The paper diapers and wet wipes have saved us lots of work but if you’re interested in a more gentle and healthier alternative, here’s my recipe for a washing emulsion that can replace the wet wipes. I use oils that are suitable for the sensitive baby skin – the emulsion will not only clean the skin but will also be beneficial for the skin.
To make this emulsion is fairly easy and economical. If you make homemade cosmetics, you might have the ingredients at home already. If you don’t you can get them easily at the chemist’s, in a grocery store or on the internet.
Ingredients:
- 2 bottles of min. 50 ml
- 1 full tbsp. of coconut oil (as much as you can scoop)
- 1 equally full tbsp. of shea butter
- 2 tbsp. of apricot oil
- 1 tbsp. of sweet almond oil
- 1 coffee spoon of lanoline
- 25 ml of water
- 1 % of Cosgard (preservative) of the total weight
I use this ratio, maybe you find out that something else works for you or that you want to make a double amount right away. Use oil suitable for children such as apricot, coconut or almond oil, if you have some calendula extract in almond oil, even better. You will have to make the emulsion mixing the oil base with water (oil and water don’t usually mix), therefore, you need an emulgator. If the cosmetics that you can usually buy there’s lots of synthetic emulgators, I use the natural ones. Here it’s lanoline but you could also use bees wax or soy lecitine. Their emulsion abilities are considered week but as you’ll see it’s enough for this emulsion. If you want to look for a stronger natural emulsion, look for behentrimonium methosulfate, cetearyl alcohol, glycerol-stearate…and there are more.
And here’s the How to:
Put all oils and the lanoline in a saucepan, place this in a bigger pan with boiling water and let the oils melt in a water bath.
Melt them slowly and take off the heat before they’re completely melted. Let the rest melt off-heat. Stir well.
Let the mixture cool down and pour it into a bottle. Store this oil and lanoline base in a dark cold place.
Make a smaller amount of the emulsion. Boil the water, let it cool down and pour it into another bottle. Add 2 teaspoons of the oil base, the preservative and shake the bottle. The emulsion will thicken a little and will become white-ish. You can use this emulsion to clean the baby’s face, butt, anything. Just put a few drops on a fabric diaper or any other piece of cloth.
