An inevitable part of being a parent is that you have to deal with all the dirty businesses.
I mean, like really really dirty.
Talking about smelling the pee, wiping the poop from his soft and cute AF butt, many times picking up poop from the floors and everything.
But after a while, none of it remains a big issue anymore. It’s like, if your baby is ok, who gives a damn about anything else?
But there is one thing that stays as an issue when it happens, and when it comes back.
Rash.
It’s painful to see your baby get angry, fussy, and goes through pain when it happens. You do all the possible prevention, but it happens. Still happens.
Crap.
I thought I was armed to the teeth with everything I needed to know about rashes. I even store diaper rash cream to use any time. But when the rash happens, I try to give Ethan cloth diapers so that he gets some air to his butt. And I learned something the hard way.
The diaper rash cream I bought doesn’t go with a cloth diaper.
Whattttt?
Turns out, the regular rash cream I had creates a waterproof barrier on the fabric layer, makes the cloth diaper repel moisture.
That thing just kills the whole purpose of cloth diapers.
Fortunately, there are some rash creams that are cloth diaper safe. In this article, let’s join me in finding out the top 15 best cloth diaper rash cream in the market.
Ready? Let’s dive in.
What makes a diaper rash cream not cloth diaper friendly?
Generally speaking, diaper rash cream forms a barrier between your baby’s skin and potential irritants, including moisture, excrement, acids from foods, and chemicals in their diapers. Diaper rash cream also contains ingredients that soothe and moisturize the skin, offer a moisture barrier to allow the skin to heal without further irritation, and some even can kill yeast, and treat yeast-based rashes.
The barrier that diaper cream creates is not always cloth diaper friendly. Some ingredients in the cream make it hard to wash off that barrier from fabric. In time, it builds-up on them and eventually, diapers will do just what the jelly is meant to do: repel liquid. Unfortunately, when diapers repel moisture instead of absorbing urine, they are useless.
There are some ingredients that you should carefully look out for when choosing a cloth diaper rash cream. Petroleum products cause repelling issues for synthetic fibers. Zinc oxide is a very common ingredient in diaper cream that causes stains on the cloth. However, it is not clear if Zinc oxide causes repelling issues or not as some opinions say it can be washed off with their normal washers. Cod liver oil and paraffin are also some ingredients you should consider too.
If you have natural-fiber diapers, use whatever kind of cream you like as long as you make sure that you use enough detergent and do your laundry with hot water. This will keep petroleum-products from building up and causing diapers to repel.
Examples of these natural fiber diapers are cotton, hemp, and bamboo velour.
Cream for cloth diaper rash: Top 15 best cloth diaper rash creams
If you don’t know what your cloth diapers are made of, stay away from all the headache and “what-ifs” and get some cream for cloth diaper rash instead of regular ones.
Here’s the list of top 15 best cream for cloth diaper rash.
The following common diaper creams are petroleum-free:
Aleva Naturals Soothing Diaper Cream
This is a smooth, non-greasy formulation that is free of petroleum, zinc oxide, lanolin, and beeswax. The Organic Shea Butter and Aloe Vera work together to form a moisture barrier, which helps to prevent skin irritation and redness.
Ingredients: Water/Eau; Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter *; Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder*; Cetyl Alcohol; Stearic Acid; Glycerin; Glyceryl Stearate; Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil; Glyceryl Caprylate; Glyceryl Undecylenate; Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*; Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters; Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract; Anthemis Nobilis (Roman Chamomile) Flower Oil; DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate.
Earth Mama Diaper Balm
This cream can be used for diaper rash, soothing to thrush, itchy bug bites, scrapes, chickenpox, minor rashes, and burns. You can even put it on your nipples to relieve the pain from cracked nipples. However, remember to wipe it off before breastfeeding your baby because it won’t taste well.
Ingredients: Olea europaea (organic olive) oil, Calendula officinalis (organic calendula) extract, Hypericum perforatum (organic St. John's wort) extract, Stellaria media (organic chickweed) extract, Plantago major (organic plantain extract), shea butter, candelilla, organic jojoba oil, proprietary blend of Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil, tea tree oil, and Commiphora myrrha (myrrh) oil.
