There has never been a better time to look for safer baby products out in the market than today. Unlike the past, there are many companies devoted to finding the most natural ingredients and processes to keep your little one away from harmful chemicals and irritants. At this point, I’ve been able to purchase and try almost every wipe you’ll find on the store shelves and I want to give others a chance to benefit from my experience by comparing popular brands. Today, we’ll look at The Honest Company wipes vs Water Wipes.
Honest wipes are going to offer a generally more premium toughness, size, feel, and value for your dollar compared to Water Wipes. Water Wipes, on the other hand, have a better ingredient list and a nicer scent. Both of these wipes will offer great performance in the real world.
After making that claim I’ll need to back things up with more detail so you’ll understand why I made the choice I’ve made. Hopefully, my experience will let you make a better decision for your family!
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Honest Wipes vs Water Wipes Overall
Just to be clear, you will be able to get all of the standard jobs done with either of these wipes regardless of which one you ultimately prefer over the other. They can both handle dirty diapers, messy eaters, and questionable fluids. With that being said, there are still a few differences that you should know about.
The biggest of these is going to be their list of ingredients, design options, texture, and toughness. If these two wipe brands were sitting on the shelf next to each other, one of these differences could be enough to land you on one side of the fence.
I’ll go ahead and say upfront that my family personally prefers to use the Honest Wipes over the Water Wipes and I find them to be a better value overall as well as you will see further on in this article. With that said, we’ve enjoyed all of the products that I’ve used over the past couple of years so if you want to check them out AND get 20% off for your trouble then check out the link below.
I’ve also personally reviewed the Water Wipes in more detail and you can find that resource here. You’ll also get to see adorable pictures of my son!
Water Wipes have a better ingredient list
As usual, you’re going to find that the Water Wipes have the better ingredient list compared to the wipes from The Honest Company. That’s because it’s hard to beat something that only has three things on it!
Of course, it doesn’t win the race because of simplicity. When I’m looking at baby product ingredients I am on the lookout for harsh chemicals that pose a toxic risk for my baby. I’m also looking for anything that will likely irritate my baby’s skin or cause other problems. Typically, this will include any alcohols, antibacterials, cleansers, or chlorine.
I can honestly say that avoiding these chemicals with our third child has been a night-and-day difference. Before we knew any better, we used whatever we could find on our daughters’ rumps and they had constant problems with diaper rash, bumps, and other issues. With my son, we’ve literally never had to deal with diaper rash.
While your mileage may vary, we’re convinced!
All three ingredients in Water Wipes:
- Water (99.99%)
- Grapefruit extract (.01%)
- Benzalkonium chloride (.002%) – This isn’t really something they add to the product, but it was discovered that this was a byproduct of the extraction process with the grapefruit. While they added it to the list to appease critics, it’s relatively mild and barely existent in the final product.
Well, it doesn’t get much simpler that than.
Don’t worry too much about the Benzalkonium chloride (BAC). While it’s definitely something you don’t want to be exposed to if you can avoid it (it can cause irritation to the skin), it’s barely a trace amount in the Water Wipes. You are much more likely to be exposed to this through other household products like chemical cleaners. My son and other family members have never had any issues with irritation when using this product.
Ingredients in The Honest Company wipes:
- Water
- Glycerin
- Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) flower extract
- Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) fruit extract
- Glycyrrhiza Giabra (Licorice) root extract
- Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) extract
- Peucedanum (Masterwort) leaf extract
- Decyl Glucoside
- Sodium Citrate
- Citric Acid
- Silver Citrate
While there are definitely many more ingredients on the list for Honest wipes, you shouldn’t be too worried. If you check each of these chemicals or extracts out on their own, you’ll find that none of them pose any risk unless you happen to be allergic to them.
As such, EWG gives this product a score of 1 out of 10 (lower is better). This score indicates an extremely safe product based on its ingredients!
