In Depth Baby Product Reviews Led by a Pediatrician
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Almost nothing feels worse as a new parent than your baby developing a severe diaper rash. An effective diaper rash cream can help to prevent and treat diaper rashes and should be something you keep on hand.
We've been testing diaper rash creams for years. This review tests the top 10 diaper creams available in 2025. We believe the best products are effective in day-to-day use and contain no concerning ingredients.
The best diaper cream is Triple Paste Ointment. We found it to be very effective against rashes, and we appreciate that it is free of chemicals and other contaminants linked to health harm.
We also love the Honest Company Diaper Cream. This fragrance-free, eczema-certified cream uses natural ingredients and goes on smoothly. It works well to combat diaper rash, is affordable, and is also free of all the ingredients you don't want, such as petrolatum or lanolin.
If your budget is tighter, we also like Aquaphor 3-in-1. This cream is fragrance-free, and well regarded in terms of its ingredients and transparency. It's both affordable and effective. If cloth diapers are your jam, we love the Motherlove Diaper Balm. This organic product contains minimal ingredients, goes on smooth, and leaves skin soft and hydrated after wiping off.
Diapering your baby will require specific gear, such as diaper pails that contain stink to functional diaper bags that help carry baby's items. Our diaper gear list can help you create a well-stocked changing station to streamline diaper duty. We've also extensively tested various diapers over the years, and the the best diapers review provides the details you need to select the best and return to spending time with your baby.
Editor's Note: We updated our diaper cream review on March 25, 2025, with all new 2025 testing of competitors.
Quantity: 3 oz, 10 oz | Cloth Diaper Compatible: No
REASONS TO BUY
EWG Verified
Eczema certified
Fragrance-free
REASONS TO AVOID
Contains petrolatum and lanolin
SPECIFICATIONS
Fragrance-free
Yes
Type
Zinc
Organic
No
Cruelty free
Yes
The Triple Paste Ointment is our favorite diaper cream and winner of our top Editor's Choice Award. Adding to its credibility, it has been verified by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). This means that the EWG rigorously tested it and found to be transparent in their disclosure of ingredients, is free from chemicals and other contaminants linked to health harms, is allergen-friendly, and is manufactured using sound practices. This is an effective product that contains a triple-action formula (Glycerin/oat/beeswax) designed to prevent diaper rash before it begins. “I feel safer using this formula on my baby's sensitive skin,” one user mentioned.
On the downside, this product contains petrolatum and lanolin, which some prefer to steer clear of. One tester remarks, “I just prefer not to use petroleum-based products on my baby.” Outside of this drawback, we can safely say that we highly recommend this product. If you are looking for a product with no petrolatum, we recommend the Honest Company Diaper Cream. It is free of many of the ingredients you don't want and glides on smooth. Overall, Triple Paste is hard to beat and historically has been one of the most effective against bad rashes or persistent flare-ups.
Honest Company Diaper Cream and Triple Paste Ointment had similar scores but differed in consistency and thickness.
Quantity: 2.5 oz, 6.0 oz | Cloth Diaper Compatible: No
REASONS TO BUY
No petrolatum
No added fragrance
Certified for eczema
REASONS TO AVOID
2 on EWG
SPECIFICATIONS
Fragrance-free
Yes
Type
Zinc
Organic
No
Cruelty free
Yes
The Honest Company Diaper Cream can help aid firey tushies. Compared to competitors in our test, this product is one of our favorites. The Honest formula combines zinc oxide (14%) and their trademarked, soothing Phyto-Blend of other natural inactive ingredients. Testers say, “I think this cream is mid-thickness but melts into a smooth, oily texture once applied. I preferred this over the thick paste of some other zinc oxide products, and it was easier to wash off.” This cream offers several properties to help sensitive, dry skin heal from irritation. It's fragrance-free, eczema-certified, and not tested on animals. With no petrolatum, synthetic fragrances, or preservatives listed, this cream includes no concerning ingredients, and we feel good about using it on our babies.