Baby Bum Diaper Rash Cream
This cream is free of phytoestrogen, parabens, petroleum oils, phthalates, gluten, and soy. It does contain fragrance though so it may not be ideal for super sensitive skin.
Ingredients: Vegetable Oil, Beeswax, Candelilla Wax, Rus Succedanea Fruit Wax, Water, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Canola Oil, Fragrance, Glycerin (Vegetable), Benzyl Alcohol and Benzyl Benzoate
CJ's BUTTer Ointment and Stick:
This is very helpful when dealing with eczema and dry skin. It is made of all-natural ingredients that promise a gentle touch for your baby.
Ingredients: Shea butter, olive oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter (deodorized), Vitamin E, and essential oils.
Motherlove Diaper Rash and Thrush
This is a go-to cream for stubborn rashes, especially those caused by yeast.
Ingredients: Extra virgin olive oil*, beeswax*, Oregon grape root, myrrh gum, yarrow herb*, calendula flower
Honest Company Organic Healing Balm
This balm includes beeswax which is a natural anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-allergenic, and germicidal.
Ingredients: Zinc Oxide (14%), sunflower seed oil, castor seed oil, olive oil, beeswax, coconut oil, Grapeseed Oil, Jojoba Oil, Shea Butter, Tamanu Oil, Tocopherol, Clary Sage Oil.
Grovia Magic Stick
Used for minor rashes and as a protective layer from wetness.
Ingredients: Vitis vinifera (Grapeseed) Oil, Apis mellifera (Beeswax), Limmnanthes alba (Meadowfoam) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Organic Jojoba) Oil, Shea Oil, Rosa Organic Rosehip and a proprietary blend of essential oils.
Baby Bottom Better
This cream is famous for its healing properties. Made by all-natural and healing ingredients, it works well in soothing the skin and providing a barrier from moisture.
Ingredients: Virgin olive oil, beeswax, chickweed, plantain, calendula.
Boudreaux’s Butt Paste (Green Tube, labeled “All-Natural”)
Active Ingredient - Purpose. Zinc Oxide, 16% - Skin Protectant. Inactive Ingredients: Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Beeswax, Citric Acid, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba Wax), Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Myroxylon Pereirae (Balsam Peru Oil), Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil.
California Baby:
Best for light rash care.
Ingredients: Ultra-purified lanolin, vitamin-grade zinc (12%), and vitamin E, in addition to organic tea tree and aloe vera, proprietary Calming aromatherapy blend which includes French lavender, known for its soothing, antibacterial, and healing properties.
Weleda Calendula Diaper Care:
Designed as a wetness protection barrier.
Ingredients: Beeswax, Benzyl Benzoate*, Benzyl Salicylate*, Calendula, Chamomile, Geraniol*, Glyceryl Linoleate, Hectorite, Lanolin, Limonene*, Linalool*, Sweet Almond, Sesame, Water, Zinc Oxide. * from natural essential oils.
Burt’s Bees Multipurpose Ointment
This multipurpose, non-irritating, petroleum-free multipurpose ointment is pediatrician tested to be gentle and safe for everyday use.
Ingredients:
Ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, cocos Nucifera (coconut) oil, cera alba (beeswax, cire d'abeille), hydrogenated castor oil, parfum (natural fragrance), butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, calophyllum inophyllum seed oil, glycine soja (soybean) oil, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) butter, tocopherol, citral, citronellol, coumarin, farnesol, geraniol, limonene, linalool.
Northern Essence Diaper Salve and Northern Essence Better Butter cream
Free of lanolin, petroleum or zinc.
Ingredients: Healing Calendula Infused Oil, Therapeutic Meadowfoam oil, Natural Shea & Cocoa Butters, with a blend of beneficial Essential Oils
Final thought
There you have it. The list of the top 15 best cream for cloth diaper rash and salves to take care of your little one’s tushie.
Aint nobody likes rash. But with proper care, it can go away very quickly and won’t bother your baby too much. If you are cloth-diapering your baby, make sure your diaper bag always has a cloth diaper rash cream, so that you can take care of not only your baby’s tushie but also some cloth and your wallet.