Homemade Diaper Rash Cream: Water-Free Shea Butter Balm

Homemade diaper rash cream is best made as a water-free barrier balm: gently melt shea butter, cocoa butter and virgin coconut oil, pour and let it set. It keeps skin moisturised and protected from wetness. Baraka's shea butter is made by hand by the women of the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Ghana.

How do you make homemade diaper rash cream?

A balm for the diaper area has one job: to sit between your baby's skin and wetness. It is not a treatment for diaper rash, and nothing in this recipe is meant to heal or cure one. It is a plain, fragrance-free, water-free balm that keeps skin moisturised and protected between changes. Because it contains no water, it needs no preservative, so the recipe stays short.

What you need

• 2 oz (57 g) unrefined shea butter
• 1/2 oz (14 g) cocoa butter
• 1 oz (28 g) virgin coconut oil
• A heatproof bowl and a saucepan with a little gently simmering water
• A clean spatula
• One 4 fl oz (118 ml) jar or two 2 fl oz (59 ml) tins, washed and dried completely

This makes about 3 1/2 oz (99 g) of balm. It is a small batch on purpose, so you use it up while it is fresh.

Method

1. Wash your hands, the bowl, the spatula and the jar well. Dry everything completely, because stray water does not belong in a water-free balm.
2. Set the bowl over the pan of gently simmering water. Add the cocoa butter first, because it is the hardest of the three, then the shea butter.
3. Stir now and then on low heat until both are just melted. Take the bowl off the heat.
4. Stir in the coconut oil. It melts almost at once in the warm butters.
5. Pour the mixture into the jar or tins. Leave it to set at room temperature, or put it in the refrigerator for about 15 to 20 minutes, then close the lid.

Why these three

Shea butter is solid at room temperature and melts on contact with skin. Cocoa butter is harder and more brittle, and it is used where a product needs to hold its shape, so a small amount firms the balm. Virgin coconut oil is solid below about 75°F (24°C) and clear liquid above it, and it absorbs quickly rather than sitting on the skin. If you would like a softer balm, stir in 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of shea oil while the mixture is still liquid.

What to expect from the finished balm

• The colour comes from the butters, so it will be ivory to pale yellow. Unrefined shea butter varies in colour from one batch to the next, and a mild natural smell is normal.
• Cocoa butter keeps the chocolate smell of the bean. There is no added fragrance in this recipe.
• A pale surface bloom can appear after a change in temperature. This is a change in crystal structure, not spoilage, and it disappears when the balm is melted again.
• Coconut oil softens and firms with the temperature of the room. That is normal and does not affect quality.

Keep the jar cool, away from heat and direct sun, and use a clean spatula or clean, dry fingers each time you take some out. Make a fresh small batch when it runs out rather than keeping one for a long time.

Baby skin is sensitive, so before the first full use, dab a small amount on a small patch of your baby's inner thigh and wait 24 hours.

Many parents use this recipe and are happy with the results. Everything in it is pure, natural ingredients that many others have used with no issues or harm, but it is not a formally approved treatment. Your doctor, pediatrician or pharmacist should always be your first source of advice for your baby.

Is shea butter safe for babies' skin?

Plain, unrefined shea butter is a good fit for a simple baby balm because it is one ingredient with nothing added. Its INCI name is Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter. It is strained and filtered only, with no refining, bleaching or deodorising. It has long been used traditionally on dry skin, and it melts on contact with skin, so it spreads in a thin layer.

No ingredient suits every baby, and we cannot promise that one will. That is why the small test above matters. If you are unsure about anything you put on a newborn, ask your pediatrician, midwife or pharmacist first.

Quality matters too. Baraka's shea butter is made by hand by the women's producer groups at the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Ghana, and Wayne Dunn has worked directly with the centre for over 15 years. It is tested periodically by the Ghana Standards Authority in ISO-accredited laboratories. Stored away from heat and direct sun, shea butter keeps 2+ years.

What ingredients should a homemade baby balm avoid?

A baby balm should avoid essential oils, kombo butter, added fragrance and anything water-based. Keeping the ingredient list short makes it easier to see what your baby's skin is reacting to if it does react.

