Often we don’t have the time to take multiple showers a day, even when we want to. Maybe that’s why the commercial wet wipes market is booming right now. Have you noticed how many different types of personal hygiene wipes are available these days?
Wipes are marketed for every occasion and they aren’t cheap unless of course, you make your own homemade wet wipes as we do. Just a few tweaks to my homemade toilet wipes recipe, make these DIY feminine wipes gently effective. They also don’t smell like a perfume bomb exploded in your pants, which is always a good thing.
I don’t feel any guilt at all when it comes to plunking down a bunch of money on a family vacation. However, every time I’ve purchased a pack of baby wipes, diapers, wet wipes, facial cleansing cloths, or other disposable consumer products, I resent doling out every cent! We’re exchanging hard-earned money for something that is literally flushed down the toilet or thrown in the trash after a single use(and causing massive plumbing infrastructure problems.) That’s insane to me!!!!
When to buy wet wipes instead of making them.
When I buy wipes, the convenience or effectiveness must be worth it. For example, I keep a pack of store-bought baby wipes in my car instead of my DIY hand wipes. These specific wipes are my “carsickness” emergency wipes. Homemade wipes don’t have the chemicals or the preservatives in them to withstand being stored for any length of time in a hot car. And here in Florida, our cars are hot for most of the year.
Related: Homemade Butt Wipes
In fact, the disposable wipes that we make are not meant to be stored for long at all. They are meant to be used within a week or two. I rarely make massive quantities of one type at a time. Instead I make a bunch of useful solutions for different wipes. This tutorial is for my homemade feminine hygiene wipes.
How to make homemade feminine wipes
Materials:
Everything you need to make any of my wipes recipes can be found on my Amazon page! Visit it here: Gym Craft Laundry’s Amazon Store
Intimate Wet Wipes:
- 2 Cups distilled water
- 1 TBL Head to Toe Baby Wash or Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Baby Castile Soap, or a perfume/dye-free product such as Cetaphil or Cerave
- 1 TBL Sweet Almond Oil 1 TBL Fractionated Coconut Oil
- 1 TBL Witch Hazel
- 5 Drops of Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca Essential Oil)
- 10 drops Lavender Essential Oil
- 1 Airtight Canister or Plastic Container
- 1 roll of Viva Brand Paper Towels
Why I chose these specific materials for this DIY Vaginal Cleansing Wipes recipe.
First, I chose the Viva paper towels for this DIY because of their soft cloth-like texture. However, they are not flushable.
About the “soap” I use in this wipes solution:
If you have a baby at home, there is no need to purchase a different baby wash for these wipes! Babies have sensitive skin so the ingredients in the baby wash are gentle enough for use on your sensitive areas as well. Another option, which I use more often than not, is Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. I started using Cetaphil products once I realized my forty-year-old skin wasn’t happy with the products I’d used since I was in my twenties.
However, if you don’t have baby wash on hand, try to choose one that does not have a “moisturizer” built into it. Creamier baby soaps can make your skin feel oily or slippery rather than clean but this may be a personal preference! On the other hand, Dr. Bronner’s castile soap dries out my already dry skin, which is why I prefer baby wash.
One thing that I like to do when trying new soaps in my wipes, is to look for travel versions or product samples. One tablespoon of the baby wash is all you need for 88 wipes so until you decide on which baby wash works best for your skin, there’s no need to buy a large bottle. You can also find Cetaphil as a travel bottle.
However, do not use “antibacterial” soap in your homemade personal hygiene wipes solution. The vagina is self-cleaning and has a delicate pH balance. Using antibacterial soap can disrupt that balance and make life miserable for you until the balance is restored.
Is it okay to omit the essential oils from this homemade feminine cleansing wipes recipe?
While the essential oils can be left out, I rarely do. (And I am cheap money conscious!)
The tea tree oil slows down the mildewing process so which means they last longer. There is also some evidence that it may help treat or prevent yeast infections. (source)
Also, according to the National Institute Of Health, the pure lavender essential oil has proved to have antifungal, anti-yeast properties. (source) Plus, it smells good and soothes the skin.
How to make homemade natural feminine wipes:
First, pour the distilled water into a bowl. In the bowl holding the distilled water, add the baby wash, FCO or Sweet Almond Oil, the essential oils, and witch hazel.
Second, gently stir the mixture.
Cut the roll of paper towels in half and place it in the container. Slowly pour in the mixture. Flip over the roll and saturate the other end of the half roll. Once the cardboard center is saturated, slowly pull it out from the center. The wipes are pulled up from the center.
Make sure the wipes container is airtight and sealed when not in use so that they last longer!
If you liked this tutorial you might like:
10 Ways to Use Fractionated Coconut Oil
Make these air fresheners this weekend!
DIY Personal Hygiene Wipes
This easy to follow tutorial is our family's recipe for homemade personal wet wipes.
