5 Tips for Using Baby Wipes To Remove Makeup

August

5 Tips for Using Baby Wipes To Remove Makeup

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.

23 Responses to “5 Tips for Using Baby Wipes To Remove Makeup”

Cristavalentine Says:

Just thought as you are talking about baby wipes and mentioned cost I would send a recipe for homemade babywipes

1 Roll of Good Quality Paper Towels,
cut in half the round way so you have two half circles. (you can cut them into 4ths)
Use one of the half rolls per each batch

MIX TOGETHER: (Hint- 2-2-2)
2 Cups Hot Water (not boiling)
2 Cups Baby Oil
2 Cups Baby Bath (Soap)

Place the half roll of paper towel into a plastic container
Pour Liquid mixture over and cover.
Remove cardboard tube (it should pull right out)
After cooling, go ahead and use by pulling towels
from the middle of the roll.
Cristavalentine
aa Says:

i love this idea. use facial wipes ALL the time in between work and events and again to remove my masques, a s well as makeup before i wash my face at night. etc. but it’s expensive. i’m going to give baby wipes a try.

hey, Thx!
Jen Says:

I actually don’t suggest using baby wipes, mainly because I tried once. And it irritated my very badly, even though I don’t have sensitive skin or allergies.
Courtney Says:

Anchormen and actors have used baby wipes forever to remove the heavy makeup they have to wear. It’s kind of a trade secret.
The Mommanista Says:

I’ve used both, and prefer make-up wipes as they remove make-up better. I used the biore ones for years and loveed them…but I have quit because I am trying to reduce my waste.
Marina Says:

I’ve actually used cottonelle adult bathroom wipes when I’ve been too tired! They worked GREAT. And I didn’t smell like a baby.
Lucia Says:

I’ve tried all kinds of wipes to remove make-up, even baby wipes, and my experience is that not all of them are equal. Baby wipes leave my face wet, and do not remove all the make-up, while some make-up remover ones (like pond’s) are harsh and irritate my skin. The winner of them all is comodynes, you can find it a Trader Joe’s and is not that expensive
Alannah Says:

I absolutely love the MAC wipes. They’re obviously way more expensive than baby wipes, but they work so well, smell amazing, have all kinds of moisturizers in them, and are perfectly sized. I would never go back to makeup removers!
GlamBlush :: Beats from the Beauty Blogosphere Says:

[...] at The Beauty Brains -> Read up on five fab reasons to use baby wipes to remove [...]
becka Says:

I bought some cheap makeup wipes from the dollarstore…packs of 25 for a buck…and they have vitamin e and moisturizers…

and they also have like duckies all over them so i think they are just differently named babywipes….
Ruqayya Says:

I’ve been using Huggies Natural Care wipes, for many years. (I use the onces for NEWBORNS, since they are fragrance-free and more gentle than “regular” scented Huggies Natural Care.)

The first wipe, I use for removal of any eye makeup. I basically fold it in half and dribble a little Almond or Apricot oil (from the health food store) on it. The oil (just commerical eye makeup removers) helps take off almost anything on my eye, including mascara and eyeshadow base. (I use Urban Decay Primer Lotion.) Then I take a little of the oil between my thumb and forefinger and gently rub it onto my lashes.

The second and third wipe, I use to cleanse the rest of my face…. including the jaw and hairlines.

Lastly, if I don’t want to wash my face, I may use another wipe to go back over the eye area, to remove any leftover oil and makeup – especially on the lashes and the very inner corner of the eye. Otherwise, I may just wet my face with lukewarm water, apply a little facial cleanser and then wash my face.

I know…. some of you wonder why bother with a facial cleanser, if you use wipes…. but my cleanser is not very aggressive when it comes to getting off all of my makeup.
FancyMomma Says:

Wow, the waste just amazes me. 3 to 4 wipes a day to remove make-up, and then using a cleanser and water. Landfills must love you. Maybe consider finding a more agressive cleanser?

I used to use Biore wipes for years, I really liked them. I stopped though because I decide it was very wasteful.
ruskys Says:

god fancymomma your self righteous aren’t you? for all you know that lady might be less wasteful than you in other areas of her life, and recycle everything she possibly can, is she not allowed a little luxury? I cannot believe your rudeness.
FancyMomma Says:

I dicn’t mean to be rude…just to make people think a little bit. As I said, I myself used wipes to clean my face for a long time-it was my last big “environmental vice” to go. It was hard for me to face up to that fact that too many of my little luxeries were at a cost…but I am glad I did.

My skin is as good as it ever was, and my garbage cans a lot lighter.

If no one says these things they wont be heard. Maybe the BB scientists should talk about environmentally friendlier was to be beautiful, instead of encouraging waste?
Aimee Says:

Fancy momma- try this, after you use your SWIFFER WIPE ON THE FLOOR, why not recycle it by turning it over and wiping your face with it?
Left Brain Says:

Yeah, I wouldn’t encourage anyone to do that. Have you ever seen a picture of a skin mite close up?
Aimee Says:

was totally kidding!!!
FancyMomma Says:

No more swiffer wipes here. They were also really hard to give up…
Also enviro concerned Says:

I second FancyMomma’s wipe count per day! There’s got to be more creative ways to take these tips, benefit from them and yet not be filling a trashcan with convenience trash, food trash and now beauty trash. For example, couldn’t there be a cloth towelette you could have seven of and day by day you’re using one with a solution (maybe the ingredients one of the posters recommended) and doing it that way and then add it to your wash and hang it to dry. We’d never think to use a disposable to wash or dry our bodies. It’s a part of our bodies and there’s got to be something we could figure out – and that would be a tip.
Jenna Says:

If you really want to use wipes, why not try cutting the wipe in half? It’s half the waste, and the wipes work just as well. But why spend the money on wipes in the first place? Even when I’m tired, I get up to use the bathroom, and once I’ve washed my hands, I take 30 seconds to remove my makeup.
Krystal Says:

I think if you want to get technical, you would have to weigh out the footprint of using a cleanser (plastic bottle, chemicals, cloth washing using water and detergent and hydro etc) v.s. using a wipe (packaging,chemicals, amount of waste) To me, they seem equal or perhaps even the wipes a little more environmentally friendly.
Swiffers are a bad idea because it doesn’t cost a thing to use a broom. Cloth diapers are better than disposable because of the amount of waste that is put into the landfils, but one measly wipe a day that can be biodegradable (the ones that I use are) has a very small impact.
BuyBabyWipes Says:

Nice Tips… Aside from the baby wipes for my baby, I have also my baby wipes for the removal of my make-up..lol… I just buy baby wipes online and they are so convenient… me and my baby are comfortable with their products.. thanks for them… And also thanks for your tips.
Dennery Says:

Well said, Krystal! I agree completely, but I could not have expressed such thoughts so eloquently!