Homemade Diaper Balm (Cloth Diaper Safe)
I know we usually talk about food around here, but today I want to talk about babies. More specifically, baby bottoms. Just a little segway from our normal topics of conversation.. no big deal.
You probably know this (or maybe you’d just guess it from my other granola-mom-type interests), but my babies wear cloth diapers. I’m not really sure why we started using them in the first place- probably something to do with the environment or being too cheap to buy disposables all the time or something. Whatever it was that started it all, we have had a great experience with them on both our kids. (BumGenius 4.0 is our favorite, if you’re wondering.)
One of the things about babies, though, whether you cloth diaper or not, is that they get diaper rash. Fact of life. And for my kids, it gets worse when they sit in their cloth diapers. Granted, part of the reason is that they’re sitting in their own pee, but the other part is that they’re not always protected with diaper cream. Most diaper creams are not cloth-diaper-friendly since their job is to repel moisture (meaning when the cream is absorbed into a cloth diaper, it will repel the moisture that it’s supposed to absorb), so we skip them and stick them in disposables until the rash passes.
At one point, I found a cloth-diaper-friendly balm that I liked-Angel Baby Bottom Balm- but I was not going to keep spending that much money for two measly ounces of diaper cream, so I set out to make some at home. This was my first homemade beauty-type item, you guys! It’s pretty easy if you can get all the ingredients you need.
The coconut and olive oil were already in my cabinet, but the cocoa butter, beeswax and shea butter took a little effort to find in their natural form. I ended up finding those ingredients easily at Whole Foods, so if you have one near you, you’re golden. If you don’t, get busy with your search engine and you’re sure to find them on the interwebs. Just make sure they are all natural and have no additives.
All of the ingredients have natural healing properties- antibiotic, anti-fungal, antiviral, antioxidant, antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory- you name it, this balm helps to fight it. The essential oils are just my own blend- you can feel free to substitute other oils if you like and add more or less depending on your baby’s sensitivity.
This is also a great healing moisturizer for dry skin, cuts, scrapes, burns, eczema, razor burn, bug bites, cradle cap, and more- healing for the whole family in one small jar. But what’s most important are those baby bottoms. Happy bottom, happy baby.
- 1 ounce olive oil
- 2 teaspoons chamomile flowers, dried
- 1 ounce coconut oil
- 1 ounce shea butter
- 1 ounce cocoa butter (chop if necessary)
- ½ ounce beeswax (chop if necessary)
- 5 drops Tea Tree essential oil
- 2-3 drops Lavender essential oil
- 2-3 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
- 2-3 drops Sweet Orange essential oil
- 2-3 Grapefruit essential oil
- Heat olive oil on low heat in a small saucepan- do not bring to a boil- for about 10 minutes. Add chamomile flowers and stir for 10 more minutes, then take off the heat and let steep for an hour or two.
- After an hour or two has passed, strain the chamomile oil into the bowl of a double boiler. Add coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter and beeswax until melted. Remove from the heat and move the mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer or a container safe for mixing with a stick blender. Let the mixture cool.
- When the mixture is at room temperature (bottom of the bowl is no longer warm), add your essential oils.
- Using a standmixer or stick blender, mix on high until the mixture is completely cool and turns from clear liquid to a white solid. If this is not happening- if the mixture is too runny or doesn’t turn- place the bowl in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl and try again. If that still does not work, add more beeswax or cocoa butter (these are solid at room temp) until you reach the desired consistency.
- Scoop into a small jar with a tight fitting lid. Store in a cool, dry place.
- Use within one year.
Looks gorgeous! I am sure this would have worked great for 2 of my 3 kids. I just wanted to add that I spent months with a child with a nappy rash that wouldn’t go away, no matter what cream I tried. I spent so much money on different creams trying to find one that work, only to find out by accident that this little bottom didn’t like to be moist. A handful of cornflour (tried out of desperation) did in a few hours what creams had only made worse. Apparently some little bottoms like to be dry and creams only exacerbate rashes. So for any mums out there, who have tried cream after cream – try some cornflour, it might just work.
Catherine, great advice! Cornstarch does work on some rashes- but not yeast. If the rash is yeast-related, it will feed on the cornstarch- I made that mistake once and I’ll never do it again.