Kaboutjie SA Mommy Blogs by Lynne Huysamen
Something that a lot of new moms worry about when they have their first baby is how to choose the best nappies for their baby.
It seem the most common choice for moms here in South Africa are Huggies and Pampers. They are certainly the two most premium brands available and are both excellent quality.
It is a discussion discussion which is always a hit on my Facebook page whenever I ask it, often getting hundreds of responses with moms saying which nappy they love best. So I thought perhaps it is time to have this debate here on my website.
I’m going to share my own personal feelings about Huggies and about Pampers since I used both of them. So I will share my experience from each one honestly in this Huggies vs Pampers review.
Pampers for Girls
With my first baby we received lots of packs of nappies at my baby shower. It looked like we would be kitted out for at least a year. Little did I know I would be changing her nappy every 2 hours in the beginning so this huge pile of nappies diminished very quickly!
The beauty of receiving so many packs of nappies is that we got a whole stack of different brands which made choosing which nappy to use very easy by the time all the packs were finished.
Among these packs of nappies we received a Pampers Premium pack. What stood out for me and my husband was the softness of the nappy. The tags were stretchy and the entire nappy was the softest by far.
So the decision was made, our baby would be a Pampers Premium baby.
When I went to buy our first pack of Pampers Premium the first thing I saw was that it may be the softest and most comfortable nappy for our daughter but it was also by far the most expensive nappy on the shelves.
I discussed the price with my husband and we decided that since it was the best we would stick with it and pay the heavy price.
Over time I noticed that every time I bought a pack, without fail, one of the nappies had a tag that either was already off or that tore when I tried to put the nappy on.
In all honesty I should have contacted Pampers and complained. When you are buying the most expensive nappy that money can buy, the fact is that tags should not fall off the nappy.
The only other issue we ever had with Pampers Premium nappies is that when my daughter was about 18 months old the nappies started leaking often at night and sometimes broke.
I have to also admit that at this time she was taking down about 3 to 4 bottles of milk every night so there was a lot of liquid she was taking in. Still a nappy should last at least the night right?
She had just started potty training so I decided to change to the Pampers Girls Pull Ups. These were also the most expensive pull ups on the market and worked very well for us. I can’t remember ever having any issue with the Pampers Girls Pull Up nappies.
Huggies For Boys
When my son was born I had a very small baby shower with just a few friends so we only got a few packs of nappies. The assumption was that I would buy Pampers Premium for him so I never paid much attention, I just used the nappies.
When all the baby shower nappies were finished I didn’t think about it, I just bought Pampers Premium because you know they are the best right?
It turned out that no they aren’t! Every time my son made a poop it escaped the nappy, all the way up his back. No dealing with a two year old daughter and a newborn baby is hard enough thank you, I don’t need a poop covered newborn.
I spoke to another mother that had sons and she said that also happened with her sons and she insisted that you need to buy Huggies for boys.
Huggies Gold is the premium nappy of the Huggies range so I hoped they would be as soft as the Pampers Premium. I have to admit I was disappointed, they were not nearly as soft and stretchy.
That is not to say it was uncomfortable, but it did not have that same premium feel to it.
That said, never again did I have a poop covered baby with Huggies Gold so really I shouldn’t complain.
Huggies Gold is pricey but not as expensive as Pampers Premium. However I have to say that when I compare the overall quality of the nappies Huggies Gold does come out tops.
I haven’t had a Huggies nappy break on me, not the tag bit nor a nappy bursting from too much wee. I have also not had any unpleasant leaks.
My Final Verdict Huggies vs Pampers Review
Looking back now If I had to go back and choose again, I would probably go for Huggies Gold for both my children simply because I believe that it is better value for money.
I can’t say that Pampers is bad though, because I was a happy Pampers mommy for nearly 3 years.
Another very important thing that has become very clear now is that Huggies is more customer orientated for sure. In my last post on my Facebook page (which is embedded below) I tagged both Huggies and Pampers.
When mommies started responding to my Pampers vs Huggies post about which nappy they preferred, Huggies responded to the mommies. Where mommies have said they have been unhappy with Huggies they have given a customer care line and showed that they do indeed care and look after their customers.
Pampers have not appeared at all. It makes me wonder if they would have responded to me if I had complained about their nappies breaking?
