Baby Wipes: Comparing Common Brands

Baby wipes are a real life-saver and a common staple for anyone with babies or small children. They can not only be used to change diapers, but for small spills, bath time, and even wiping hands and faces during family outings or in the car. But, baby wipes do not all work the same from brand to brand. So, here's a breakdown of the pros and cons I have found with the 5 most commonly used baby wipe brands.

Equate Brand: (generic brand sold at Wal-Mart)
This brand of baby wipes comes in a dispenser tub, as well as a refill pack. When purchasing the refills, you can either buy a large refill bag or a box that contains two refill packs. These wipes are meant to be comparable to Huggies wipes. They are made of a cloth-like substance and one can choose from fragrance-free, natural with aloe, or lightly scented. I have used them all, but have used the fragrance-free most often of the three. I found the wipe to be an okay substitute for Huggies. The cloth material wasn't quite as soft as huggies, but it wasn't harsh, either. The wipes were fairly easy to take out of the dispenser and did not rip or tear during use or during taking them from the container. They were pretty easy to wipe with. Most of the time for a soiled diaper, I would only need two wipes, which isn't too bad. If the diaper was very soiled, it would be three. All in all, I would choose this brand as my second favorite.

Huggies Brand:
Huggies brand wipes come in a pop-up dispenser tub. All of the wipes are attached together. It is designed so that when the dispenser tub is threaded, the wipes can be easily pulled from the top. The wipes also come in a large refill bag or one can purchase a box that contains two large refill bags. The Huggies line of wipes has many different styles and scents to choose from. A few are the Huggies Natural Care with aloe, Huggies Shea Butter, and Huggies Newborn or Ultra-Sensitive. I have tried all three of these, plus the whole line of Huggies. I prefer the Huggies Shea Butter and the Huggies Ultra-Sensitive. I usually have both on hand as I have children with sensitive allergic skin and also children with dry skin. The Shea Butter wipe helps with the dry skin. The wipes are made from a cloth-like material. The Huggies wipes are the thickest wipes I have found. They are better than a washcloth when it comes to cleaning the child's skin, as they are very soft and gentle and leave behind a lotion feel. While the material is soft, it is also thick enough to wipe away all the residue easily. During soiled diaper changes, usually only one wipe is required, unless the diaper is particularly messy. Then, I would only need two. The wipes are very easy to dispense and I have never had a Huggies wipe tear. I have even used Huggies wipes in the tub when I didn't have a washcloth or Huggies disposable washcloth on hand. They work great and hold up well in the water. As you can probably guess, this is my favorite wipe.

Pampers Brand:
The Pampers brand wipes pale in comparison to their diapers. Although the Pampers brand is my favorite diaper, the wipes are my least favorite of all the wipes. The Pampers wipes come in a dispenser tub similar to the Huggies Pop-Up dispenser, but not as quick to use. They also come in large refill bags or boxes that contain two refill bags. They come in lavender scent, baby fresh, sensitive touch, and others. The first gripe I have with these wipes is that they are very short in comparison to Huggies, Equate, and Kroger. Secondly, once you thread them into the container, you will find yourself rethreading them often because they don't stay threaded. The box is not quick to open, like the Huggies pop-up tub, either. These wipes are extremely thin and you can literally feel your baby's skin through them. While they are soft, the softness is the only plus about them. They are also too wet, which leads to a small puddle of liquid in the bottom of the container. If you tip over the container by accident, the liquid leaks onto the floor or whatever area you have it in and creates a soapy mess. Also, if you decide the liquid is annoying and want to rid of it, that won't work. Once you do that, the wipes begin to dry out and turn brown. These wipes also tear very easily and it takes at least 5 or more of these to clean a soiled diaper because they are so short and thin that you can only wipe a small portion of the mess at a time. These wipes also give my children a horrible rash. I'm not sure if it's the overpowering scent or another ingredient in the wipes that breaks them out, but all 4 children who have used them broke out terribly. We tried the baby fresh scent as well as the extra-sensitive wipes. Both products had the same results.

Luvs Brand:
Luvs brand wipes get a very similar review from me as the Pampers wipes. In fact, they get almost the exact same review. The main difference between the two is the cost. Luvs cost less than Pampers. The Luvs wipes come in natural and ultra thick. There may be other options, but I didn't see any at the store I purchased them from. I could not find a fragrance free version. The Luvs wipes had the exact same results as the Pampers Wipes. They were a touch thicker than Pampers, but not enough to really make a difference.

Kroger Brand: (sold at Kroger, King Soopers, and City Market)
This brand is made to be comparable to Huggies. They come in a reach-in dispenser tub, which is fairly easy to open, but not as quick as the Huggies dispenser. These wipes are also cloth-like. They are thinner and vary in texture from the Huggies wipes. They do wipe well, but I found them to be a bit harsh on sensitive skin. When used longer than two days, the wipes dried out the skin. They come in natural aloe, fragrance free, and a few other varieties. We have tried most of them and got the same results with them all. We did not prefer the scents of any of these for some reason. I can't say why, really. The scents were just undesirable. It requires about 3 of these wipes for a normal diaper change and more for a heavily soiled diaper. I would use this as an alternative for one day if Huggies or Equate could not be found, but for prolonged use, my children do not prefer the feel of the texture in this wipe.