Carmen’s question:
I realize this is an icky revelation — but I frequently find myself too pooped at the end of the evening to properly wash my face. Sometimes I go to bed with my makeup still on, and I know that’s not good. I’m considering buying face wipes to at least take some of the grunge off before plunging into bed. But what about just using baby wipes? Aren’t they basically the same thing? They’re certainly cheaper!
The Right Brain’s Pampered Response:
Yes, Carmen, you can use baby wipes to remove makeup. Here are 5 things to think about before you baby your face:
1. Cost
Wow, what a difference! The cost of an average Baby Wipe = 5.5 cents each. Cost of an average Make Up Remover = 33 cents each
(For baby products we used the average cost of Tushies, Huggies, 7th Generation, and Pampers. For facial wipes we used Almay, Neutrogena, Chorane, and Comodynes facial wipes. Anyway you slice it, “baby” is cheaper.)
2. Cleansing ingredients
All the formulas we looked at (both baby and make up) use mild cleansers – nary a sulfate in sight. However, keep in mind that baby wipes are not built to remove the kind of heavy, waxy buildup you get with lipstick or some waterproof mascaras. (Then again, not everyone wears water proof mascara. Just to be safe, if you plan on removing eye make up, you should check with the manufacturer.) Based on looking at the formulas, it appears that the cleansing power varies by brand. Tushies, for example, appears to be very light cleansing.
3. Quality of the cloth
The texture of facial cloths and baby wipes are similar, but you might find the baby wipes are a bit big for facial use. (As with so many things in life, size does matter.) But that’s ok, folding isn’t against the law. Also, depending on the brand, you might find the baby wipes are too wet for your face.
4. Safe for skin
A hallmark of any good make up (or make up remover) is that it’s proven to be noncomedogenic. In other words, it doesn’t cause comedones, or black heads. We’ve never seen a baby wipe that makes this claim but it’s probably not a big deal. Oils are the types of ingredients that usually cause comedones and the baby wipe formulas we looked at don’t seem to contain a lot of those kind of ingredients.
5. Fragrance
If you use baby wipes to clean your face, you’ll probably find yourself smelling like baby lotion. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you’re trying send a subliminal message to your husband/significant other. If you catch our drift. Of course, you can also buy the unscented variety.
If you’re still not convinced you should use baby wipes, you can always buy some Almay Eye Makeup Remover pads here.