Anyway, I love a company that responds to its customers. Let’s face it here, even the best products can be faulty at times so not everyone will be happy with the same nappy right? But when the company wants to try and help solve the problem and when you feel like your complaint has been heard it can make a big difference to your day.
So thumbs up Huggies, my personal opinion is that you win this round.
So which nappy do your prefer? Huggies vs Pampers?
Pampers responds if you contact them directly but their response is condescending. They also send vouchers which most stores do not accept.
Oh wow Lara, I haven’t had any experience dealing with Pampers in a positive or negative way but that sounds very upsetting! I am so sorry to hear that you had such an awful experience.
Oh wow. What a good read. To be honest I have just been using Pampers from first child to my 3rd now. Thinking that it is just the best and that it is. With my 2nd born, who is now 3 years old, wore Pampers premium care… Quite on the pricey side, but I just wanted the best for him. I only used Huggies once when they didn’t have his size in the Pampers and I was in need of diapers.
With my 3rd i started with the normal Pampers Active, just to see how baby would react to it. No issues at all.
I must say that this post made me look at Huggies differently. I will definitely give it a go. Thank you very much Lynne.
They are both fantastic brands, I just found that Huggies Gold worked better for my son. I’m still a huge Pampers fan!
I used Huggies gold for my son! The old ones (the green ones) at that time they brought out the denim look as well. He is now 9 years old and those Huggies gold fitted well and held alot. I use pampers active baby for my daughter as they fit her better and Huggies pants during the day for her
Yes Huggies Gold is a lovely quality nappy! It does seem that Huggies is nicer for boys while Pampers is better for girls right? I have heard so many other moms say the same too.
I also find Huggies do interact with the mommies and daddies alot more and hold alot of competitions which is nice
And everyone loves a competition right Kelly? That is nice to know.
I can see so far that the interaction with Huggies does seem much better. Thanks for sharing your experience!
I’ve tried both. I felt Pampers was better all around.
Its the strangest thing, I tried huggies for my little girl and with out fail every time she wee’d she was soaking wet right through to her onsies. As soon as I switched to pampers it stopped and we never had the issue with it again. But when it came to pulls ups we had to change brands as the fit just wasn’t right and we had endless issues.
I too used Pampers premium as my daughters first nappies and had the exact problem with the broken tags.
When she was around 6 months I could no longer afford the brand and switched to Huggies Gold for girls as they were always on special at month end.
My switch was the best decision I could ever have made as Huggies Gold is a great nappy and superior quality.
With my son I used cloth nappies up until he was about 9 months or so and neither of these brands came through for me.
There was constant leaks, ink of the prints coming off into his clothing and more.
I switched to a more affordable brand (Clicks Made4Baby) and it’s reached every expectation of the perfect nappy for me.
He is now potty trained and we no longer use nappies.
I have used both Huggies and Pampers and find that the 12 hour pampers nappies works for my little boy. No leaks or spillage.
Thanks for sharing your experience with Pampers Nicolette 🙂
3 babies later and i still love Huggies have only used Huggies gold girls and now for boys.
Hi Su-Marie, thanks for sharing!
I heard that Huggies Gold is better for boys and Pampers is better for girls, not sure why. As a mom of two boys, I have tried most nappy brands on the market. My first boy was the test subject, he used Pampers, Pampers Premium and finally until Huggies Gold. My second born has been a Huggies baby from the start. I haven’t had the leaks, messes, etc. From Huggies Gold which we experienced with the Pampers the first time round. I stick with what I know and trust, which is Huggies Gold.
Also Huggies Gold sent free samples of their nappies, which Pampers doesn’t do. Which was quite nice as we could test the nappy for fit, absorption, etc. before buying a full pack.
Oh nice Claudia, I had no idea that Huggies did that. That is nice to know. Of course I would only find that out when my youngest is just about out of nappies LOL. He is only wearing a nappy at night.
I’m a new mommy of a 2week old boy. I’ve purchased both Huggies and Pampers. Verdict: I prefer the Huggies Gold. Reason being is that I love the poo pouch on the nappies for that runny poo. Also, the sizes are way more accommodating to kg. You can use it for longer before going onto the next size nappy.
Hi Nadir, yes I have found Huggies Gold to be a wonderful nappy.
I enjoyed reading this.Thank you.
When my son was born we used huggies. Then later we switched to pampers…he is now 2 (showing no interest in potty training) and we have a wet bed and little boy almost every morning. We tried going a size up…still no luck. I think I should give Huggies gold a try! Thank you for sharing this post!
