Seems to really work & is pesticide-free!!!
Written: Jun 28 '04 (Updated Jun 28 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Effective, pleasant smell, formula seemed to last, 100% natural ingredients, portable.
Cons: Greasy formula, the pump doesn't spray in a fine mist & "spits" the repellent out.
The Bottom Line: This is a good product because it's DEET/pesticide free. I feel confident about applying natural ingredients to my skin, not something that's been cooked up in a lab.
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| califtonjgirl's Full Review: Burt's Bees Herbal Insect Repellent 4 Floz |
I bought this product because I live in a town that has a major mosquito and tick breeding area. In fact, a lot of people here call the mosquito the "State Bird".
I've been voraciously bitten (bugs like me) and am extremely sensitive to insect venom of any kind so any sort of preventative measure not containing DEET seemed worth a try.
I bought a 4 oz. can of Burt's Bees "The Defender" Herbal Insect Repellent (the can I bought states that it's "New & Improved"). The can is a nice size, very portable and is made of a brushed silver recyclable aluminum. Although there's a screw-on cap (not child-safe), the repellent had a separate matching pump sealed in a plastic bag attached to it with a rubber band. Make sure that it comes with it if you purchase...it should be included in the cost.
My husband and I put it to the ultimate test by applying it before we went on a hike through the woods. I tried spraying it at first, but the formula is so thick and oily that the spray pump kind of spit it out, which I wasn't prepared for. I figured it would mist out in a fine spray. The clear liquid bypassed my arm and hit my shoe and the ground in heavy drops and I learned right away that this would be a messy exercise in exchange for the pesticide-free benefits. I proceeded to use the pump to dispense the liquid into my hand and applied it like baby lotion (which is it's consistency) to whatever area I needed. This included shoes, socks, part of my shins, hands, arms a little past the inside of my sleeves, neck and even my ears, temples, nose, cheeks and chin (none used near my eyes). I also applied it to my hairline and even put some on my hair, which didn't look so good (can we say "Sha Na Na" LOL). Believe me, upon sight of the first mosquito, I didn't care what I looked or smelled like...I just didn't want to be eaten alive. I proceeded to apply the repellent in the same manner to my husband, who lightly protested at the "feel" of the repellent. I say "lightly", because he approved of the pesticide-free properties of it as well as the wifely attention of it all.
Because of the application using my hands, I used a tissue to lightly wipe the excess repellent from underneath my rings and from the areas between my fingers.
Walking through the woods, my husband and I went off the marked paths a couple of times (which is not the smartest thing to do if you want to avoid biting insects) and I noticed mosquitoes were beginning to circle us more as we ventured deeper into the forest. However, a reaction was definitely happening: the mosquitoes would light on our exposed skin and then immediately flit away...I don't know if this was because of the oily substance or the scent of it (or maybe both), but not once did we get bitten by ANY insect within a 3 1/2 hour timeframe (1:30-5:00 p.m.) as we walked through the woods. On one occasion during our trek, two gigantic black waspy-type insects that looked to be a couple of inches long each landed on me during an in-air rendezvous and then immediately disappeared...again the moment was so fast I didn't even have time to swat, run or scream. Just had enough time to register that they were scary.
It's pretty much fact that the time of day or night doesn't really matter in the forest...bugs are always out & about, although they really get active towards the end of the day/late afternoon hours. Besides the mosquitoes, I saw lots of bee/wasp-like things, spiders crawling on the ground and in the trees (I walked through a web that felt as though it was built to catch a bat and am happy to report nothing happened except a sudden urge to teleport myself onto a trail), giant black ants and centipedes. I tell you this because the situation we were in was a million times worse than just sitting in our backyard...we were surrounded by an even larger variety of critters and other bloodthirsty beasties. Even when we stopped or stood in one spot there was never a sensation of something crawling on our skin or biting us, although there was no doubt the forest insects were alive and moving all about us.
The smell is pleasant...to me, it smells of citronella and lemon (almost like a furniture polish) to me.
Active ingredients:
Lemongrass Oil 3.20%
Citronella Oil .40%
Rosemary Oil .40%
Inert ingredients:
Grape Seed Oil and Vitamin E
The formula didn't irritate my sensitive skin for the mostpart, although I experienced a very slight breakout on one area of my chin from it.
Again, this is very oily...just looking at the ingredients will indicate those properties. I felt a little apprehensive about putting this on my clothing and shoes, so I really avoided doing that, instead concentrating on part of the skin underneath my shirt cuffs, collar, pants hem, etc. As I stated earlier, I got some of this on a smooth dark brown leather hiking shoe by accident and the leather didn't seem to stain or react to the repellent, although this might not be the case with a suede or like type of material.
Some mosquitoes will light onto certain types of clothing and pierce right through them, particularly if they're thin enough or a close fitting spandex-type of material, such as a thin tank top or a bathing suit. My advice is to wear loose-fitting clothes of a t-shirt or a light nylon weight fabric to prevent this from happening. I'm fairly sure that this will stain fabrics, although I didn't really apply it on material. Reason being is that the part of the concrete it hit when I attempted to apply it the first time using the pump still has oil marks on it. Therefore, I would definitely recommending that the user tests it on an inconspicuous area of clothing beforehand.
All in all, I am happy to report that I was very satisfied with this product, and one fairly liberal application was enough for a 1/2 days' worth of hiking in the woods.
It states on the container that the repellent is safe enough to apply with confidence to children and pets and is 100% natural. In addition, Burt's Bees NEVER tests any of their products on animals :)
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
califtonjgirl
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Location: Silicon Valley, CA
Reviews written: 39
Trusted by: 13 members
About Me:
I am a married female in her mid-thirties.
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