Cheap effective handwash (Tesco Value Handwash)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Tesco Value Handwash
Date:	07/09/09 (34 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cleansing and smells quite nice, very cheap indeed

Disadvantages: An awfully cheap looking bottle

While broadening my trials of the Value range I decided to pick up a bottle of their Value Anti-Bacterial Handwash a couple of weeks ago as I was running out of soap in my brick shed, a small outbuilding which doubles up as a laundry room and in which I've had installed a sink and basic cooking facilities.

I normal use an anti-bacterial soap in this room as after I have been gardening and touching such wondrous visitors to my garden as slugs, ants and all manner of flies the last thing I want to do is handle food without being certain that my hands are as clean as I can possibly get them.

I'm extremely impressed with this very cheap handwash, it lathers up nicely and leaves the skin on my hands feeling very clean indeed. It has a smell which is rather synthetic but still pleasant in my opinion, it has a fairly warm aroma which stops just short of being spicy and has that underlying chemical smell that is apparent in most anti-bacterial products.

The handwash is a little thinner than others I've used, but then it's not really a fair comparison as I generally use cream handwashes which cost a good deal more than the 38p this one set me back! I found that you don't need to push the pump all the way down as this will dispense too much handwash - and even though this was such a bargain there's no need to waste it!

The lather feels very soft on my hands as I'm washing them and I was impressed from the very first time I used it with how clean and refreshed my hands felt. The aroma doesn't linger at all once I've rinsed my hands but I was pleased with how fresh my hands smelled after washing, mind you I was glad of the fact that it doesn't leave a strong smell behind as I was handling food immediately after washing my hands and wouldn't have wanted an overly fragranced product as it may have tainted the flavour of the food.

Who is to say how well anti-bacterial properties work in any product? This handwash left me with that very, very slight tingle that always lets me know when I've used something that will effectively work to kill any bacteria on my skin - although to be honest even if your skin is particularly dirty then an extra long and extra good wash will remove anything that is liable to cause you harm and don't forget there are good bacteria so try not to go too overboard with anti-bacterial this and that!

I think that for 38p for a 500ml bottle of handwash this is fabulous value for money. It cleans my hands beautifully, causes absolutely no irritation whatsoever and although a little drying this is nothing that can't be rectified by using a hand cream after washing. I wouldn't go as far as replacing the handwash in the kitchen with it because frankly the bottle just looks far too cheap to sit comfortably in the room in which I've put so much effort into the décor. It's label snobbery, but there you go.

There are three handwashes in the Tesco Value range; the basic one you can see above in the photograph, a cream version and the anti-bacterial one I have reviewed here. I haven't used either of the others so cannot possibly comment, although my daughter recently bought the cream version and she said she was fairly pleased with it but wouldn't buy it again as it left the skin on both her and my son in law's hands very dry after use. I personally will stick with this anti-bacterial one for a while as I found it did the job of cleaning my hands very well indeed, and after all that is the main purpose of this product!

Summary: For 38p you can't complain - and anyway there is nothing to complain about here!