Hi Anelle. I found with my daughter she started also being wet quite often when she was older so perhaps it is time to look at a different nappy.
Boys do start potty training quite a bit later than girls, but he should be ready soon. With it being summer it is now the perfect time to start potty training. It is not great in winter with all the extra washing of underwear!
Pampers 2nd time mom and always used this brand
Thanks for sharing your experience Celeste 🙂
My boy is now potty trianing. I tried Huggies in the beginning and then again when he was a little more mobile, but found they didn’t last through the night. Definately had more leaking. I use Pampers on him. I did found amongst my friends though, that it really differs from baby to baby. Some of them swear by Huggies. I suppose you must try different brands and find one that works for your baby.
Margot yes I think that is totally true. Each baby is different not only in shape but also in skin type so sometimes one brand of nappy might cause skin irritations on one child but not another. It is really important to try different brands and types of nappies. I found getting nappies at my baby shower a godsend so I could try them all out.
And just like you said different nappies for different babies, I used Pampers Premium for my daughter and Huggies gold for my son and it was perfect.
I love huggies. I’ve used pampers too but I find huggies has a better fit and I prefer the little fastening strips to the pampers ones. Had a few leaks when using pampers but I’ve never found that with huggies.
Huggies huggies!
NO leaks,
Fits perfectly!
My second born is on her way and allready stocking up in only huggies!
Huggies
I’ve been using pampers for my baby girl since her very first day and she is turning 1 in 2 weeks and we’re still using pampers. We switched to pampers pants around her 8th months to now. I’ve never tried Huggies, not that I don’t like it but pampers hasn’t given me a reason to change or switch to huggies or any other. So I think pampers rock 🙂
Definately Pampers. I used it for both my boys, no leaks, no nappy rash, dry nights. Best nappy ever.
I used Pampers Premium with my firstborn which is a girl and are using it again now for my little boy. Having read this blog and the opinions of the other moms I am definitely going to give Huggies Gold for boys a try!
Danielle I am happy to help you out with this info 🙂 I am a very happy Huggies Gold mom.
Huggies it last longer i dont wake up @ nyt ,good comfort n good fit for my bbu gl
Huggies Gold is a better fit.
Ive always used pampers premium care since the birth of my baby. I was completely happy with it and paid the price to give my baby the best. However since she was about 7 months ive noticed leakages and didnt understand why. After reading the post about pampers vs huggies i decided to give huggies a try. Baby is now 10 months and ive already purchased my 2nd pack of huggies gold for girls. I find it stays throughout the night and i havent had any leakage problems. Im loving it! I do wish it was softer on my babys bum though. I guess its a matter of trial perhaps every baby is different so not all nappies will work the same for every baby but im glad that you brought this topic up cause i never imagined i would give huggies a try and i did!
It is a pleasure Zakiyya, I am so glad you came right. Each baby is different and even as your baby get older her needs will change and perhaps a change in nappy or brand will be needed.
I only use Pampers. I’ve tried to use Huggies, and I find they don’t keep my baby’s bum as dry as Pampers
My phone changed bum to but!!! ?
That’s so funny! I changed it back for you 🙂 It reminds me of my late granny. She got very upset if I said bum, she always told me don’t say bum, say bottom LOL.
Pampers all round for my girl. Pampers fit snugly (into all the creases) and keep baby dryer for longer periods of time (especially when it comes to sleeping through the night) where huggies in my opinion doesn’t have the same retention and leaks.
With baby becoming more active and starting to sit – Pampers holds in place and doesn’t slide and NO leaks from either being wet or soiled.
So #Pampers, #PampersvVSHuggies – Pampers win hands down!!
Thanks for sharing your experience with us Terri 🙂
HUGGIES Gold all the way. It is super absorbent. My baby can go for quite long hours with just one diaper, where as with Pampers it gets a lot heavier sooner. I simply love huggies gold and it’s not that pricey if you had to compare to the amount of diapers is used in a day. Although the red pack huggies is not so great. Gets bulky rather to quick.
Pampers Premium Care
It depends on the age… I use Huggies and then get to the stage where it leaks, then use pampers for a while till that leaks and so on… 🙂 #loveboth
I used Pampers premium for my son, and really loved them ( despite the hefty price tag) the Huggies leaked, so we opted pampers. Now Im expecting a girl, so we’ll have to see what works for her! 🙂
Pampers Premium!!!! Huggies leak within the first half hour, tried both with my daughter and sons. Must admit I prefer Huggies when it comes to pull ups.
