I’ll admit it; I’m a bit of a wet wipe snob. I need the perfect wipe. Every time.
Not all wet wipes are equal. I don’t like it being too soapy, too wet, too rough. It must not come out in lumps, or tear when I pull one out. But I don’t want it not to be soapy at all. Or too dry. Urgh! Why can’t I just have the perfect wet wipe!?
I decided to go on a mission on your behalf as well, and search for the perfect wet wipe for your little baby’s bum! From the cheapest to the more expensive ones. I’ve rated them on
- Soapiness
- Softness
- Strength
- Amount of wipes
- Price
Baby wipes are pretty much the Swiss Army Knife of parenting.
– Mama To The Power of 4
HUGGIES WET WIPES
Natural Care (with aloe vera)
I started with these wet wipes because I mostly use Huggies nappies with my youngest. I have to be honest, I felt a little dumb opening the packet! There’s no clear indication of which side to pull, and since most wipes peel from the side, that’s where I eventually tried to pull the clear plastic off. Turns out, that’s the firm plastic to keep the seal in tact. It opens from the middle bottom.
Another thing I noticed, was that I had to scratch to look for the first wipe. And the second. And the third. It kinda sticks to one another. Which is actually good for only pulling out one at a time.
I tried to clean baby’s nose with it, but as I squished the wipe, moisture and soapiness came out with it and went up her nose. (#babyfreakout)
RESULTS: 5/10
- Soapiness – way too much!
- Softness – lovely soft, no scratchiness whatsoever
- Strength – almost no strength. even tears as I pull it from the packet
- Amount of wipes – 56 per packet
- Price – R27 – R32 (5c a wipe)
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DOVE BABY WIPES
Sensitive Moisture
These wipes promote themselves with “as gentle as water” – let me just get this straight; I don’t know what water you’re using, but these wipes are not as gentle as water. Water is as gentle as water.
These wipes have a nice weight to them, and are woven well with a very slight texture – they are actually really stretchy and very soft, like cloth. They are a good size and very durable. They smell lovely, they feel wonderfully soft, and because we have learned over the years to trust Dove with even our delicate faces (#Doves7DayChallenge), we believe we can trust them with our babies as well.
Unfortunately for us, these wipes are a no-go for nappy changes – both my infant and my toddler developed bad diaper rashes from them after 3 days.
RESULTS: 4/10
- Soapiness – zero soap, struggled to clean
- Softness – soft like a cloth
- Strength – very strong, couldn’t tear!
- Amount of wipes – 50 per packet
- Price – R32 (6,4c a wipe)
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PAMPERS WET WIPES
Sensitive Protect
Firstly, I loved the fact that Pampers create a pack that has a clip-seal. The sticker flaps often loose their stickiness, and our wetwipes can easily dry out. This gives me the peace of mind that the moisture will stay locked inside, and I’ll have a fresh, moist wet wipe right to the end.
These wet wipes are not only great for bottoms (they clean a poo like magic!), but they clean messes, and dirty hands and feet like none of the other wipes we tried. No reaction to these wipes even after a week of constant use. The smell might be a little overwhelming for some, but we were very happy with them.
RESULTS: 8/10
- Soapiness – cleaned like a bar of soap – perfect
- Softness – softest wet wipes
- Strength – medium strength
- Amount of wipes – 56 per packet
- Price – R28 – R42 (depending on the plastic seal or not) 5 -7,5c a wipe
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CHERUBS WET WIPES
Sensitive
We bought these on special – three packs for R50-odd – and had to try them out. Firstly, these packets contain more wet wipes than regular branded wipes, but the packets are still smaller than those brands. (height) This is most likely because of the thinner individual wipes, but they are still as effective.
On the first day we had these wipes, we had to deal with some serious nappies. You know the ones – where it smells like something literally died in there… And although these wipes did their job, and cleaned the gooey pooey, it almost took me the double the amount of wipes I normally would have used. I don’t want that shhhhhh….tuff on my hands!
