here.
• propylene glycol and parabens (antifreeze). Before you send your dirty bottomed toddler out to play in an antifreeze puddle to get clean, you should know that according to Wikipedia it “Causes moderate skin irritation. Contact with the skin may cause erythema, dryness, and defatting.” Also, they say larger exposure “May cause reproductive and fetal effects. Laboratory experiments have resulted in mutagenic effects. Exposure to large doses may cause central nervous system depression. Chronic ingestion may cause lactic acidosis and possible seizures.”
• Tetrasodium EDTA (also not assessed for safety- this delightful ingredient helps all the other ingredients in the product to penetrate more deeply. GREAT! So this will case all these other chemicals like the formaldehyde to soak deeply into my baby’s system!

None of these chemicals should go on anybody, let alone a little baby! Some of the very, very worst baby wipes of all, according to Safe Mama, are Target Brand, Canus Li’l Goat’s Milk Ultra Moisturizing, and Publix Premium Brand. One solution to this awful problem is to purchase wipes such as provided by Seventh Generation, but these are often expensive. Making your own is actually by far cheaper, and is even less expensive then purchasing regular baby wipes at the store.

Baby Wipe Recipe

1 roll strong, natural paper towels (like Seventh Generation-regular paper towels contain formaldehyde).
2 1/4 cup water
1 circular wipes container or other plastic container- you may even want to find a decorative container, like a cookie jar that seals
2 Tablespoon Natural shampoo (Just make sure it is in fact free of chemicals- I like Young Livings Kidscents Shampoo)
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
1 Tablespoon Hydrogen Peroxide
2-3 Drops of you favorite Essential Oil (I use  Gentle Baby as it smells like baby shampoo)

Hand Wipe Recipe

1 roll strong, natural paper towels (like Seventh Generation-regular paper towels contain formaldehyde).
2 1/4 cup water
1 circular wipes container or other plastic container
2 Tablespoon Natural shampoo OR Thieves Foaming Handsoap-Refill
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
1 Tablespoon Hydrogen Peroxide
5 to 10  Drops of you favorite Essential Oil (I use Thieves as it is antiseptic)

Cut the roll of paper towels in half with a very sharp knife and smash down on the roll from the sides.  Pry the cardboard center and pull it out (you may need pliers the first few times you pull it out). Combine the wet ingredients in a bowl and mix with hand held blender (or just mix in blender). Pour half of the liquid in the wipes container and gently place the roll of towels in the container on top of the fluid. Then pour the remaining fluid over the top of the roll. Baby wipes will last about 2 weeks then need to be replaced.

Click HERE to learn more about protecting your child from dangerous, toxic chemicals.

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References;
The Environmental Working Group
Safe Mama
Wikipedia

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