Hand sanitizer is something which has come to be one of my must-have products, and has gained a huge increase in popularity among many hygiene-conscious people. What with all the worries over illnesses like swine flu and the scaremongering over germs being transmitted in places such as on public transport, many people have turned to using hand sanitizer religiously in an effort to prevent any nasty bugs entering their bodies and making them sick.

Having used the original version of Cuticura's Hand Hygiene Gel and not having liked it - mainly due to the smell being... well, it's hard to describe, but I didn't like it anyway - I had decided to avoid this product in the future and opted for Boots' own brand instead. However, the last time I was in Boots, there wasn't a great selection of hand sanitizers, so after much sniffing and price comparison, I decided to give the citrus Cuticura gel a try.

I chose the 100ml bottle, which is less chunky and easier to fit into a small handbag than the bigger bottle (and, of course, it's cheaper as well.) The bottle has a blue lid which clicks into place when you press it down and pulls off easily. When you open the lid, there is a small hole through which the gel is squeezed. When I bought the original Cuticura gel, the lid eventually snapped off, which was obviously very annoying seeing as I don't think I was forceful enough with it to have broken it off had it been sturdy enough. However, with my second bottle, the lid is thankfully still intact and has never opened in my bag or anything like that, so I am hoping this remains the case.

Even the small bottle of this gel will last you a good 2 or 3 months because you only really need to use a small amount on your hands each time you use it - a little bit goes a long way with this product. In fact, if you accidentally squeeze the bottle a bit too hard, quite a bit of the gel can come out and then there's too much to rub into your hands, meaning you either need to rub it all over your arms or wipe it off, which can be a bit of a pain.

The label on the bottle claims that the gel is proven to kill over 99.9% of bacteria; that it is non-sticky and dries in seconds; and that it leaves your hands feeling clean and refreshed. Obviously, short of examining the effects of the gel under a microscope, I can't vouch for how much of the bacteria on hands it kills, but I would definitely say that its other claims are truthful. The gel is non-sticky, but again, this is only if you use a small amount, as accidentally using too much can actually create quite a noticable sticky feeling. It also does dry fast, and, most importantly, it does make you feel as if you've just washed your hands. The lemony fragrance of the gel is very fresh, but may be a bit sickly sweet to some people.

So, this hand sanitizer is obviously a very useful alternative to washing with soap and water. It can be carried anywhere and used quickly and easily, with no need for any other products, which is obviously very helpful if your hands are feeling dirty and you don't have a sink etc available. However, despite this gel being very useful and making your hands feel fresh, it still isn't really quite as effective as washing your hands in the old fashioned way. This is especially true if your hands are extremely dirty as opposed to just not feeling very fresh - this gel wouldn't be any use in shifting dirt or other substances off of your hands, so if your hands are really dirty, soap and water will still be needed to get them clean. Also, as the label on the bottle warns, this product isn't suitable for use on broken skin, which means if you have any cuts on your hands, using this gel could lead to quite a bit of pain. All in all, however, it is a great product and I am inclined to trust its effectiveness in fighting bacteria.