These are the first wipes that live up to their “frangrance free” promise. It really smells like nothing. And because of it being alcohol and paraben free, I could comfortably “get in there” with my little girl to make sure it cleaned everywhere.
*I did not buy/include the Pigeon brand wipes during this experiment, but they’ve been my go-to wipes for more than 4 years. They match up to Cherubs in comparison. It almost feels like the same wipe. Just for interest sake!
RESULTS: 7/10
- Soapiness – did not feel soapy, and had to rub over dirty spots on hands and feel several times
- Softness – soft and had enough moisture when removed from packet, but dried easily
- Strength – very thin, but had surprising stretch before it could tear
- Amount of wipes – 72 per packet
- Price – R19 to R50 for pack of three. (2,3c a wipe)
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CUDDLERS WET WIPES
So I have included these wipes, as I’ve tried the Cuddlers brand nappies, and although they weren’t the best for night time, I found them pretty good for during the day. Didn’t experience leaks, or rashes etc. So we tried the wipes as well.
Firstly, as you can probably see from the packet, my child loved squishing it, as the plastic made a wonderfully (loud) noise. BUT the seal lost it’s stickiness quite soon into the game, and because of this, our wipes dried out much faster than the packet should have lasted. We added a few drops of water before leaving the house, but even that didn’t help much.
The wipes felt a little dry, and came out in lumps. (Not the best situation when you have feet in one hand and a bunch on wipes in the other!) But whenever I had two hands available, controlling the amount of wipes to come out, was easier.
RESULTS: 6/10
- Soapiness – no soapy feel, and smelled lovely. cleaned messes well
- Softness – slightly scratchy, and dried easily
- Strength – medium strength, and had a stretch in length
- Amount of wipes – 64 per packet
- Price – R19 – R25 (3c a wipe)
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LOVIES WET WIPES
Unscented
These wipes were a buy at a small shop on a road trip. Did not need them for nappies, but rather for cleaning 4 sets of little hands in the car. They’ve been through quite a ride (hence the neat packaging…)
I only used these on baby’s bottom once or twice to see how she reacted. No reaction from what I could see, but the wipes felt a little flimsy to me. I’m not sure they would have supported me or baby very well in the case of a serious poo-situation. In fact, I used two wipes at a time to wipe a normal wet nappy.
We also had to use more than one wipe when cleaning one child’s dirty hands and/or feet. I like the fact that I can give each child a single wipe and they are able to clean whatever needs to be cleaned. It was not the case with these wipes.
They weren’t bad, but not the type of wipe I would easily buy full-time for my daughter’s (already sentive) skin.
RESULTS: 5/10
- Soapiness – no soapy feel and did not clean well
- Softness – scratchy and thin, also dried easily
- Strength – medium strength, and had a stretch in length
- Amount of wipes – 80 per packet
- Price – R15 – R20 (2.5c a wipe)
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CLICKS – MY EARTH BABY WIPES
I was very excited to try these, and tried 3 different Clicks stores to get my hands on a pack of these. Finally a wipe that is “green” and I can safely and confidently use (and flush!). But, oh how utterly disappointed I was. The first wipe tore as I tried to pull it from the packet. And when I finally did get it out, I pulled out 4.
It also has a very weird smell. I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s kind of sharp. It also has a similar feel to Huggies wipes, but not as soapy. Very wet, and will water when you squeeze it.
I do like the fact that it’s a wipe we can use and flush right down the toilet. (Very useful when we’re going to start potty training soon!)
RESULTS: 4/10
- Soapiness – not soapy, but still very watery
- Softness – very soft with a slight smell
- Strength – no strength, tore at touch
- Amount of wipes – 80 per packet
- Price – R25 (3c a wipe)
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BOTTOMLINE (See what I did there?)
