We have used the exact same world’s best baby wipes for years. I’ve told all my mom-to-be friends about my love of these wipes, and planned on using them even past the diaper stage for kid messes.
But then they changed.
These wipes are no longer the best thing since sliced bread, so I went on a hunt to find the next best as our supply was quickly dwindling.
One thing I will note is that many of these criteria are subjective. Noses are different so what one person might think is scentless is strong to another, or one parent might have a different set of “must haves”.
The Original
I was first introduced to Water Wipes at a blogging conference before we even had kids. I brought home a few packs at the same conference in April of 2019, and was glad that I could go dig them out of my suitcase when Emmett came home in June (yes, they were still in the suitcase as we were in the middle of our kitchen remodel).
A couple months ago, I learned that the formula had changed to be more biodegradable. This sounds awesome; however, reports were that they no longer had the same size, effectiveness, or moisture level as the originals.
The Features
I never thought that I would put so much thought into baby wipes, but I started thinking through the features that make the original Water Wipes my favorites.
The features that I find make the original Water Wipes superior are:
- Moisture Level – I can leave the pack open and days later they are still just as wet as when the pack is first opened
- Texture – These baby wipes glide off the skin and wipe away the messiest of diapers without feeling like the skin is being harshly pulled or rubbed
- Scent (or lack thereof) – I don’t want my hands to smell like baby wipes after I use the wipe to clean a face or messy hands
- Package Size – Each package is the same size of a few diapers so the packet doesn’t take over the purse
The Contenders
After reading a few reviews online, I headed to Target to pick up some individual packages of some wipes that I wanted to try. The baby wipe contenders are:
- Reformulated Water Wipes
- Baby Dove
- Pampers Pure Aqua
- Honest Hydrate (Green Package)
- Honest Gentle (Blue Package)
- Huggies Simply Clean
- Huggies Natural Care
- Babyganics
I’ve received samples of Waterfull wipes and Ecoriginals. I didn’t include them in my exciting Friday night testing, but I did know that they weren’t going to be the winner going into the testing because they had a dryer cloth-like feel than I was wanting.
The Baby Wipe Testing
Each package and wipe was evaluated on the following criteria:
- Scent level
- Moisture level
- Feeling
- Package Size
Baby Wipe Scent Level
I really wanted baby wipes that were truly scent free. I find that even a light scent will linger on my hands, and since I use them for cleaning up faces or hands in addition to diapers I don’t want any leftover smell.
After smelling nine different wipes I started to second guess myself, so I had brad verify some of the results to confirm whether or not I could smell something.
The truly scent free wipes were: Original Water Wipes, Reformulated Water Wipes, Huggies Natural Care,
Babyganics and Pampers Pure had just a hint of scent.
I picked up the most scent on Dove Baby, Huggies Simple, and both of the Honest wipes.
Moisture Level
One of my favorite aspects of the original Water Wipes is that the wipes remain wet even if the package is left open. I’ve found partially used packs in my purse or diaper bag that are still damp enough to use after sitting for months.
While I don’t have longevity calculated into this test, I could tell that some wipes were drying out even while I was conducting my experiment. I rated each wipe on a level of High, Medium, or Low moisture level.
High moisture level: Original Water Wipes, Reformulated Water Wipes, Pampers Pure Aqua, Huggies Natural.
Medium moisture level: Honest (both)
Dry: Dove Baby, Huggies Simply Clean
Feeling
This criteria was the hardest for me to set and evaluate. Rather than a scale, I went with a descriptor. Some are more of a gliding off the skin, others seem thicker and more cloth like, others are cloth like but rough.
The Pampers Pure Aqua and Babyganics had a similar feeling to the original Water Wipes. The new Water Wipes concern me a bit because they are soft but thin.
Huggies Naturals and both Honest packs have more of a thicker cloth-like feel.
Huggies Simple and Dove Baby were a rough cloth.
Package Size and Details
My preference is to have packages that use a sticker seal over than a plastic flip lid and I also want the package to be compact enough to simply toss in my diaper bag or purse with a couple diapers when we head out.
I used the portable wipes containers for a while when Emmett was first born, but I would often head out and forget to check whether it was full. Fortunately I never found myself in an emergency without wipes, but we had a couple close calls.
For this reason I like to toss in a full package of baby wipes, and work through the pack. It just takes a two second glance to ensure I have plenty of wipes available for the outing.
While all these packages had similar number of wipes, their depth greatly varied.
Compact Level One: Water Wipes (original and new), Pampers Pure Aqua, Dove Baby
Compact Level Two: Babyganics
Compact Level Three: Honest (both), Huggies Natural Care
Compact Level Four: Huggies Simply Clean
Pampers Pure Aqua, Honest, and Huggies all also have the plastic flip closure.
The Results
So, which ones will I be buying for the future?
I was really hoping that there would be a clear winner, and honestly there isn’t based off of my criteria.
| Type | Count | Feel | Moisture | Scent | Compact |
| Original | 60 | Soft | High | 0 | 1 |
| Reformulated | 60 | Thin | High | 0 | 1 |
| Babyganics | 80 | Soft | High | 1 | 2 |
| Dove | 63 | Rough | Dry | 2 | 1 |
| Huggies Natural | 56 | Thick | High | 0 | 3 |
| Huggies Simple | 64 | Rough | Dry | 0 | 4 |
| Honest Blue | 72 | Cloth | Med | 1 | 3 |
| Honest Green | 60 | Cloth | Med | 1 | 3 |
| Pampers Pure | 56 | Soft | High | 1 | 1 |
The winner based on the first three criteria are Huggies Natural Care; however, I wouldn’t want to put that container in my purse for a day out. Ironically, there are four less wipes in the Huggies Natural package than the Water Wipes, but the package is significantly thicker since it has a flip top and each wipe is thicker cloth like.
The testing isn’t *completely* over because I’m not going to waste the rest of the packages that I opened to perform this test. We’ll see if my opinions change about each wipe as I use the rest of the package. I’ll make sure to update this post if my opinions change!
I’m hoping that one of the smaller packages will be acceptable for purse/day out usage.