Materials
Tools
- Sharp Knife
- Cutting Board
- Measuring Cup and Measuring spoons
- Mixing Bowl
Instructions
- In a measuring cup, add baby wash, fractionated coconut oil or sweet almond oil, witch hazel, and the essential oils to the distilled water.
- Gently stir.
- Cut the roll of paper towels in half. Place one half in the plastic container so that it is standing upright.
- Slowly pour half of the liquid mixture over the paper towels. Flip over the paper towel roll so the drier half is at the top and pour in remaining mixture.
- Once the roll is saturated, remove the cardboard center. gently pull up the center sheet for easy dispensing.
- Label container and place in the bathroom.
Carol L says
Just noticed that this is identical to your TP spray recipe…..
Herchel Scruggs says
It is very similar as both have to be safe and do the cleaning part. The biggest difference is that the one is sprayed and one is already soaked into the wipes. I also use a drop of lavender in my fem wipes but not on my tp spray.
Carol L says
You can also use “family cloth” and make these washable. I prefer not to use disposable paper in any form: paper towels, T.P., paper plates, etc.
You can still use the old wipes containers to make it easy to pull one out or just fold them into a box shaped container.
I have gone mostly T.P. free and love it. There is NO smell if you do NOT add water to the place you keep the used ones.
Yes, I wash them with the towels, but I don’t use them for # 2…yet.
Cathy says
During your introduction you mention that these are not flushable. Yet on the actual recipe card you label them as: This easy to follow tutorial is our family’s recipe for homemade flushable wet wipes.
Obviously you would hope folks read the entire page, and that they would know ahead of this read that paper towels aren’t flushable,; but you never know.
Also, you say these are good for a week or two, but the recipe makes 88?
Wondering how to make a smaller batch.
Thanks.
Herchel Scruggs says
Hi Cathy, thank you for the heads up. This recipe has never been flushable so I am not sure what happened. It is likely that I used the recipe card for my flushable wipes (it’s my oldest wipes tutorial) as a template and didn’t realize that I forgot to change that part of the card. I apologize for the confusion. I prefer to use thick soft paper towels for feminine wipes and biodegradable (and rarely soft) paper towels for flushable wipes.
When I make the full recipe, I use the wipes to clean up any quick messes in the bathroom (like toothpaste in the sink) so they don’t go to waste.
However, I do sometimes make smaller batches. When a roll of paper towels in the kitchen is getting low. I replace it with a full roll and I use the old roll remnant to make wipes. I usually halve the recipe or I make the full amount of solution and only pour in enough to wet the wipes. (Slowly)
I then will put the leftover solution in an empty spray bottle and use it as a toilet paper moistening spray.
Martha says
I want to get away from using paper towels as much as possible, will using thin wash cloths or cut up flannel work?
Ava says
Hello,
What is the purpose of witch hazel in this recipe? Is it safe for intimate areas? Thanks!
Katie says
What is the purpose of the almond/coconut oil in this recipe?
Herchel Scruggs says
Hi Katie, it moisturizes the skin and makes the wipes glide easier. The older recipes use baby oil but I prefer fractionated coconut oil or almond oil. Witch hazel can dry out skin so the oil helps combat that. You can always omit it or use less.
Rachelle says
Loving the wipes. I wanted to purchase some, but wasn’t a big fan of the businesses I looked at for natural wipes. Many had peppermint and such…. I’m more on the calm side when it comes to my lady parts and cleaning. This was great and so refreshing…. especially with me in my third trimester and it’s getting a little difficult for me.
Quick question…
Can this be used some how to make a feminine wash? Any tips would be great to achieve this. Awesome site.
Herchel Scruggs says
Hi there, I turned my “DIY Butt Wipes” solution into a toilet paper spray by just putting it in a spray bottle rather than pouring over the wipes. You could do the same thing with the feminine wipes but I would use a squeeze bottle. If it feels too “soapy” I add more distilled water. –Herchel
Kristina says
Hello,
I have Dr. Bronner’s Lavender soap and a Thayer’s Lavender witch hazel – can these replace the baby soap and regular witch hazel?
Herchel Scruggs says
In theory, yes. I use Thayer’s quite a bit. But, I don’t use the Dr. Bronner’s Lavender soap with these wipes. It’s a pure soap that does what it’s supposed to do exceedingly well– gets rid of dirt, oils, and grease. I have dry skin as it is so cannot use castile soap on my skin without slathering on a lot of moisturizer afterwards. I use Dr. Bronner’s Lavender soap (and water) to refill my foaming hand soap containers but I also immediately put on lotion or a shea butter moisturizer that I make afterwards.
I tend to use the baby wash because I have a lot of it and use it for camping wipes, shower wipes, and regular wipes. But if I didn’t have any I would use the Cetaphil skin cleanser (or face cleanser) because that is what I actually use in the shower.
The short answer is that you can but I wouldn’t. 🙂