• Essential oils. Leave them out of anything for babies. Newborns especially should never have essential oils on their skin. The recipe above has none.
• Kombo butter. It is never used in anything for babies. It is traditionally used as a massage butter in Ghana and is meant for adults, at low proportions in a blend.
• Added fragrance. Scented products add ingredients you do not need in the diaper area. The natural smell of the butters is enough.
• Water, aloe gel, rosewater or milk. Water-based ingredients need a preservative, and a homemade balm without one is not a safe place for them. Stay with a water-free balm.
• Red palm oil. It keeps its natural colour, so it tints whatever it goes into and stains cloth and surfaces. It is also not the same thing as palm kernel oil, which is pressed from the kernel inside the palm fruit stone. Neither is needed in a diaper balm.
• Anything that has touched water or fingers. Damp jars and used utensils are the quickest way to spoil a homemade balm. Use clean, dry tools every time.

If a recipe asks you to add something you do not recognise to a baby balm, leave it out, or check with a pediatrician or pharmacist first.

How do you use a diaper balm?

Use a thin layer on clean, completely dry skin at each diaper change. Balm sealed over damp skin traps the wetness you are trying to keep off, so patting dry matters as much as the balm itself.

1. Clean the diaper area with warm water or a gentle wipe, then pat it dry. Wait until the skin is fully dry.
2. Take a small amount of balm, about the size of a pea to start, with clean, dry fingers or a clean spatula.
3. Warm it between your fingertips. It melts on contact with skin.
4. Smooth a thin layer over the areas that touch the diaper. You do not need a thick coat.
5. Put on a fresh diaper, close the jar and wash your hands.

Change diapers often. A balm helps protect skin from wetness, but frequent changes do the most work. When it is warm enough and you can supervise, a little time without a diaper lets the skin air out.

If you use cloth diapers, follow the diaper maker's advice on balms, because oil-based products can mark fabric. Keep a separate small tin for the changing table so the main jar stays clean.

When to see a doctor or pharmacist

A homemade balm is a cosmetic barrier, not a treatment for diaper rash. Ask a doctor or pharmacist if a rash lasts or keeps coming back, spreads beyond the diaper area, blisters or looks raw, or if your baby has a fever. Stop using the balm if the skin looks worse after you apply it.

More recipes and guides

These are the other pages to read next:

• DIY diaper rash rescue butter, another water-free butter recipe.
• DIY diaper barrier balm, a second take on a barrier balm.
• Is coconut oil good for diaper rash? The complete guide, if you want to know more about the coconut oil in the recipe above.

If you would rather not measure and melt everything yourself, the Baby Bottom Guard kit is Baraka's option for making a baby bottom balm at home.

Quick answers

How do you make homemade diaper rash cream?

Gently melt 2 oz (57 g) unrefined shea butter, 1/2 oz (14 g) cocoa butter and 1 oz (28 g) virgin coconut oil in a heatproof bowl over simmering water, pour into a clean, dry jar and let it set. It is a water-free barrier balm that keeps skin moisturised and protected from wetness, not a treatment for diaper rash. Ask a doctor or pharmacist if a rash persists, spreads, blisters or comes with a fever.

Is shea butter safe for babies' skin?

Plain, unrefined shea butter is a simple, single-ingredient butter that is traditionally used on dry skin, which makes it a good base for a baby balm. No ingredient suits every baby, so dab a little on a small patch of your baby's inner thigh and wait 24 hours before first full use. Ask a pediatrician, midwife or pharmacist if you are unsure.

What ingredients should a homemade baby balm avoid?

Avoid essential oils, kombo butter, added fragrance and anything water-based such as aloe gel, rosewater or milk. Essential oils and kombo butter do not belong in anything for babies, and water-based ingredients need a preservative. Keep the recipe to a few plain butters and oils, and use clean, dry tools.

How do you use a diaper balm?

Clean the diaper area, pat it completely dry, then smooth a thin layer of balm over the skin that touches the diaper at each change. Use clean, dry fingers, wash your hands afterwards and change diapers often. If a rash persists, spreads, blisters or your baby has a fever, ask a doctor or pharmacist.