Kill the gremlins without water (Cuticura Original Hand Hygiene Gel)

Member Name: Tracy_1127

Product:	Cuticura Original Hand Hygiene Gel
Date:	03/08/09 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see review

Disadvantages: see review

We've all been told washing our hands is important, not just because of swine flu but frequently anyway. As someone who's a bit OCD about hand washing I have always had a bottle of one brand or another of anti-bacterial hand gel with me for years and I'm not embarrassed in the slightest to get it out and apply it anywhere.

Recently though the swine flu pandemic has got more people interested in products like these so many shops are using this to their advantage and have displays of them all over the aisles. I saw this Cuticura Original Hand Hygiene Gel on sale in Boyes on one of these displays. At 99p for 100ml I promptly popped one in my basket.

Anti-bacterial hand gels are the no washing method of killing 99.99% of bacteria on your hands but whether this kills the actual swine flu virus germs I have no idea. It does however kill alot of others. The front of the bottle tells us it can be used by all the family, it is useful for use after using public toilets, eating out or just generally on the go. On the back it tells us it is non-sticky and dries in seconds and contains alcohol.

I looked at the alcohol free ones for a moment before purchasing this because I have very sensitive skin on my hands and I'm prone to patches of dermatitis but then decided in order to kill enough bacteria I should stick to an alcohol version.

The 100ml bottle is small enough to pop into your handbag or the glove compartment of your car or your desk at work so it's no problem carrying it around.

The product is clear and looks like thick gel in the bottle but when you squirt a blob onto your hands it is runnier than you think! I actually made the mistake of thinking this would be a firm gel and ended up with it running off my hands onto my jeans but it dried and didn't leave a mark.

The smell is distinctly either melon or cucumber. I think cucumber but I've asked a couple of other people and they've said melon. Either way it is a fresh scent. You need a blob the size of a pea to clean hands and need to quickly rub it in before it dries.

It does indeed only take seconds to dry and doesn't leave hands sticky but I would say you can feel a slight residue afterwards, not sticky just a coating. It is a bit drying on hands but I'm pleased to say it hasn't triggered a dermatitis attack on my hands. If you had trouble with this particular one there are numerous that can be tried, we are all different after all.

The day I bought this two things hapened to make me immensely pleased I had it. Firstly in Boyes itself the staff were discussing they had no water and hadn't had any for hours. I wasn't really paying much attention until one lady who was about to serve me mentioned the toilets and how bad they were due to no flushing and this made me realise all the staff were using the toilets and not washing their hands, yuk! Worse, one was about to serve me! No need to tell you I applied some of this as soon as I left the store.

The second event was a night at the local pub. I used the loos only to find they had no soap in the dispenser, at a time like this with hygiene being rammed down our throats daily because of the swine flu problem! So out came the gel again. I even offered it round my group of friends and got a couple of takers!

Since then I've used it countless times, it's so useful to just have a bottle of this with me for those occasions when I can't wash my hands. You wouldn't know it from the bottle though, the gel has barely gone down so it will last ages.

Overall I'm loving this, I always have it in my handbag because you just don't know when you might need it and I'm prepared to put up with mild skin drying on my hands for the sake of hygiene. It's convenient, smells nice and kills such a high percentage of bacteria it's well worth it to avoid bugs passed on by these nasty gremlins. It passes the OCD test and I recommend it to anyone.

Summary: OCD kept at bay!