Key Takeaways

The best diaper rash creams include ingredients such as calendula, zinc oxide, aloe vera, petroleum, and lanolin.
Be cautious with diaper rash creams containing parabens, paraffin, phthalates, artificial waxes, aluminum starch, octenyl succinate, artificial fragrances, and dyes.

While treating your baby’s diaper rash, watch for signs of infection, including fever, swelling, pus, blisters, worsening redness, irritation, and allergic reaction.

Diaper rash is common in infants and toddlers due to skin irritation caused by trapped moisture from wet diapers. You can help provide relief for your baby by applying diaper rash cream promptly while keeping your baby’s bum clean and dry by changing dirty diapers as soon as possible. It is crucial to identify and recognize other causes, such as infection or allergic reaction, and inform your child’s pediatrician immediately.

With a wide range of diaper rash creams available, parents might find choosing the right one overwhelming.

To determine the best diaper rash cream for your baby, take into consideration the product’s ingredients. The preferred formulations are those containing safe and effective ingredients such as zinc oxide, aloe vera, and lanolin while lacking harmful additives like alcohol, dyes, fragrances, and parabens.

Parents also feel more reassured using products from trustworthy brands that have good track records for safety and efficacy.

Continue reading to learn about the best diaper rash cream options available.

Safe and effective ingredients

Regardless of the brand, there are a few ingredients that you must look out for to support the soothing and healing of the affected skin. Look for diaper rash creams with ingredients such as:

Calendula: a natural anti-inflammatory and antibacterial agent derived from marigold flowers that can soothe irritated skin and lower the risk of infections.
Zinc oxide: this powdery mineral is applied to the skin to create a protective barrier to block moisture. Thus, it protects your baby’s sensitive skin while keeping the area dry.
Aloe vera: a soothing agent that can relieve the redness, itching, and inflammation of painful diaper rashes.
Petroleum: a moisturizer that creates a protective barrier on the skin for preventing diaper rash. However, the use of products containing petroleum (or petrolatum) can be controversial, and many parents may not want diaper rash products that contain this ingredient. If you prefer a diaper rash cream that is all-natural, you should choose products that don’t have petroleum or petrolatum.
Lanolin: a natural moisturizing wax made from sheep's wool.

Ingredients to avoid

Be cautious with diaper rash creams containing parabens, paraffin, phthalates, artificial waxes, aluminum starch, octenyl succinate, artificial fragrances, and dyes. These ingredients may not be suitable, especially for babies with very sensitive skin.

Choosing the best diaper rash cream

Consider key parameters like the use of safe ingredients, absence of harmful chemicals, speed of rash treatment, price, and the brand's reputation.

The best diaper rash creams

Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment

This multipurpose diaper rash ointment can be used for relieving severe to minor skin irritations, such as chapped lips, chapped cheeks, burns, eczema, cuts, and scrapes.

Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment relieves diaper rash within just 6 hours of application.

The key ingredient of this cream is petroleum jelly, which contains a mineral oil that can prevent or relieve diaper rash.

Pros

Can be used for a range of skin irritations
Affordable
Widely available in most stores and online

Cons

Greasy to touch
Missing other key ingredients to heal skin rashes

Triple Paste Medicated Ointment for Diaper Rash

You can choose Triple Paste Medicated Ointment if you are looking for a medicated ointment for treating your baby’s diaper rash.

Triple Paste Medicated Ointment is hypoallergenic and fragrance-free. You can try this diaper rash ointment when other creams have failed to produce the desired results.

The key ingredients of this product include zinc oxide, corn starch, white petrolatum, anhydrous lanolin, and beeswax. Zinc oxide helps to repel water or moisture away from the skin and creates a barrier for healing.

Triple Paste Medicated Ointment can only be used to treat diaper rash and should not be used for other common skin issues, such as chapped lips or cradle caps.

Pros

Fragrance-free
Hypoallergenic

Cons

Thick
Designed to be used only as a diaper cream

Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Diaper Ointment

You can choose Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Diaper Ointment if you are looking for a natural diaper cream.

The key ingredients of this cream include zinc oxide, shea butter, lavender oil, sweet almond oil, and jojoba seed oil.

This diaper rash ointment contains no petrolatum, parabens, phthalates, or sodium lauryl sulfate. The all-natural composition of this ointment can help to soothe and soften your baby’s skin, reducing the frequency of diaper rash when used regularly.

Pros

All-natural ingredients
Does not contain parabens, phthalates, or petrolatum

Cons

May leave a white residue on cloth diapers

Babyganics Diaper Rash Cream

Babyganics Diaper Rash Cream is a great choice of plant-based cream for relieving diaper rash.

Babyganics Diaper Rash Cream uses a formula named neo-nourish seed oil blend that contains organic ingredients such as tomato, cranberry, black cumin, sunflower, and raspberry seed oils.

Other ingredients include zinc oxide, calendula, aloe vera, jojoba oil, and shea butter, which help to soothe and protect the skin.

Babyganics Diaper Rash Cream can be used regularly to reduce and prevent diaper rash. It is free of phthalates, petroleum jelly, parabens, mineral oils, artificial fragrances, and dyes.

Pros

Contains safe and organic ingredients
Free of parabens, petroleum, phthalates, mineral oils, artificial fragrances, or dyes

Cons

Not as long-lasting or as thick as some other creams

Organic Diaper Balm by Earth Mama

This organic diaper cream by Earth Mama contains olive fruit oil, organic beeswax, organic shea butter, organic jojoba seed oil, organic tea tree leaf oil, organic lavender flower oil, and organic calendula flower.