I love Pampers, i used only Pampers for all 4 kids. My youngest is 12 months old. I did use other brands but with no success, they got a horrible skin rash on their bum. I switched back to Pampers and will not go back to any other brand again….
My girl is currently using Pampers Premium but must say that nappies are leaking.
Ive complained on Pampers website and im still waiting for vouchers.
Ive decided to go over to Huggies Gold and im very impressed.
Pampers werk die beste sover vir my dogtertjie van 7maande! Die nommer met die plus werk lekker!
I used pampers for my daughter 7 years ago, had no problems until the birth of my second daughter last year. she had a very bad nappy rash about a month ago. I took her to a Doctor and was advised to switch to Huggies Gold for girls, since then the rash is gone and she is all good and happy.
Huggies gold for girls works for us!!!!!
Wow. Very useful info. I use pampers and also have the poop problem with my son. All the way to his back i change clothes 4-6 times a day! I thought all the nappies would so the same. I am definitely going to buy huggies next time to try it out.
@karla yes I know what you mean. I just thought it was because my boy had a hectic poop! But I promise you that the moment I changed to Huggies there was not one more of those 🙂
I hope this solves your problem too!
I cant really choose one of them as i used huggies that worked perfectly from birth and now now later stage i use pampers active. Therd are so many different nappies that you can pick and choose between pampers and huggies.
However i can also say going trough comments i also had twice a pack of nappies where 3 of the nappies are strapless i reported also no pamper so they know as it was the active they said they will send me a voucher which they pulles back as there was problems on voucher so they send me a big pack of pampers premium care. Which i think was awesome nappies are so expensive.
I use pampers and never had any problems with it it’s a best choice
I really love the pampers Pants.
Big fan off pampers, will use for baby number 2 as well 🙂
I like pampers and huggies. I use both (depending on what specials I can find) and with my girl I never experienced any problems with any of them. Something I am wondering about is why does some kinds of nappies not have a list of ingredients? Some mothers told me about another brand that works just as good, but when I went to buy it I first wanted to check the ingredients, but could not find anything on the pack. I went onto the website and also found nothing. I just did not buy it them, because I do not use anything on my girl if I do not know the ingredients.
Huggies gold was the best we used….
I’m so glad that this post has popped up otherwise I might have missed it completely….
Thanks for this review @lynne. New Moms need to know what they can expect from nappies, one of the most used items when having a baby.
When it comes to Pampers, I must say I’ve never had a bad experience with them.
The normal Pampers is a good nappy, but I haven’t bought them a lot because Pampers are quite pricey.
I won a competition from a blog where I received a pack of normal Pampers, a pack of Pampers premium and a packet of wipes.
This gave me an opportunity to test these products and see what they are like.
The Pampers premium really is a premium nappy. The nappies are super soft and of good quality and comfortable. I’ve used them mainly at night when JD slept for longer hours and didn’t need a nappy change every few hours.
The wipes are also super soft and moist. I had no problem with them.
But my favourite Pampers product by far, is the Pampers pants. I’ve received a few samples from Hometester and I’ve bought a few double packs from Takealot when they were on special.
I mainly use them at night or when we go on outings or visit friends.
Huggies:
I must admit I had a few incidents with the normal Huggies nappies when JD was still a small baby. This is the only nappy that I’ve used where I’ve had leaks.
I haven’t tried the Huggies pants for boys or the Huggies Gold nappies, but I’ve heard from friends that these were good nappies.
I wanted to try either for JD, but the prices are still higher than other nappy brands that I’ve tried and know to be of good quality. So basically it always come down to the price for me.
I have bought a pack of normal Huggies this month to use during the day at home and so far I’ve had no issues. Maybe I just got a bad batch or something when I’ve had issues with it before.
I was a religious pampers premium mom with my son. That is until he started going to a day care and ended up using 7 nappies during the 5 hours he was at school. I then changed over to Huggies Gold for Boys. As it was just more affordable. We stayed on the huggies for the duration of that year until they became too small. My little guy is very tall and a real boertjie.
I then went back onto the pampers premium but I found that they were leaking at night. Baby was nearly 2 at the time. I then got the advice to try Lovies nappies from Checkers.
