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. 😉
roughly how many ounces does this make?
I’m going to say maybe 6 oz? Depends on how much you whip it.
Ummm whipping won’t change the weight. Are your “ounces” actually a volume measurement? I’m confused.
Would this work if the beeswax is already pre cut? And chamomile essential oil instead of the flowers?
Yes, just weigh out the beeswax- it’ll take a little longer melting down, but it’ll be fine. And the essential oil would make the process quicker- go for it!
If I need to add cocoa butter at the end to thicken it up some, should I melt it down first?
Yes- combine the ingredients when they are in liquid form and then you can cool it down in the fridge to bring it to a solid form.
It looks really thick in the picture, what’s the texture like? Is it easy to scoop out and spread?
Also, what would happen if I left out the tea tree oil and the lavender? Would that affect the shelf life?
No, same shelf life, just less therapeutic benefits.
What is the shelf life? I’m trying to make some products before baby is born and want to make sure I don’t make it too far in advance.
Should keep for months!
Yep! It warms up easily in your fingers.
So I couldn’t find chamomile flowers or chamomile essential oil for my first batch so I just omitted that part and used plain olive oil without chamomile. Its cooling to room temp at the momentwaiting to have tthe other oils added. I hope it still works well.
I’m sure it will!
I’m doing this as we speak and it’s no whipping. I’ve melted more Cocoa butter and beeswax and it still isn’t whipping. It’s sitting in the fridge again right now, but how solid should it get? I know coconut oil won’t whip if it’s melted at all, this is the consistency of cake batter… should it be more solid to whip? How solid is too solid?
Hopefully this worked out for you- if it’s still not whipping, it needs to cool longer. If it gets rock solid, let it go to room temperature and then trying whipping.
Hi there,
I am going to make this but having a hard time with the units of measure. Are these fluid ounces? Or by weight? I don’t have a scale! 🙂 any help would be much appreciated, ideally in cups (mLs) if that would be compatible!
Hi! I am excited to try this recipe out on my newborn! Before I go ahead and make it, I was wondering if it would need a preservative? I am hoping not.
no preservative needed!
hi, its difficult to find dried flowers here (i am from indonesia) and if i buy it from the ols, its quite expensive..
may i change the dried flowers with chamomile hydrosol?
and another thing is about the essential oil, may i just use one of those eo? eg : tea tree eo only..
thx a lot 🙂
I’m not familiar with chamomile hydrosol, but you could use any variety of essential oils you like or none at all!
I was wondering why you added the Grapefruit EO, Eucalyptus EO and orange EO- just curious what benefits these specific oils provide. I’m familiar with Tea Tree and Lavender being in diaper creams, but not those mentioned above.
They are just my own blend- I like the citrus notes and the eucalyptus is antibacterial and antifungal.
Can you please let me know if the measure is by weight or by volume? Using the scale would be super (and super easy), but if I need to use the measuring cups I’ll survive!
Thanks!
no need to use measuring cups, use the scale!
This stuff is amazing. I am making my 3rd batch as we speak. Use it on my 10 month old all the time, and it clears up even the most severe rash in a couple of applications. For those who have a hard time finding chamomile flowers, I just purchased herbal chamomile tea bags and steep those in the olive oil. Makes for easy straining, and the only ingredient in them is chamomile flowers. FYI don’t try and steep the loose tea. Tried that the first time and had to throw it out because I couldn’t get ANY of the little bits out.
Thanks for the great tips!
I love it! I’m making my 3rd double batch tonight 🙂 thanks for a great recipe!
For someone who has been making this over and over, do you really find that it is cloth diaper safe? I want to be sure it’s not a hassle to wash out before buying all the ingredients and making this! Thanks for any feedback!
Yes- it has always been great for me!
How long does this stay good for? Should it be stored in a cool, dark place?
Oh goodness, nevermind…it says one year haha sorry!
I bought chamomile tea from David’s Tea which turned out to be a tin of lose chamomile flowers.
I’ve read a few places that you’re supposed to be really careful with nut butters and oils on baby skin before you know about any possible allergies– any guidance in that area or has anyone tried this and not worried about it?
i just found this recipe while looking for a new baby bottom balm to try. I love the texture of the balm, so luxurious thanks to the cocoa butter and Shea butter. However, I think it’s important to note that Eucalyptus essential oil is not safe to be used on children under the age of 10 and Sweet Orange and Grapefruit essential oils are not recommended for babies under the age of 6 months. I know there is so much information out there on EOs safety that it gets a little confusing but I love the Hippy Homemakers blog where she lays it all out in terms of safety in usage with children. http://www.thehippyhomemaker.com/essential-oil-safety-babies-children/
Hi I am studying about essential oils and love working with them however I was reading recently that they should not be used for children under the age of 5. I would like to use them in baby homemade products but now I am unsure. THe article was from an aromatherapy school – because baby skin is so delicate and absorbs so easily…… can you tell me how your baby reacted to the essentail oils? Thanks so much! 😉
Hi I am studying about essential oils and love working with them however I was reading recently that they should not be used for children under the age of 5. I would like to use them in baby homemade products but now I am unsure. THe article was from an aromatherapy school – because baby skin is so delicate and absorbs so easily…… can you tell me how your baby reacted to the essentail oils and where you got it from? Thanks so much! 😉