I always have a packet of baby wipes in the house because they are handy for more than babies bums and now I have a baby grandaughter who comes to visit I have a legitimate reason for buying them. My daughter only uses Johnsons baby wipes but I think they are very expensive so I have been trying out some alternatives for her because I have quite severe excema so I can judge if wipes will be gentle enough for my one year old grandaughters delicate skin.

I was in the Co Op last week when I saw their own brand baby wipes were on buy one get one free so I picked up 2 packs to try them. Last month I tried out Sainsburys baby wipes and they were not very good so I was a little bit nervous about buying another supermarket own brand pack but at £2. 49 for 2 packs I thought at the very least I would have something nice to wipes my hands on when I have been gardening.

I brought the Co Op Ultra Soft fragranced baby wipes and they come in a pretty lilac packet and it has a plastic opening flap to make it easier to pull the wipes out.

I thought these would smell of lavender because of the colour of the packet but they don't. They smell of baby lotion and that is because these wipes have had baby lotion added to them to make them nicer for babies bottom. The trouble is that they do not smell of very good quality baby lotion so I have been wondering what brand exactly has been used in these wipes and I hope it is not the horrible Co Op own brand baby lotion because that is not good lotion at all.

They do not seem as soft as Johnsons or Pampers wipes even though they are called Ultra Soft, I would not say they are rough but I have certainly used wipes that are much softer than these. My grandaughter did not complain about the roughness but then again as long as her bum is being cleaned she would be happy if I used sandpaper because she does not like sitting in a dirty nappy. Who would?

The wipes are quite big but they are not very thick and that is disappointing because I like to be able to rub with a wipe without worrying about my finger going through it. When I cleaned my grandaughters bottom the other day I had to use 3 or 4 wipes when her usual Johnsons wipes will get her spotlessly clean using just 1 wipe, or 2 if she has got herself into a right mess. I think it is impossible to take just one wipe out of this packet anyway because they stick together quite badly and sometimes a whole wad of the wipes will come out at once and that is annoying because if she has only done a wee I only need one wipe and it is a waste because if you try to push them back into the packet they get all messy and you will have the same problem next time.

They do not irritate her little bottom even though she is used to the very gentle Johnsons wipes but I would not use them on very young babies because they have got quite a strong fragrance and this alone could bring on nappy rash. I do not use them on her face but I have wiped her hands and feet with them and they have not irritated her at all.

I have used them myself on my hands and face and they seem quite gentle on my skin and did not affect my excema at all apart from a small patch on my wrist that always gets annoyed at anything stronger than plain water. They clean very well and even when I got some wood paint on my fingers after I painted some flower pots outside they got it off and this is very good but I wonder how much good these wipes are doing my grandaughters skin if they are capable of removing paint.

I probably will not buy these again because they do not have any added benefits to other wipes but do have some definite drawbacks such as the thickness and the way the wipes come out of the packet. I feel I had a good deal buying these on buy one get one free but £2. 49 for 72 wipes is not good value for an own brand packet of wipes when you think that Johnsons wipes cost 20p less in Sainsburys and they are much better.