Ladies we have a new baby on the way and we are stocking up on Lovies. Its a yes from me all the way. They certainly don’t feel like a pampers premium nappy but they are stronger, more durable and have less leeks. Plus at R 115 per pack its affordable.
Never again will I throw money in the water and buy Pampers Premium or even Huggies Gold. Lovies is in my opinion the better nappy. Not as soft, not as pretty but boy can they keep liquid and poop.
Thank you @anrivisser. I will remember this.
I used Pampers when my son was just born and many nights I woke up and his clothes would be wet. I got some Huggies Gold diapers from a friend and tried them, and I’ve been a Huggies Gold fan eversince. I put on his diaper when he’s done taking a bath (he’s 7 months now) and he goes to sleep between 8:00 and 9:30, sleeps the whole nights through, and only wakes up at about 5-6:30 in the morning, and the nappy keeps him dry and comfy untill then.
I have tried many a nappies in my days with my babies and yes Pampers is very expensive but I stopped using because I always ended up with broken tags or if you pulled too hard it would snap. I just didn’t have the patience or time to contact them. I also started using the Huggies range and I stuck to it. It was cost effective and it was quite durable. I must admit I was curious to use the towelling nappy and did try it from time to time with a disposable inner layer. I was just becoming cconcerned about, the effect of nappies on the environment. It’s not such a bad thing to use towelling nappies. If I had a choice today I would use it more often. Not only cost effective but safer for the environment as well.
I have use Pampers from day one with my daughter and never had any problems with the diapers. I changed to Pampers pants when she got older and found that some packs must have had a problem as the diaper would broke and spill all the crystals as it got wet. But is was only the one pack that had that problem. I also use Huggies pants for girls and find that it is a much larger diaper and sometimes bulky between the legs and it would not pull up as far as Pampers pants, but overall, both are good nappies.
I have found that Huggies Pants are a bit more expensive than Pampers Pants per diaper. And that Huggies come in smaller packs than Pampers. I have now bought a pack of Clicks Pants for girls and will try it out soon. It looks like Huggies Pants but are cheaper than Pampers Pants per diaper and come in various pack sizes.
I have tried the Clicks made for baby pants. I find that the elastic is much better than Pampers or Huggies and it has a really nice fit and are absorbent. I used it through the night and my daughter woke with no problems. Great absorbency, no leaking – so overall I will buy it again anytime!
I did Pampers for my first son as it fitted him best and Huggies for my other two. When I had my last son I went straight for Huggies new born and I was so impressed with the umbilical cord section. With 4 years between my second and third boys I wished they came up with that when my oldest was a baby.
I think it depends on the baby and parents preferences.
I also started with Pampers and ended up with Huggies. Huggies Gold is the best!!
Huggies gold works big time for me and I used it for my first born too. We tried the pampers premium once needless to say I was disappointed with how much it leaked. So I can safely say I’m a huggies gold mom
I started off with Huggies Gold for the first month with my daughter. I found it leaked on three separate occasions so I switched to Pampers Premium and haven’t had an issue so far (she is now 2 months old). I’ve also heard many ladies say Pampers for girls and Huggies for boys. I suppose it’s like anything in life – some people have great experiences and others have terrible ones hence why the product is still on the market but also why their are competitors.
Yes Pampers Premium is an amazing diaper, I also loved using them on my daughter!
Pampers premium is my tops for newborn, but the huggies gold is also wonderful and I used cuddles for all my kids so each one is different but my newborn use the pampers nr 1 and 2 not premium it leak and his clothes always wet so I don’t know
Growing up and seeing my aunties and granny automatically I told myself I would use pampers because honestly they were good. So when I had my baby my first option was pampers. I used them until she was 8 months and realised that they were leaking. I even contacted pampers to make the aware, commented on their post, called and emailed to no avail. So I decided to stop using them completely. Then I went for huggies gold. I must say I am very satisfied, no leakage and it is good for money. My daughter is potty trained now. When I have other babies huggies gold will be used.
i had the same issue with my girl and i use huggies gold and will never change the brand
With both sons we trailed both and found Huggies gold to be the best choice for us. As our boys got older and started moving around more we changed to Lovies. This offered the additional support we needed for those busy bodies.
From birth until 6 months I used pampers but when he was 6 months it started to give him rash then I used Huggies Gold and I am happy with it.