Earth Mama Organic Diaper Balm is free from petroleum, mineral oils, toxins, parabens, and phthalates.

It is naturally antifungal and antibacterial, with essential oils and organic herbs like calendula added to the formula. This diaper rash cream allows the skin to breathe rather than creating a barrier that could otherwise trap bacteria within the skin.

Pros

Can be used on the skin on any part of the body
Petroleum-free
Preservative-free
USDA-certified organic

Cons

Expensive compared to other creams

Boudreaux’s Butt Paste

Boudreaux’s Butt Paste is the best ointment for slow-healing severe skin rashes.

The key ingredients of this product include zinc oxide, paraffin, castor oil, mineral oil, Peruvian balsam, and petrolatum.

If your baby’s bum gets severe rashes that take a long time to heal, you can try Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. It is a popular choice among parents as it offers an easy-on-easy-off formula as well as a pleasant scent.

However, it is not an all-natural diaper rash cream as it also has boric acid, mineral oil, white wax, petrolatum, and castor oil on its ingredients list.

Pros

Free of parabens, preservatives, dyes, phthalates, and talc
Easily available in a wide range of local and online stores

Cons

May not help to treat other skin issues like dry skin or chapped lips

Zarbee’s Naturals Baby Daily Bottom Balm

This one's the best soothing product for babies with diaper rash and sore skin.

The key ingredients of this product include beeswax, calendula, chamomile, aloe, castor oil, canola oil, and sunflower seed oil.

Zarbee’s Naturals is a brand known for its natural, chemical-free baby products. The diaper rash balm from this brand has received great reviews from parents whose babies have sensitive skin and those who prefer a natural ointment for treating diaper rash.

This balm contains soothing and healing agents such as beeswax, aloe, chamomile, canola oil, sunflower seed oil, and castor oil.

It stays on the skin for longer and is not greasy. Parents can apply this balm to the baby’s skin as a soothing agent for the prevention of diaper rash. It can also be used to treat diaper rash that has already started.

Pros

Contains a number of natural, plant-based ingredients
Consistency and texture are less messy than most other products
Suitable for sensitive skin
No strong smell

Cons

Does not have zinc oxide or petrolatum, which are considered the most effective barrier ingredients for managing diaper rash

When to contact a pediatrician

While diaper rashes are generally mild, parents should watch for signs of infection. Immediate medical attention is needed if you notice symptoms like fever, swelling, severe redness, or discharge. Consult a pediatrician if the rash persists or if there are adverse reactions to creams.

Allergic contact dermatitis is another concern associated with diaper rash products. This happens when your baby’s skin is allergic to one or more of the ingredients in the product. Though rare, sometimes babies can be allergic to the diaper itself. Signs of contact dermatitis are itchy, raised, scaly, red skin in the diaper area.

You should contact your child’s pediatrician immediately in case you notice any adverse reaction to diaper rash creams or if your baby develops signs of an infection.

Best Diaper Rash Cream: Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to heal diaper rashes?

Diaper rash usually goes away completely or improves significantly within 3 to 4 days. However, it may take longer to treat diaper rashes if your child has very sensitive skin. Apply diaper rash cream and do regular diaper changes to help speed up the recovery time and prevent diaper rash in the future.

How to prevent diaper rashes

The best way to prevent diaper rash is to do diaper changes frequently. A diaper change should be done as soon as the diaper becomes soiled.

The American Academy of Dermatology Association also provides the following tips to help with diaper rash:

Be gentle while cleaning the diaper area with water and soft washcloths; if you use baby wipes, choose those without alcohol and fragrances;
It is important to let your baby go diaper-free as long as possible so the diaper area can be air dry and heal properly
With severe diaper rashes, use a diaper rash cream that contains zinc oxide; then make sure you apply a thick layer of the product, just like when you frost a cake.

When does diaper rash require medical treatment?

If your baby’s skin irritation does not improve within a week, or if you begin to notice signs of infection, call your baby’s pediatrician immediately.

Some skin conditions are known to worsen diaper rash, including:

Fungal infection
Allergic contact dermatitis
Impetigo (red sores around the nose and mouth)
Seborrhea (scaly patches, inflamed skin, and stubborn dandruff)

Should I apply diaper rash cream at every diaper change?

If the redness and skin rash are severe, you can apply the cream each time you change the diaper. This would help to clear the symptoms in a shorter duration and prevent them from recurring.

You can use diaper cream any time you start noticing the signs of irritation and redness to prevent the symptoms from getting worse.

What heals diaper rashes quickly?

The key to healing diaper rash quickly is to create a strong protective barrier to prevent urine or stool from coming into contact with the inflamed and irritated skin in order to give the baby’s skin enough time to heal.

Zinc oxide, aloe vera, petroleum jelly, and calendula are some ingredients that can help create a barrier and clear the diaper rash safely at home.

What is the best diaper rash cream for babies with sensitive skin?

The best diaper rash creams containing skin protectants such as allantoin, calamine, petrolatum, zinc oxide, and dimethicone are the safest choices for babies with sensitive skin.

Also, babies are susceptible to absorbing chemicals through the skin, especially if the skin is broken due to severe rash. Hence, it is good to choose a product with effective yet safe ingredients. It is important to choose products that don’t contain alcohol, fragrances, dyes, and parabens.

If you prefer an all-natural product with organic ingredients, you should choose those without petroleum or petrolatum.

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