Fighting infection one squirt at a time (Carex Hand Gel with Aloe Vera)

Member Name: eilidhcatriona

Product:	Carex Hand Gel with Aloe Vera
Date:	26/08/09 (89 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cleansing, freshens hands, doesn't dry my hands out

Disadvantages: Strong smell, price

A few months ago, at the start of the swine flu outbreak, my mum got a little nervous about me travelling on the tube every day and gave me a little bottle of Carex Aloe Vera Antibacterial Hand Gel to use in order to (hopefully) keep nasty germs at bay.

I was uncertain, as in the past I've found these hand gels unpleasant. They clean your hands without requiring water, and I've used hospital ones, which tend to smell horrible. Also, recently my office building put dispensers in the lifts (again to combat swine flu) and I decided to try it one day - I got a little light-headed from the overwhelming whiff of vodka that came from the gel.

So, the Carex product. I had previously used my mums Carex Original Gel, and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as bad as I had expected. The gel comes in a small clear bottle, and is a pale green colour.

On squirting the product into my hand, there is a rather strong chemical type smell. It's like an attempt at aloe vera but it has too many chemicals in it to be successful. I usually use two squirts, which makes the smell stronger than one, but I find that one isn't quite enough to rub over both hands. I squirt it into the palm of my hand, and rub my hands together to spread it over both hands. I find that two squirts are sufficient to cover both palms, the backs of my hands and all my fingers.

Once I've started to rub the gel over my hands, the smell starts to dissipate. The gel is easily absorbed into my skin, and doesn't require a lot of effort to absorb - my hands are quickly dry. Once dry, the smell is not very obvious at all - I can barely notice it. However, I have noticed that if I bite my nails (bad habit I know) I get a VERY nasty soapy taste - so don't be using this and chewing your nails!

Once I've used the gel, my hands feel very fresh and clean. I often use this after reading the morning papers, as I find that not only does newsprint rub off on my hands but it leaves my hands feeling sticky and dirty, and the gel does a great job of not only cleaning off the newsprint but freshening my hands.

A huge benefit for me is that the gel does not dry out my hands. I am prone to dry hands, especially after washing, and I use a lot of moisturiser. However, the gel leaves my hands feeling soft and with no nasty dry patches.

Carex Aloe Vera claims to kill 99.9% of bacteria. I really have no idea whether this is true or not. I haven't caught swine flu, or any other bugs since I started using this, but that could be down to luck and circumstance than Carex Hand Gel!

Also, the bottle claims to contain 100 applications, which confuses me. I use this at least once a day, and I've had it for 3 months. I'm now halfway through the bottle. That's 180 squirts, as I use two every time. So I'm not sure what they mean by "application" - maybe you're meant to use 5 squirts every time???

The hand gel is priced at £1.33 from Tesco. I'm really pleased with it, and will definitely continue to use hand gel, but as Tesco own brand is much cheaper at 49p I'll probably try that next time. Also, I won't be buying Aloe Vera again - I'm not keen on the harsh scent. I'll be sticking to original versions from now on.

Overall, I would recommend this product but given the price difference, if you are a first time user of hand gel it might be best to go for one of the cheaper options first.

Summary: I like the fresh feeling this produces