We couldn't find many negatives in this product. It's also only given a 2 on EWG, which isn't bad where lower is better and the worst score is a 10, but it isn't EWG Verified, and the score could be lower. As one user stated, “I just prefer using a product that I know is Verified by the Environmental Working Group.” If you fall into this group, we highly recommend checking out Triple Paste Ointment, which did earn a Verified stamp from EWG despite using a small amount of petrolatum. These two diaper creams were so similar in scores that we couldn't help but give them both an award.
Honest Company Diaper Cream is a zinc oxide product that goes on smooth and not too thick.
Need a budget-friendly solution for your little one's diaper rash? The Aquaphor 3-in-1 is a value-priced option in our lineup of diaper rash creams. This cream uses two active ingredients, zinc oxide (15%) and Panthenol, to protect your baby's skin and seal out wetness. During testing, we felt this cream achieved this feat effectively. It's also hypoallergenic and fragrance-free. We appreciate that Petrolatum is not an ingredient, and testers said, “I think it spreads well and washes off easily.”
The only negative ingredient we found in this product was mineral oil, but if you are someone who prefers a more natural and/or organic product, this may not be the choice for you. The Honest Company Diaper Cream is a great alternative that doesn't contain mineral oil, is only a couple of dollars more, and is found in the majority of the same stores as the Aquaphor cream. If, however, you are on a budget or just looking for a simple product that will be safe for your baby, the Aquaphor 3-in-1 is a great option to help soothe and prevent diaper rash.
Aquaphor 3-in-1 is a budget friendly option that performs well.
The Motherlove Diaper Balm will soothe and moisturize your baby's bum with only a few ingredients: extra virgin olive oil, beeswax, Oregon grape root, myrrh gum, yarrow herb, and calendula flower. This formula is free of zinc oxide and Petrolatum, making it suitable for cloth diapering families. Also, it does not contain soy, gluten, or parabens if you avoid these ingredients. One parent tester said, “I love that it doesn't contain any known irritants in its ingredient list.” The balm has a barely-there scent from the beeswax and olive oil. While testing, we noticed that a little goes a long way to create a thin barrier on delicate skin, and when wiped away, it left the skin soft and hydrated. It also comes in a glass jar, a welcoming alternative to plastic and a perk that may interest families who aim to limit plastic.
As an oil-based product, it might stain fabric. One lab tester stated, “I discovered this balm stained the cloth diapers during testing.” Also, the cream's cost versus quantity is a factor to consider, especially since some reviewers reported their ointment came in a plastic container. We received the expected glass container, but again, this is something to consider when ordering. Despite these minor drawbacks, this antibacterial and antifungal product can be used as a preventative measure or is combat-ready to treat a diaper rash. If you are a cloth diaper user and enjoy a product with a bit of scent, the Earth Mama Diaper Balm is a great alternative and EWG Verified. Overall, however, we think the Motherlove Diaper Balm is worth considering if you prefer a product with few ingredients, plus one without zinc and petroleum for the top-ranked cloth diapers.
Motherlove has minimal ingredients and goes on smoothly.
Credit: Katie Brown
Rash Tips
Diaper rashes can emerge due to multiple reasons, like diaper friction, irritants (stool, urine, wipes, detergents, etc.), or allergens (introducing new foods into the baby's diet). Creams provide a protective barrier on your baby's skin and can treat a moderate to severe rash. However, if a baby's diaper rash worsens or seems persistent, we suggest discussing it with your pediatrician. Sometimes, yeast may be a culprit, as it thrives in warm, moist areas and will need appropriate therapy.
Compare Products
We use EWG scores to decide which diaper creams are going to be safest for your baby.
Credit: Katie Brown
How We Tested Diaper Rash Cream
We considered a variety of diaper creams, including popular options, those with fewer ingredients, and more organic options. We chose creams to test based on user reports and tested them side-by-side with real diapered tushies. We smeared, smelled, felt, and applied all creams for months and assessed their ability to keep rashes at bay or help them heal. We also did a deep dive on different ingredients using EWG data and information.
