How to get baby–soft skin for an awful lot less

How much do you spend on your beauty regime? Do your various lotions, potions and powders add up to a small fortune?

Well, the answer could be to switch the aisle you shop in. The website LetsSaveSomeMoney.com reckons that shoppers could save a small fortune by ditching the beauty aisle in favour of the baby section.

Here are some of the alternatives it suggests:

Product	Baby alternative	Saving
Olay everyday moisturiser £15.98 for 100ml	Waitrose bottom butter £2.31 for 100ml	£13.67 a bottle
Nivea facial cleansing wipes 12p a wipe	Huggies Pure baby wipes 3p a wipe	£9.00 per 100 wipes
Bio oil £10.00 for 100ml	Baby oil 92p for 100ml	£9.08 a bottle
Johnson’s cotton buds 95p for 100	Own brand cotton buds 39p for 100	56p a pack
Cosmetic cotton wool balls £1.55 for 100	Baby cotton wool balls £1.43 for 100	12p a pack

Finally, if you’re at the weaning stage, then you could potentially save money by creating your own baby-mush face masks! Simply mash half an avocado for Junior, and then use the rest as a face mask.

But I have never spent as much as £15.98 on a moisturiser in my life – so could I save any money with this tip?

Sudocrem ‘miracle face cream’

I don’t spend a fortune on expensive skincare regimes. In fact, I am fiercely sceptical of pricey potions that ‘may help’ ‘reduce’ the ‘appearance’ of fine lines and wrinkles.

But plenty of people spend a lot of money buying them. In fact, in Boots, you can buy just 30ml of Lancome Visionnaire for a whopping £58. Even cheaper brands sell for around £9.99 a pop – and just for small jars.

Yet a growing number of women are swearing blind that nappy rash cream Sudocrem helps them fight dry skin, wrinkles and spots, after a character in The Only Way is Essex recommended it to a friend.

I can buy 125g of Sudocrem for just £2.25 from the same retailer. In fact, I use this cream every single day on my one year old.

So, what’s it like as a moisturiser? Well, I took a (new!) jar and tried it out. I can’t speak for its long-term success at keeping my skin youthful, but it did leave my face feeling moisturised, refreshed and even springy.

It felt like a real success until my husband gave me a hug, then a sniff and asked why I smelt like our son’s backside…

My potential baby aisle savings

I’ve been experimenting with baby aisle alternatives to my standard beauty regime. So far, I like Sudocrem as a moisturiser, found baby shampoo to be great for dry hair and have completely switched to baby wipes for removing my make-up.

Here’s how the costs compare:

Original product	Cost	Alternative	Cost	Savings
Skin Wisdom Sensitive Moisturiser 75ml	£3.99 (£5.32/100ml)	Sudocrem Antiseptic Healing Cream 250g	£3.50 (£1.40/100g)	49p/100g/100ml*
Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo 300ml	£4.48 (£1.50/100ml)	Own-brand baby shampoo	£1.08 (£0.22/100ml)	£1.28/ 100ml
Simple Kind To Skin Cleansing Facial Wipes 25	£3.00 (£0.12/each)	Own-brand, fragrance-free baby wipes	£0.98 (£0.02/each)	10p/wipe

* With face creams, I estimate I use pretty much a gram for a millilitre

So definitely some impressive savings in the baby aisle. Admittedly, I could simply save money by switching to supermarket budget brands. After all, 750ml of own-brand shampoo is just £0.88, or £0.12/100ml – even cheaper than the baby brand.

But I do trust the baby products more – I know they are unlikely to contain harsh or unnecessary chemicals. Because of that, I’m happier switching to baby rather than budget.

Also, there are often ‘baby events’ at different supermarkets, where baby wipes and products are reduced or offered at two-for-one. Because they won’t go out of date, I always buy in bulk when they’re on offer, reducing the price still further.

Over a full year, I estimate that making this switch would save me as much as £40 – almost enough for a jar of expensive wrinkle cream!

Do you buy expensive beauty brands or stick with the cheaper options? Have you raided your baby’s supplies? How much did you save? Share your experiences and thoughts with other readers in the comments below.