If you’re not a parent, you may find it hard to believe that you could ever reach a point in your life where you would be thrilled, yes, thrilled, to receive as a gift a box of damp paper made for wiping a baby’s dirty bottom. But if you’re reading this Epinion, you’ve probably already found yourself at that point, haven’t you?

As expectant parents, my husband and I were lucky enough to receive many gifts of baby necessities, including several different brands of baby wipes. This gave us the opportunity to evaluate the available products, and when we ran out of the gifts and had to buy our own, Huggies Natural Care was our choice.

Huggies Natural Care are available in scented and unscented versions. I prefer the unscented version (no amount of perfume is going to eliminate the smell of a truly messy diaper anyway). They contain vitamin E and aloe to help moisturize and protect your baby’s skin.

Huggies wipes are nice and thick, with a quilted texture. They are not as thick as a cloth washcloth, of course (though they claim to “clean like a washcloth”), but much thicker than many other brands, especially some store-brands. They have just the right amount of moisture (though they can get a little dry by the time you get to the bottom of a tub if your husband chronically forgets to close the it!)

The free edge is zig-zagged (as if cut by pinking shears) which is supposed to make the wipe easier to grab. I’m not exactly jumping cartwheels over this feature, since I still find myself having to dig with a fingernail to get the next wipe occasionally… sometimes it’s almost as difficult as finding the end of a roll of plastic wrap. But this has been my experience with all wipes, so I don’t hold it against Huggies.

Warning: graphic poop details ahead!
And now for the nitty gritty… how well do they clean? Very well. One wipe is always enough to remove a layer of Desitin, and is usually enough for a “Play-Doh” poop. The average “peanut butter” poop takes two or three.

Huggies Natural Care wipes are available in several sizes:

- Small travel-size 16-wipe pack (perfect for the diaper bag, just refill when it’s empty)
- 80-wipe plastic tub (recently redesigned and much sturdier than the previous version, with an easy-to-remove label so you can use it for storage later if desired)
- 160-wipe refill pack with a ziplock closure
- 240-wipe refill pack divided into 3 separately-wrapped packs (I find this size very convenient since I can take one pack to daycare and the other two packs can remain sealed at home)

My daughter has sensitive skin. Though Huggies says the Natural Care wipes are alcohol-free, there is something about them that irritates her bottom when she happens to have a severe diaper rash. Of course, that could simply be the soapy ingredients. On those rare occasions, I have not found any other wipes to be less irritating, so we use a washcloth instead. We have used the wipes on her hands and face and have found them to be non-irritating.

It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it. Huggies Natural Care wipes make it a little bit easier.


Recommended: Yes