We conduct more than 10 individual tests to determine our scoring and ranks. Our metric scores break down like this:
Ingredients (45% of weighting)
Scent or Fragrance (25% of weighting)
Consistency (20% weighting)
Bottle Ease of Use (10% weighting)
Our testing metrics are designed to help you decide which products are best for you, your baby, and your individual needs.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Why Trust GearLab
BabyGearLab has been testing baby gear over the past decade. We purchase every product and complete hands-on testing and side-by-side comparisons to determine which competitors are real standouts in their categories. Leading this review is Molly Bradac, Senior Review Editor, Nanny, and Newborn Care Specialist, holding over 14 years of experience. Between countless diaper changes, using several diaper creams and ointments, and experience with cloth diapers, Molly has expert recommendations to help you find a product that will be a great addition to your diapering routine. Also assisting and contributing to our review is Katie Brown. As a mother of one, she uses her eclectic and diverse life experience to test various products with GearLab.
The Weleda Calendula Diaper Rash Cream is free of petroleum and effective at healing irritated red bottoms.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Analysis and Test Results
In our review, each diaper cream was smeared, smelled, touched, and applied countless times to compare performance.
What's the Best Value?
Value is an important component in any product, and as consumers, we are always trying to find the best balance between cost and quality. Although not the least expensive, the Aquaphor 3-in-1 was given the best value award because it is not only extremely affordable, but it delivers a product that works, with minimal drawbacks or negative ingredients. For just a few more dollars, the Honest Diaper Cream is another great option, with even better ingredients, in our opinion. If you're willing to spend, however, we also love the Motherlove Diaper Balm and Earth Mama Diaper Balm for their 100% organic ingredients. One user commented, “I love that my Earth Mama Diaper Balm can double as a skin salve. I use it on my baby, but also on my own dry skin or irritated cuticles.”
Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment is a versatile product that will create a barrier on baby's skin.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ingredients
For ingredients we consider what is in each cream, how transparent the ingredient list is, if it contains concerning ingredients, and how it fared with he Environmental Working Group. Products with fewer concerning ingredients, EWG Verified, and fragrance-free products scored higher in our tests. Those with concerning ingredients like essential oils, added fragrances, and petrolatum, scored lower.
Petrolatum is an active ingredient often found in diaper creams because it provides an efficient skin barrier without obstructing the baby's skin. Petrolatum is a byproduct of the petroleum refining process, and if properly refined, petroleum has no known health concerns. So, what's the fuss? The Environmental Working Group found in their study of skin care products that a significant percentage of petroleum-based products contained impurities that potentially include known carcinogens (like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs]).
Products in our review that use Petrolatum include Boudreaux's Butt Paste Max Strength, Triple Paste Ointment, Desitin Max Strength and A+D Original Ointment. Others, such as the A&D Zinc Oxide Cream and Aquaphor 3-in-1, do not contain petrolatum but do contain mineral oil, which is a derivative of petroleum.
The "Campaign for Safe Cosmetics" advises checking to see if “…the company indicates petrolatum is fully refined as white petrolatum (on the label or their company website)” before you use a product containing Petrolatum.
Contenders that don't contain Petrolatum or derivatives include Motherlove Diaper Balm, Earth Mama Diaper Balm, Honest Company Diaper Cream, and Weleda Calendula Diaper Cream. These top contenders are effective diaper rash creams that manage just fine without Petrolatum. Which option you choose depends on your goals and concerns about Petrolatum; while the jury might still be out on the potential for harm, we like the idea of limiting exposure to potentially harmful chemicals whenever possible.
Zinc oxide is another common active ingredient as it has shown to provide skin protection and treat irritations. Generally, zinc oxide is tolerated among babies and potentially does not carry significant health concerns when topically applied. However, we suggest spot testing before coating your little one's bum, which is good practice for any product.
The Desitin Max Strength and Boudreaux's Butt Paste both have the highest amount of zinc oxide that we tested, coming in at 40%. If you are dealing with severe diaper rash, these are products that could potentially get the job done, although we highly prefer the Boudreaux option due to its better ingredients. It's also smoother and easier to squeeze/spread. It is, however, somewhat difficult to wash off, so beware of this when using.
