A nice natural repellent!
Written: May 31 '06 (Updated May 27 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It works, it's natural
Cons: smell is not all that great- rather oily.
The Bottom Line: Great natural bug repellent- I feel better about using it on children than anything with DEET in it.
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| bradshawcl's Full Review: Burt's Bees Herbal Insect Repellent 4 Floz |
I recently purchased Burt’s Bees All Natural Herbal Insect Repellent after realizing that our bottle of Off Skintastic no longer worked. We were using it correctly, but I guess since it was about 2 years old, it had done its deed. So, I was wanting to get something a little less…. chemical to use on my 2 children.
So, I looked online, and I ended up purchasing two 4 oz. bottles of this herbal insect repellent from drugstore.com for the price of $6 a bottle. This repellent comes in a cool aluminum can (with yellow label) that you insert a sprayer unit into yourself. It also comes packaged in a yellow box with a beehive background, complete with bees.
Here’s what Burt’s Bees has to say about the product: (from the box)
Our all-natural insect repellent is made with lemongrass and soybean oils, the safest, most effective ingredients Mother Nature has to offer. Great for children and pets too!
At Burt’s Bees, we scour the good earth for the most effective and natural ingredients to put in all our people-care products. We’re not just natural, we’re seriously natural. This product is not tested on animals.
Ingredients (also from box):
Soybean oil 70%
Eucalyptus oil 25%
Lemongrass oil 5%
Directions (from box too):
Apply to exposed skin. Don’t forget hairline, ankles, collars, and wrists. When applying to face or children, spray into hands then gently apply. Avoid contact with eyes. Use this product carefully as it may discolor clothing.
Experience
Well, I used to ask my dad when I was about 7 why mosquitoes would not bite you if you had insect repellent on. He told me that if you made yourself stink like insect repellent, they would not want to land on you and bite you. That’s why insect repellent stinks. I’m not sure if that story was all true, but I realized that if you smelled like citronella, or any other repellent, they stayed away.
Anyway, back to my review- this stuff does smell- so it will keep the bugs off. It has a rather earthy, citronella smell, and bugs are not going to show up to make a snack out of you. We mainly use this at night, when we are not using the Avon brand sunscreen with bug repellent in it.
You will want to take a bath after going inside after using this- but my guess is you will take a bath anyway after playing outside in the hot. Especially in the South, where we live.
But, since this stuff is made out of 3 kinds of oils- it is oily. It may leave an oily stain on your clothes, so beware of that. When I use it, we are all wearing our old clothes anyway, so I don’t get to upset about it, but just beware it could happen.
When applying, I just spray it on my hands and rub it on their skin- to try to cut down on it getting on their clothes or in their eyes. It says also that you can use it on pets, but our fish can not use it, so I can’t give you an opinion on that. Also, about the spray bottle- this repellent does not come out that well, it just seems to dribble out from the sprayer- so this may be another reason to put it in your hands then apply it to skin.
My whole reasoning in buying this rather than our usual OFF! Skintastic Insect Repellent Spray With Aloe Vera, Unscented was that I was worried about all the chemicals (not that the repellent did not work). I worried about them sweating them off and getting into their eyes, or mouths. Also, we did not experience any harmful skin reactions to this product.
But with this, since it is all natural, I did not have the worries that I did with other products. I recommend this for anyone- you don’t have the worries of chemicals, it works, although it is a little oily, and the smell may not be for some. But remember, being stinky keeps the mosquitoes off!
Other repellents we have tried:
Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard Plus Insect Repellent Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30
http://www.epinions.com/content_186506907268
OFF! Skintastic Insect Repellent Spray With Aloe Vera, Unscented
http://www.epinions.com/content_188160708228
Company website:
www.burtsbees.com
Here’s where to buy it online:
http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=45539&catid=82240&trx=GFI-0-RVP-10784&trxp1=82240&trxp2=45539&trxp3=1&trxp4=2&btrx=BUY-GFI-0-RVP-10784
Just a note- my houseplants had developed a bad case of gnats, and I did not have any insect repellent for plants, so I tried this- sure it smelled for a few days, but it worked, and I felt better about using it in the house rather than some crazy chemical concoction.
Recommended:
Yes
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