Baby wipes help make changing times easy, fast and mess-free. Wipes are soft tissue-like papers or smooth cotton strips that are generally moist and sometimes perfumed.

Wipes are generally used to clean up a baby’s bottom. You can finish off your diaper-changing sessions with wipes to ensure clean and dry bottoms. They are also useful for a quick and general clean up of grubby hands and a sticky or dirt-streaked face.

When you are running short of water or cannot make cleaning up very elaborate, go for baby wipes. Wipes are also a great way of reducing your wash load (for that reason alone, they are a godsend).

Features of good baby wipes:

Moisture: To do a good job, wipes should retain a fair amount of moisture. Packaging plays a very important role in retaining wetness. Wipes that come in boxes or tubs hold on to the wetness much longer than refill packs do. But tubs are bulky and not very portable when you travel. Some tubs have a pool of liquid collecting at the bottom, which makes the last few wipes saturated with liquid. While they should be moist, wipes should not be dripping wet. If they leave wetness behind, wipes can lead to diaper rash.

Packaging: The boxes or tubs should be sealed tight so that they do not flip open easily. If you have young children at home, you will have to be extra careful with your wipes.

Texture: Wipes are used to clean the soft and tender skin of a baby. It is only natural that their texture must be very soft. Thicker wipes obviously cost more. Expensive wipes feel almost cloth-like in texture.

Fragrance: To make wipes saleable, various ingredients are added to them. Scenting the wipes helps to make them popular with parents who want their babies to smell clean and fresh. But doctors advise that baby wipes should be fragrance-free as well as alcohol-free. Fragrance means chemicals, however light it is and fresh it seems. And that is something your baby’s tender skin can do without. Babies with skin problems should completely avoid the scented variety. Chemicals can burn red, tender skin that is peeling away due to a recent bout of diaper rash or eczema.

Effectiveness: How many wipes do you need per changing? Do the wipes leave a residual soapy feeling or smell funny as you reach the bottom of the pack?

Are baby wipes unhealthy?
Many leading dermatologists advise against using baby wipes because they can trigger a rash or aggravate eczema and other skin problems. Doctors suggest using commercially sold wipes only as a last resort, as in traveling or parties. It would be intelligent to use washcloths at home, and wipes while traveling.

Baby wipes should ideally be free of chemical ingredients that may lead to skin problems. While this may not be feasible in store-bought wipes, homemade cloth wipes offer the best of both worlds. You can even make your own scented lotion and pour them over your homemade wipes to give them a pleasant smell (though this is not advisable unless you are using natural ingredients). Keep baby wipes in airtight containers and you can easily use these without fear of any skin problems.

As with any baby product, it is wise to make a detailed investigation of the ingredients being used in baby wipes, and use wipes only if they are completely safe for the baby.