After trying all these different wipes during the last month, I have to admit, my favourite was the Pampers brand. I only tried the sensitive option in whatever wipes we got, as my littles are quite sensitive, and I did not want to expose them to any thing harmful. Pampers is also the only brand any of these wipes I tried that did not contain Phenoxyethanol. (Used as an anti-bacterial in cosmetics and stabilizer in perfumes, phenoxyethanol is actually very harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed throughskin, especially to nursing mothers or infants. Phenoxyethanol can have an effect on the brain and the central nervous system.) *
The reason I also did not try the Johnson & Johnsons’ brand, is because of my allergy to these products as a baby. This has, unfortunately, been passed down, and we can’t use them. I asked a friend who swears by them to give me her opinion. She conveyed her love for them, and said they are not too wet/soapy for her liking. Once you get close to the bottom of the pack, it does get a little wetter, but then you store the packet upside down when. She did, however, admit that she can never get just a single wipe out of the packet at a time.
Please remember that each child and body reacts differently to different products. Just because my child reacted to a certain product, does not mean your child will. We all need certain things from the baby products we use, and the best is to try a couple different ones – even the no-name brands! You might just be surprised! – and find the one that works well on your little one’s bum, and your pocket.
What brand wet wipes do you use, and why? I would love to hear your thoughts! Comment below and stand a chance to win a gift set with a variety of wet wipes to use on your little one! (Entries close end of March 2019)
**DISCLAIMER: None of these products were sponsored. I bought them all with my own money, and tested them on my own children . These are 100% my own opinion, and what we experienced from them.
Hi Simone! I loved this post. I too have an allergy to Johnson’s but I’ve been winging between this and Huggies (Huggies because of nappies). I figured that because both my daughter and son have sensitive skin and both reacted to Pampers I haven’t decided to try anything else. I’m not really fond of the Johnson’s brand but it worked out to be a little bit cheaper and the Huggies wasn’t very wet and soapy that is kind of true. It was nice on my #babies skin but I would have to use quite a few wipes when he makes a mess. I’m so scared to try new ones but this would be really awesome. And Pampers actually sounds very nice.
I love pampers !! But I will also use cherubs or Johnson and Johnson’s … I’m not a fan of the pigeon wet wipes and I don’t like bambino they dry out so quickly and I don’t wnjoy that .
I am a young first-time mom of 1 (totally planned haha!). I received quite a variety of wet wipes at my bany shower but by the time I started “testing” them out I was too sleep-deprived to notice the finer details about wipes! I used Huggies water wipes for the first few weeks. I really enjoyed them! Very soft, quite wet and even had a cute bear pattern on the wipe. It really made cleaning that first and very interesting poo’s much easier. Pampers wipes are my favorite but can be on the pricier side. We mostly use Johnsons wipes. What I really love about them is that my baby doesn’t smell like poo after I cleaned him. Some wipes sort of enhance that smell (is it just me?). We try to buy them in those boxes of 6! I think Cherubs wipes smell really nice but the smell can become overwhelming if you have to smell it about 10 times a day. To me it is important that a wipe doesn’t leave me or babe feeling sticky. Anyone cleaned their hands in the car with a wipe and felt super sticky afterwards? I really enjoyed your review! Please do another post when you get to know more about other brands of wipes on your journey of Motherhood xx
I honestly buy the Cherubs brand because at 3 for R50, its the most affordable. I’m also not a fan of extreme soapiness, so this one does the job for us.
So I’m probably the biggest snob… I love Pure Beginnings wipes… but I use the clocks sensitive ones for day to day
Johnsons. Find them super moist and they work well on my little ones sensitive bottom
Mom-to-be over here who have been lying awake at night(okay, maybe being a bit dramatic) about which brand would be best for my little boy on the way. Any mom wants to make sure their baby gets the best, so I’m hoping I make the right decision in the end. I must say, I am leaning towards the Pampers brand because I have never heard any negative reviews about the brand at all.