Is it okay to remove makeup with baby wipes?

TL;DR: Makeup wipes are bad for your skin, the environment, and are not manufactured to act as a skin cleanser.

Let’s break it down.

1. Makeup wipes are full of harsh and harmful chemicals that disrupt the pH balance of your skin and its acid mantle. The acid mantle is a protective layer of your skin that keeps out the dirt and impurities, and seals in the moisture and natural oils. The layer is extremely important for the health of your skin, and is removed when you use the wipes. Not only that, it also strips the skin off its natural oils.

2. If you use makeup wipes and an exfoliant, it is like completely removing the protective layer of your skin. You need to avoid at all costs.

3. Makeup and baby wipes are not manufactured to be used for cleansing the skin, they’re designed to break down makeup particles. So if you’re wiping your face with a makeup wipe, the chances are that a considerable amount of residue from makeup and pollutants will still remain in your pores and clog them.

4. You don’t want the harsh chemicals on your skin, especially if it is on the sensitive side. Makeup wipes leave behind a skin that is more prone to irritation and breaking out. Moreover, it is not fit to be used as a remover of eyeliner, kajal, and mascara since the eye tissue is very sensitive.

5. It is absolutely terrible for the environment! The global climate crisis is at a point where we’re way past the stage of recycling everything, and have reached where we should all be trying to reduce our waste as much as possible. Unfortunately, single-use products cause much more harm than we can imagine. It can take at least one hundred years for a single makeup wipe to decompose. Imagine using one everyday, and adding to the pile of waste that we already produce countless tonnes of.

Table of Contents

• What you should do instead
• Use reusable wipes or bamboo based wipes to remove your makeup
• Double Cleanse

What you should do instead

1. Use reusable wipes or bamboo based wipes to remove your makeup.

Buy it here

2. Double Cleanse!

Double cleansing is a more effective way of removing makeup, in which you first cleanse your face with an oil based cleanser, and then with a regular cleanser. It weeds out all the makeup particles from your face and then cleans out the dirt and impurities from your pores, without disturbing the pH balance of your skin.

If you were part of last week's eye-makeup remover discussion, you may have noticed rainbowgirl's surprising suggestion: that Pampers Sensitive baby wipes make great face wipes. Or, more specifically, the most excellent face wipes ever in the history of the universe (and she's tried 'em all). Needless to say, I booked it out my door to the drugstore across First Avenue and purchased myself a box.

I found the baby-wipe-as-face-wipe idea intriguing for a few reasons. One, I have lazy phases when it comes to p.m. face-washing, and wipes encourage me to at least remove my makeup. Two, wipes designed specifically for the face can be somewhat pricey and often disappoint me, either by burning my sensitive skin or not being damp enough to remove much, or turning out to be the kind you have to wet under the faucet (why not just wash your face normal-style then? I don't get it). So if these worked, I thought I could probably get past the fact that they are designed to clean a poopy baby bum.

The verdict: I've been using baby-bum wipes on my face for about four nights now, and they rule. Rainbowgirl, you were right, this really is the best secret tip ever. They're totally hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, of the perfect moistness, and at about five bucks for 64 wipes (7 cents a wipe), extremely recession-friendly. In comparison, the Biore and Sephora ones work out to about 25 cents a wipe, and Olay ones about 20.

Two drawbacks: One, the box is freakin' huge, and not exactly discreet. I have to figure out somewhere to stash it, since we lack an under-sink cabinet. For now, it's on the very bottom shelf of our bathroom shelvy-unit. Two, the wipes don't fully remove my DiorShow Blackout mascara. But I am organizing my in-depth trial of all the eye-makeup removers you recommended; stay tuned for the results, probably early next week.

So, dare I ask: Will you be washing your face with a wipe designed for a baby's bum anytime soon? Are any of you mommies who have known about this trick forever? Anybody got a different alterna-wipe to suggest, or want to argue why your favorite brand of face wipe is better/worth spending a bit more?

Can I use baby wipes to remove my makeup?

What can I wipe my makeup off with?