Make Your Own All-Natural Diaper Rash Cream

September 22nd, 2008

A diaper rash ointment is simply a cream with zinc oxide as the active ingredient. Zinc oxide is a naturally ocurring mineral. When used to treat diaper rash, it creates a barrier that keeps moisture and other irritants from your baby’s skin.

Over-the-counter diaper rash creams contain anywhere from 10% to 40% zinc oxide (by weight). They’re not very expensive and for many babies, they work well. But along with the protectant zinc oxide, you’re also getting methylparaben, propylparaben, dimethicone, petrolatum, paraffin, and fragrance to name a few. That’s not what I would choose to slab on my baby’s sensitive skin!

There are all-natural alternatives such as Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Diaper Ointment but you’re paying over $7 for a small tube that may last a week. It is a great product so let’s look at its ingredients: several different types of oils and extracts, beeswax, and zinc oxide. That’s all! So forget the extracts and let’s start simple. And cheap. Here’s my pared down version using just olive oil, beeswax, and zinc oxide. All measurements are by weight.

Ingredients

3.5 oz olive oil
1 oz beeswax
0.5 oz zinc oxide

Directions

Combine the olive oil and beeswax in a heatproof container. I prefer either a glass measuring cup or a stainless steel container.
Heat the oil/wax mixture in a hot-water bath over the stovetop.
When the mixture has melted, remove the container and whisk in the zinc oxide as it cools.

Did I mention this diaper rash cream is cloth diaper friendly? At least for the cotton diapers like Kissaluvs, it washes right off with any detergent. I don’t have any experience with this cream on polyester microfleece such as Fuzzi Bunz. If you do, post your results here!

Posted by Wabi Sabi Baby under baby care.
Tags: diaper rash cream, diaper rash cream formula, diaper rash ointment, lotion making 101, natural diaper rash cream, tips and technique
Comments: 24

Comments

Comment from Ronny
Time September 26, 2008 at 12:12 pm

Where can you buy Zinc Oxide?

Comment from wabisabi
Time September 26, 2008 at 10:07 pm

Online at Liberty Natural. More in-depth post on zinc oxide coming up.

Comment from Diana
Time October 7, 2008 at 11:55 am

You could try virgin coconut oil in your baby diaper balm. It’s naturally antifungal and works well for those ‘yeast’ type rashes that happen with antibiotics and diarrhea.

Comment from Jodie
Time October 22, 2008 at 6:49 pm

What is the best way to store this? And for how long?

Comment from Wabi Sabi Baby
Time October 24, 2008 at 7:18 am

Store in a wide-mouth jar for easy scooping and cleaning (it’s sticky and hard to clean out of a tube). The cream lasts much longer than lotion since there’s no water (or aqueous phase), several months – too many variables to be more specific.

Comment from aden
Time October 27, 2008 at 9:50 am

This is just great. I really enjoyed it.

Comment from hollie
Time October 27, 2008 at 5:36 pm

try this!

Comment from Satsuki Rebel
Time October 30, 2008 at 12:24 pm

If you wanted to make this for a tube what changes would you recommend? Would you just add more olive oil? Also, do you know of any other places to buy zinc oxide? I’ve been trying to shop around but haven’t been finding much.

Comment from Wabi Sabi Baby
Time October 30, 2008 at 1:54 pm

Yes, more oil (and proportionally less wax). You can also use other types of oil such as coconut oil (anti-microbial, anti-fungal). If you use coconut oil, note that it is much more saturated (thicker) at room temperature and so, you can use a lot less beeswax. Try: 4.2 oz coconut oil to 0.3 oz beeswax. In Austin and online, you can get zinc oxide at sciencestuff.com; elsewhere: unitednuclear.com, herbarie.com . Or google something ‘science kits’ ‘chemistry experiments’ ‘kids chemistry projects’.

Comment from Wabi Sabi Baby
Time November 2, 2008 at 9:57 pm

See new post on coconut oil diaper cream

Comment from Satsuki
Time November 13, 2008 at 6:00 pm

I made this and it came out with a bit of a grainy texture. Is that normal?

Comment from Wabi Sabi Baby
Time November 13, 2008 at 10:36 pm

-Satsuki
Yes, completely normal if you’re handblending as I do. It doesn’t affect the cream’s effectiveness. If you want a smoother cream, you can sift the zinc oxide and add in small amounts while using a handheld low-speed electric blender, like the Norpro one I mentioned. Make sure the oil is still warm and in the liquid state when you begin adding the zinc oxide. You can also try my other diaper cream recipe with less beeswax.

Comment from nikki
Time November 22, 2008 at 2:19 pm

I went to sciencestuff.com and was looking at the zinc oxide and noticed there were two different grades. What is the difference and which should I use?

Comment from Wabi Sabi Baby
Time November 23, 2008 at 2:54 pm

-Nikki
I’m not sure – best thing to do is to call them.

Comment from Ridhwan
Time December 18, 2008 at 1:37 pm

Hi, have you tried selling your commodities? what if I want to produce commercially, what is your advice

Comment from airyker
Time April 15, 2009 at 4:43 pm

more please

Comment from airyker
Time April 15, 2009 at 4:44 pm

body cream

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Comment from baby safety monitor
Time July 30, 2009 at 1:14 am

Good Article! I like this post. thank for your sharing … very helpfull for me :)

Comment from sonia
Time September 10, 2009 at 6:37 am

could you add a essential oil to make it smell nice?

Comment from Wabi Sabi Baby
Time September 10, 2009 at 8:46 am

Yes, about 1 drop per oz or less but make sure your baby does not have any sensitivities or skin irritation.

Pingback from gradipo » Blog Archive » fai da te per il bebè
Time June 17, 2010 at 2:44 am

[...] Questa ricetta è per una crema al 10% di Ossido di Zinco. Avendola testata personalmente, trovo che sia meno “bianca” delle solite ( che hanno in media il 20-30% di O.d.Z.). Volendo la si puo’ correggere in questo senso, per fare cio’ occorrerebbe probabilmente diminuire in proporzione la cera d’api. .Perchè non saltare tutto questo sbattimento a piè pari, e comprare la pasta di Fissan? Ad esempio perchè fare in casa questa ricetta è facile, divertente e abbastanza veloce. Poi perchè una crema come questa, a base di Olio di Mandorle, è molto migliore delle creme commerciali, che sono a base di paraffina! Infine c’è un bel risparmio, soprattutto considerando la qualità degli ingredienti ( una crema simile, come ad esempio la crema per il cambio del noto marchio tedesco Weleda, costa ben 9 € per 75 ml! ) . Fonte della ricetta [...]

Comment from rita
Time June 17, 2010 at 3:04 am

i stumbled on this just as i was wondering how much zinc to add into my cream!
here’s a diaper cream recipe i made up that is real nice too;
1 1/2 oz raw shea butter
1/2 raw cocoa butter
1 oz coconut oil
1 oz total of almond, grape seed, olive oils
1/4 oz vegetable glycerin
1/4 oz raw beeswax
3 tsp. zinc oxide
a few drops of pure vitamin e oil

i heated this up all in the same pot on low temp.
blended with a mini battery operated norpro mixer.
i bought all my ingredients from ebay, including the mini mixer which was around $8 & comes with different attachments!

thanks for posting this, i needed info on the zinc usage :)