While my vote normally goes towards simplicity, you could argue that the Honest wipes are just as safe as Water Wipes but provide a little more moisturization or other benefits from the extract. I haven’t personally noticed much difference, though.
Honest Company wipes have similar features and durability to Water Wipes
Regardless of the ingredient difference, both of these wipes are capable performers when it comes to getting your baby cleaned up so you won’t have to worry too much.
There are, however, some notable differences and I think the Honest Company wipes offer a more premium feel and overall quality than the Water Wipes.
Texture
This is a big one for me and one of the biggest gripes that I have with Water Wipes in general. Comparing the two, you’ll find that the Honest wipes have a nice, bumpy texture on the cloth of the wipe. The Water Wipes, meanwhile, are pretty smooth.
It might not seem like a big deal, but textured cloth makes a big difference when it comes to keeping that wipe firmly in place on your hand so it doesn’t get anything on it. It could also mean the difference between a two-wipe or a four-wipe job – saving time and money.
Toughness
While you probably won’t be trying to tear these wipes apart, Hulk-style, like I did, toughness in a wipe is important depending on the situation.
I’m not exactly sure why, but the Honest Company wipes were insanely hard to rip apart from the middle. The Water Wipes, meanwhile, were fairly easy to rip.
Size
In this category, the Honest wipes are the clear winner.
Honest wipes offer an impressive 7.1 inches by 8 inches while the Water Wipes are only 6.4 inches by 7.3 inches. This might not seem like a big difference, but again, bigger wipes mean it takes fewer of them to clean up big messes!
Fragrance
Both of these wipes are labeled as fragrance-free and have no added chemical fragrances on their ingredient list. Any scent that you get with these wipes is as a result of the natural ingredients.
Normally, I give the Water Wipes the nod in this category because I quite enjoy the VERY subtle grapefruit scent on the wipes. In this particular matchup, however, I’m actually going to give the point to the Honest wipes.
The scent on the Honest wipes just smells so fresh and it’s very subtle. You really have to get your nose into them to smell it. I love that because sometimes you can get some really funky odors when it comes to unscented or fragrance-free products.
Which wipe is more eco-friendly?
In addition to including safe ingredients and offering a strong performance in day-to-day cleanups, I also consider the eco-friendliness of any baby product that I buy.
For baby wipes, the biggest issue that we want to know about is whether or not the wipe is biodegradable. That’s because non-biodegradable wipes are a huge problem for sewer systems and waterways when they are flushed down the toilet. I also hate it when I’m sending things to the landfill to take up space for years.
The wipes from The Honest Company are biodegradable while the Water Wipes are not biodegradable. So in this case, we have a clear winner!
The Honest Company scored the top spot in my list of the best 5 biodegradable baby wipes. Check out that list here to find out about other options that are all safe, natural, and pretty affordable!
Other details such as packaging and design
This is the last item on the list because, frankly, it’s the least important when it comes to getting the job done, but it can make a difference. Overall, The Honest Company wins this category.
As far as design goes, the Honest Company wipes are definitely cuter. Their packaging has bright colors and there are some cool designs available!
In terms of packaging, the Honest Company wins again because they offer a flip-top on their pouches of wipes. This lets you easily reseal the wipes after use to keep them fresh. With the Water Wipes, you’ll have to keep reusing the plastic strip that originally sealed the wipes in.
Honest wipes are the better value vs Water Wipes
As of the time of this writing, both of these wipes cost about $.06 per wipe. This is on the higher end for baby wipes in general, but pretty average for more health-conscious, natural baby wipes.
If you consider the fact that both of these wipes are the same price, then The Honest Company wipes are the clear winner in terms of overall value and performance.
Sure, the Water Wipes have the better ingredients list, but the Honest wipes are bigger, smell better, have a textured cloth, and come in better packaging.
While I don’t think you’ll be upset with either option, my money goes to The Honest Company wipes in this matchup!
