The Best Diaper Rash Creams of 2024

Aside from the funny "butt paste" name, parents appreciate that this thick formula doesn't just absorb right into a baby's skin; it provides a soothing layer of protection all night. "I like that Boudreaux's is so creamy and goes on smoothly," one tester told us.

There are three other formulations from this brand, including one with aloe for cooling — those are each for a more mild diaper rash. "We were a max-strength family," says Rachel Rothman, the Good Housekeeping Institute's chief technologist and a mom of three. This fast-acting version in the red box contains 40% zinc oxide, and we found it to be very effective at clearing up most diaper rashes within about 24 hours when used at every diaper change. The brand's Original Formula is made with 16% zinc oxide and the brand's Butt Barrier (made to prevent more than treat) has 1% zinc oxide.

We like that this brand is easy to find in most drugstores and mass merchants, and the price is very reasonable. Our only complaint is that if you get this on clothing, bedding or any fabric, be prepared: Since it is oil-based, it can stain fabrics. This is a common problem with most diaper rash creams, so be sure to read our tips below on removing diaper rash cream stains out of clothing and upholstery.

Walmart's house brand is the least expensive diaper rash cream that we've found, and it contains 40% zinc oxide, the same concentration as our favorite brand. If you're on a budget and your baby is prone to rashes, this can be a real money-saver. It's not as creamy as some other formulations (users have described it as "a little watery"), but it's not as sticky as a some others either, so in terms of consistency, it's a good middle ground.

One word of warning for anyone who prefers strictly plant-based ingredients: This formulation uses petrolatum, lanolin (a wool alcohol and common allergen), beeswax and cod liver oil. That's actually not that uncommon; the longtime brand A + D Ointment uses petrolatum and cod liver oil too. This diaper rash cream also has added fragrance, important to know if you're trying to stick to fragrance-free products for sensitive skin.

We've sung the praises of this ointment before; it's a moisturizing skin protectant recommended for people of all ages. After changing your baby's diaper, pat their skin clean and dry, and finish up with a thin layer of Aquaphor, which forms a moisture-resistant barrier that helps keep wetness — and therefore skin irritation — away.

Its active ingredient is petrolatum, another word for petroleum jelly. So this is a sticky ointment, but that stickiness is part of what holds it to skin so well. Inactive ingredients include moisturizing mineral oil and glycerin.

"Anywhere you turn in my home, you’ll find Aquaphor," says Rothman, who has used this for healing all sorts of dry skin patches on her kids, removing her own makeup, and treating her husband's eczema-prone elbows. The 14-ounce tub is nice and lasting but there's a smaller tube as well.

Just remember: Aquaphor doesn't so much treat a rash as work to prevent it. If your baby gets a diaper rash despite you using this barrier cream, use one of our cream recommendations that contain zinc oxide to heal it more quickly.

The "triple" in the name of this one refers to three main ingredients. Zinc oxide helps clear up a rash, oat extract is included for soothing a rash, and beeswax and petrolatum work together to form a barrier to prevent future rashes.

There's no added fragrance and the formulation is fairly scent-neutral, so it's great if your child has sensitive skin and you're trying to avoid extra ingredients that might cause irritation. But note that this is another cream that does include lanolin, thought to cause wool-based skin allergies.

This is a thick cream—or rather, paste is the more appropriate term to describe the texture of this product. "I like when I can see sunscreen as I put it on my child, and similarly I like that I can see this when I spread it on — the whiteness doesn't absorb right away and I can tell when I've covered the entire rash," one mom told us.

It does also come in a smaller tube that easily fits in a diaper bag. Though Triple Paste has the highest price tag on our list, it's not the most expensive per ounce.

Maybe the worst thing about rash cream is that you have to spread it on with your fingers, then diaper your baby and get them somewhere safe before you can clean yourself off. We love that Boogie has a zinc oxide formulation that you can spray on for minimal handling.

"I found this to be life-changing. I've given it to everyone who has recently had a baby," one mom told us. "My son was always super wriggly and diaper changes were like wrestling matches so being able to strategically squirt was major. Plus, your fingers don't get greasy so you're never tempted to take your hands off the baby during diaper changes."

The 25% zinc oxide is effective on most regular diaper rashes. The main complaint over time is that the sprayer can sometimes get stuck and users have to fuss with it to keep it easily spritzing.

In our extensive testing, we've found this is effective at clearing up even a severe rash. You'll sometimes hear grandparents refer to all diaper rash creams as "Desitin" as if that's a generic name. That's because this cream has been around for nearly 100 years, so it's gained a lot of trust among pediatricians, nurses and caregivers — plus it's received over 23K five-star Amazon reviews and it's sold at drugstores and mass-merchants everywhere.

Desitin is perhaps a little more complicated than other creams, with a few ingredients that some parents may object to. It contains cod liver oil so it's not strictly plant-based and it also has the mineral talc, which is no longer used in baby powder but is in Desitin to help prevent chafing. Desitin also has the allergen lanolin and added fragrance, which some families like but others do not. Added up, some families will find this to be exactly what they were looking for to treat a severe rash, and others might choose to skip it.

Certified organic by the USDA, free of preservatives and entirely plant-based, Earth Mama's balm sold in plastic pots that can be recycled is for families who want to stick to organic ingredients for their baby. There's no petroleum or zinc oxide included; instead, this is largely a multipurpose family balm — powered by a long list of oils, extracts and shea butter — that can be used on tushies.

There is definitely a scent to this balm, but it's not an added fragrance, it's the natural scent of lavender oil and a type of olive oil. Dr. Levine prefers a zinc-oxide product to clear up a diaper rash quickly, but using this organic balm at each and every diaper change provides some prevention. The small pots are easy to fit in a bag or take along on travels before you reuse or recycle them.

Retro packaging and a deceptively simple name (it's pronounced "pink salve") help this brand stand out, though it's powered by the same zinc oxide as our other favorite diaper rash treatments. A point of difference is its list of cooling ingredients that help soothe a painful rash, including aloe vera gel, menthol and eucalyptol.

Because this cools and forms a barrier against chafing, it's popular among athletes, anyone suffering from sunburn and even older adults who have bed sores. The cream is, in fact, pink, so it looks different from the white creams and clear balms that make up the rest of our list.

Created by a family- and female-run business, it can be a little harder to find on drugstore shelves but it has been growing in popularity in recent years.

Burt's Bees Baby combines the medicinal power of zinc oxide with a list of skin-calming plant-based ingredients to create a nice blend of treatment and soothing that heals rashes well.

Our testers particularly like the scent (which comes primarily from the almond oil and lavender oil ingredients) and some are fans of the entire Burt's Bees Baby line, which tends to garner brand loyalty.

A head-up that the packaging uses the term "natural," which is an unregulated beauty-industry term that rarely means what it implies. While the brand claims the product to be of 100% natural origin, we have not come across any 3rd party certifications to support this on their website. However, it does include soothing plant-based ingredients, such as shea butter, lavender oil and jojoba seed oil, and Burt's Bees prides itself in never testing on animals.