Overall, the top scorers here are Honest Company Diaper Cream, Motherlove Diaper Balm, and Triple Paste Ointment, with Triple Paste being EWG Verified. The lower-scoring products include Desitin Max Strength, A+D Original Ointment, and A+D Zinc Oxide Cream. These options all have added fragrances, which means ingredients without transparency and included concerning ingredients we aren't fond of.
Boudreaux's Butt Paste has a very high percentage of zinc oxide (40%) but still slides on smooth.
Credit: Katie Brown
Scent and Fragrance
Some love scents and others don't. Scents and fragrances can indicate the potential for irritation or allergen ingredients. Smells are also highly subjective, with a wide variety of opinions about the same scent. For our scent metric, we considered whether the product was advertised as fragrance-free, if it had natural or botanical scents, and whether it included 'fragrance' on the ingredient list. We might mention our opinion on how a product smelled, but they were not scored based on our thoughts about the smell.
The following diaper creams are fragrance-free: Aquaphor 3-in-1, Honest Company Diaper Cream, and Triple Paste Diaper Cream and ranked high in this metric. While they still have a scent from the ingredients listed on the label, they do not have added fragrances or ingredients designed specifically to change the scent of the product.
Both A&D products that we tested, as well as the Desitin Maximum Strength, contain an inactive ingredient listed as “fragrance.” The word fragrance indicates a proprietary blend where the manufacturer doesn't have to tell you what it contains. It could be one ingredient or thousands of chemicals, and there is no way to know. We value labeling transparency, especially since this product will be on your baby's skin. Our in-house tester said, “There is no need for fragrance, and it is annoying that its inclusion means we don't know what is really inside.” As a result, these products earned the lowest scores in our scent metric.
The Weleda and Earth Mama have very different consistencies, but both have natural scents from their ingredients.
Credit: Katie Brown
Last, the Weleda Calendula Diaper Cream and the Earth Mama Diaper Balm both have natural fragrances born from their ingredients. We found the light scent of the Weleda cream quite lovely, but the ingredients giving this product its scent are also potential allergens, which means that it was given a 3 from the EWG (lower scores are better) and is one of the only reasons it didn't score higher in our testing. The Earth Mama Diaper Balm smells like lavender and tea tree oil. It is EWG Verified, but we found many reviews stating that the essential oils were irritating to some babies' sensitive skin.
Earth Mama Diaper Balm goes on smooth and leaves skin soft and hydrated, but does come with essential oils, which can irritate some.
Credit: Katie Brown
Consistency
No one wants a chunky diaper cream, nor one that is so thick it's difficult to spread on a baby already fussy from a sore bum. For this reason, we've rated the products tested on how thick they are, how easy they are to spread, and if they are sticky on the skin.
We loved the Honest Company Diaper Cream. Although it is a zinc oxide product, which tends to be thicker and tackier, it was a smooth product that, when spread, turned into a thin, more oily cream that went on nicely and wasn't too thick. The Triple Paste Ointment also scored well in this category, although it was thicker and had a bit more texture than the Honest.
The Oily base of the Motherlove made it easy to scoop and spread.
Credit: Katie Brown
We also loved the Motherlove Diaper Balm and Earth Mama Diaper Balm consistencies. Their natural, oil-based ingredients made them easy to scoop and spread and left the skin feeling soft and hydrated after wiping off, which isn't a benefit you always get with zinc oxide products. The lowest scoring options were the A&D Original Ointment, A&D Zinc Oxide Cream, and Desitin Max Strength. These were thicker, and the tackiness made them hard to smooth easily as they tended to cling to the skin. This could be irritating to any skin with a rash you're hoping to treat.
We prefer flip-top products as they are easy to use one-handed.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Bottle Ease of Use
It can be tricky to juggle diaper changes with a wiggly, fussy baby whose bum isn't feeling great. Being able to safely hold your little one and open a diaper cream bottle with one hand is important. We scored how easy the bottle were to use, but it is important to note that some also come in larger tubs with different experiences possible. We focused on tubes when available, but a handful only came in a smaller tub.
