One of the upsides to being a bit of a self-professed witch doctor mama is that I can treat my little's underside like it's royalty. Only the fanciest things for my little man's bum. Including homemade baby wipe solution.

Like cloth diapering, I made a point of easing into using cloth wipes. I read a million packages to see what the secret ingredients were in disposable wipes that made them so tempting. I tried to make a solution with what was listed on disposables. I tried just using water. I tried store bought solutions. I tried a recipe from Wellness Mama. Nothing was perfect for how our household ticks.

Because I tried a few different styles of wipe solution, I learned a few things along the way:

1. Cloth wipes run out quickly. My cheap and terrible plastic container holds about 15-20 wet wipes. That's maybe two days of wipes, assuming baby isn't a poop monster those days.
2. Aloe vera juice smells funny. Even when it is fresh. Don't be alarmed.
3. Water goes mouldy and significantly reduces the shelf life of whatever it is added to. Unless the water is boiled or distilled or the whole recipe is stored in the fridge.
4. I'm far too lazy to use distilled or boiled water every time I make a batch of wipes. 
5. I am also far too lazy to use something that needs to be stored in the fridge.
6. I am way too lazy to assemble all the ingredients required for a batch of wipes each and every time wipes are needed. 

I am the type to want cloth diapering and cloth wipes to be convenient as well as cheap. Something about having cake and eating it? Anyways. I wanted a solution that could sit in baby's room and not rot on me. Something almost as easy as grabbing a new package of wipes. Something that felt normal and not inconveniently homemade. 

I figured, if I just tweak what we've done a little, and omit everything that goes bad and add it at the end...it shouldn't get all stinky and rotten and gross on me...right? 

Right! Yay! 







As I do with every recipe, I started with the original Wellness Mama ingredients and took a few liberties with it. There were things I liked about some of my experiments along the way that made it into the final round. We keep a bottle of this "concentrated" wipes solution right on the change table with a measuring cup (you can see the change station setup here). It is such a relief to finally have a recipe and a system that work for us!! 

• 4 oz aloe vera juice
• 2 oz distilled witch hazel 
• 2 oz unscented castile soap
• 1 oz homemade baby oil*
• 5 drops vitamin e
• 5 drops tea tree oil
• 5 drops lavender essential oil

Instructions:

1. Mix everything together in an airtight jar. 
2. Store for up to one month at room temperature, or up to three months in the fridge.

* You can substitute olive/avocado oil + 5 drops each calendula and chamomile essential oils.

1. Shake well. Add half an ounce of concentrate to 10oz water. 
2. Pour into a large, airtight container with 15-20 cloth wipes. Allow wipes to absorb liquid.
3. Add more wipes to absorb remaining liquid as needed.

What is your all time favourite homemade baby product?