The Ultimate DIY Homemade Diaper Cream

This homemade diaper cream is as good (if not better) than store-bought creams. I’m not lookin’ back!

Last month I shared my favorite 10-Minute Homemade Diaper Cream recipe, with the promise of later sharing a legit, full-on recipe that can replace store-bought creams. Well, I’m back, and I’m confident that this homemade diaper cream is the best I’ve made so far. It has zinc oxide, coconut and essential oils, shea butter, and more, to keep your baby’s bottom dry and rash-free.

Every single ingredient in this diaper cream is great for fighting and healing rashes, and is safe for babies. Zinc oxide is found in many store-bought creams, and if you’re fighting a particularly nasty rash, it will most definitely help. I’ve also read that melaleuca essential oil is great for fighting yeast, but thankfully, my son hasn’t had any problems with it before. Always be cautious when using essential oils on newborns. Make sure you add very little, or completely skip it if you’re worried. The other ingredients in this recipe will take care of the rash.

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Homemade Diaper Cream

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of coconut oil (you can also use olive or almond oil)
• 1 tbsp dried chamomile flowers
• 2-3 tbsp beeswax
• 1/2 cup shea butter
• 2-4 tbsp zinc oxide (depending on how bad your baby’s rash is)
• 1/2 cup arrowroot powder
• 1 tsp vitamin e oil
• 2-3 tbsp bentonite clay
• 2 drops lavender essential oil
• 2 drops melaleuca essential oil
• Small glass jars (you can’t use regular mason jars, because you don’t want metal touching bentonite clay)

Directions

1. Heat the coconut oil in a double boiler. Once it’s melted, add the dried chamomile flowers.

2. Cover the mixture and infuse for as long as you can stand it. I only infused my coconut oil for one hour because I was running out of daylight.

3. Remove the infused oil from heat and carefully strain the mixture into a cup or bowl. If you have cheese cloth, that would be perfect. Unfortunately, I only had Star Wars paper towels. Hey, whatever works!

4. Wipe the bowl or container you infused the coconut oil in to make sure there aren’t any chamomile flowers sticking around in there. Add the oil back to the container and place back on heat. Add the shea butter and beeswax and melt completely.

5. Remove the mixture from heat and pour into a clean bowl. Allow it to cool a little bit, then add the zinc oxide and arrowroot powder. Whisk until smooth.

6. Add the bentonite clay and MIX WITH A WOODEN SPOON. Do not use any metal utensils after this point. Bentonite clay and metal spoons are not friends. Don’t worry, there won’t be some crazy reaction or anything. It’s my understanding that it decreases the effectiveness of the clay. Mix until completely smooth.

7. Mix in the lavender and melaleuca essential oils, as well as the vitamin e oil.

8. Store in containers where metal won’t come in contact with the diaper cream.

When creating this recipe, I read dozens of other homemade diaper cream recipes. My absolute favorite, and the one that I crafted this recipe around is from Frugally Sustainable, and you can find her recipe here. She has a ton of amazing articles, including a great walkthrough on how to make herb infused medicinal oil. So shoutout to Andrea, she’s awesome!

I’m not kidding, y’all. I made about 10 different diaper creams, all based off of other recipes before deciding that hers is the best. The only reason I changed it at all, is because I really wanted to include bentonite clay, and I also prefer to go a little easy on essential oils, since my son has some breathing issues.

What’s your favorite homemade diaper cream recipe? There are so many variations out there, so I’d love to hear what works for you. If you’ve never tried making your own diaper cream before, I highly recommend it! It might cost more upfront, but once you have the ingredients, you’re set for a long time.

Don’t Forget To Pin This Idea For Later

If you liked this homemade diaper cream recipe, you might also like my recipe for DIY Edible Finger Paint!