  Solar wind measurements in the heliosphere are predominantly comprised of
protons, alphas, and minor elements in a highly ionized state. The majority of
low charge states, such as He$^{+}$, measured in situ are often attributed to
pick up ions of non-solar origin. However, through inspection of the velocity
distribution functions of near Earth measurements, we find a small but
significant population of He$^+$ ions in the normal solar wind whose properties
indicate that it originated from the Sun and has evolved as part of the normal
solar wind. Current ionization models, largely governed by electron impact and
radiative ionization and recombination processes, underestimate this population
by several orders of magnitude. Therefore, to reconcile the singly ionized He
observed, we investigate recombination of solar He$^{2+}$ through charge
exchange with neutrals from circumsolar dust as a possible formation mechanism
of solar He$^{+}$. We present an empirical profile of neutrals necessary for
charge exchange to become an effective vehicle to recombine He$^{2+}$ to
He$^{+}$ such that it meets observational He$^{+}$ values. We find the
formation of He$^{+}$ is not only sensitive to the density of neutrals but also
to the inner boundary of the neutral distribution encountered along the solar
wind path. However, further observational constraints are necessary to confirm
that the interaction between solar $\alpha$ particles and dust neutrals is the
primary source of the He$^{+}$ observations.