We suggest selecting an easy-to-open product with a manageable flip-top lid you can operate with one hand. We found the Honest Company Diaper Cream to have the most secure flip-top lid, which meant that it was sometimes a bit hard to open with one hand, but it was the least likely to accidentally open in a diaper bag, so it still scored well.
Being able to easily squeeze contents out of the tube is important to avoid frustration and messes or accidentally dropping the tubes.
Credit: Katie Brown
The lowest scorers are the Desitin Max Strength and the A+D Original Ointment. These options were both easy to open, but squeezing the tubes was a challenge and felt unnecessarily difficult. Other contenders have a twist top, such as the Motherlove Diaper Balm, Earth Mama Diaper Balm, and the Weleda Calendula Diaper Rash Cream, which all require two hands to open. In general, we don't think a product's lid is a deal-breaker. However, it could be a factor in on-the-go diaper changes in less convenient locations like public restrooms.
Not all products in our review are cloth-safe, but products that are compatible with cloth will work on disposable diapers, too.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Disposable vs. Cloth Diapers
It is essential to select a product that works for your diapering choice. Disposable diapers will accept any diaper cream, whereas cloth diapers require cloth-safe products. Some ingredients, like Petrolatum, zinc oxide, mineral oil, and paraffin, can be problematic and inhibit absorption. Honestly, who wants to deal with leakage? These ingredients can also be challenging to remove from cloth fibers.
Products in our review that contain one or more of these ingredients include Boudreaux's Butt Paste Max Strength, Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment, Triple Paste Ointment, A&D Zinc Oxide Cream, Weleda Calendula Diaper Cream, Desitin Max Strength, Honest Company Diaper Cream and A+D Original Ointment. But, if you use cloth diapers and your baby needs a diaper cream containing one of these ingredients, a helpful solution is to use a thick, reusable liner to protect the fabric. Out of the group, the Weleda and Honest products will be easier on cloth diapers due to their more natural ingredients and lower content of zinc oxide.
As for cloth-safe diaper creams in our review, the Motherlove Diaper Balm and Earth Mama Diaper Balm fit this profile, and Earth Mama Diaper Balm is EWG Verified. These products may interest families using a hybrid diapering and disposable cloth program.
Tip: Naked time without a diaper can work wonders to soothe a rashy tushie. Lay your baby on a towel or spend time without a diaper when possible. Allowing air to circulate and dry the area is one of the best natural solutions for diaper rashes.
If you're cloth diapering, you're going to want to look for products without zinc oxide.
How to Choose a Diaper Cream
Choosing a diaper cream doesn't have to be hit or miss. You can find the right option for your baby and diapering routine with a few thoughtful considerations.
Cloth or Disposable?
Your diaper style is the first consideration when choosing a diaper cream. Because cloth diapers use the fabric's absorption properties to capture liquid, you need a diaper cream that won't clog the fibers or create a water-repellant shield. Some creams are better than others for keeping cloth diapers working the way they should. This is consideration number one if your primary diapering plan includes cloth diaper options. If your diapering plan is disposable, then the sky is the limit.
Ingredients and Skin Sensitivity
We think you should consider the product ingredients and your child's sensitivity to certain ingredients when deciding. Options with fragrances or known irritants might not be the best choice for little ones with sensitive or reactive skin. You're trying to solve a rash problem, not create one. There are options in this line-up that avoid most irritants and still work effectively.
Babies will experience a diaper rash at some point, and we recommend trying a few to see what works best for your baby.
Credit: BabyGearLab Staff
Conclusion
There are many causes of diaper rash that can create an uncomfortable red bum for your little one. A great cream can offer relief and start them down the path to healing. However, not all diaper creams are created equal, and what works well for one baby may not work well for another. Therefore, it is essential to try a few products to find the best option that meets your diapering needs. We are confident that our expert recommendations will help you find the right choice for your needs.
