CleanWell Natural Hand Sanitizer

The current swine flu scare has everyone obsessively cleaning their hands- and rightly so. Frequent washing with old fashioned soap and water is sufficient but it's a hassle, dries our skin out and is not always possible so many of us turn to hand sanitizers. Most hand sanitizers are alcohol based and if used often dry out and crack the skin increasing risk of infection. Also, most brands have a 62% alcohol content! 2 ounces of hand sanitizer is the equivalent of 4 shots of vodka!


I have a two year old and we use hand sanitizers often. Anyone who has children knows that toddlers are curious. They test things out with their mouths regularly. Boogers, small toys, pet hair, pennies, soap and yes- hand sanitizer. (The scented ones are especially appealing.)

The American Association of Poison Control received 219,534 calls about two year olds alone in the year 2007. That's more than any other age group! In addition to the alcoholic content, there are other harmful chemicals such as Triclosan. (Triclosan is a chemical thought by the EPA to be contaminated by dioxins. Dioxins are carcogenic chemicals which can cause brith defects, a weakened immun system, cancer and more.) I am not comfortable with my child absorbing these chemicals into her skin on a regular basis.


That's why when I saw CleanWell All Natural Sanitizer in Target I had to give it a try. Here's my review:


What I Love:

• It is alcohol free
• It's non-toxic, ALL NATURAL and completely safe for kids so there is no ingestion risk!
• It does not dry out my hands. In fact they actually feel soft and hydrated after each use but NOT greasy.
• A little goes a long way.
• Not messy and goopy. I love the fine mist spray.
• They do not test on animals.
• The ingredients come from renewable resources.
• Eco-friendly. 100% biodegradable so it breaks down easily and does not harm or disturb the ecosystem.

What I don't love:

• I don't love the smell. It doesn't really stink but it doesn't smell that great. Sometimes there is a fresh scent with a hint of citrus and sometimes it smells almost peppery. However, it is not very strong and does not linger long. Definitely not bad enough to keep me from using the product.
• Cost. It is a few dollars more for each bottle than main stream brands such as GermX and Purell. But it does go a lot farther than those brands as well.

Over all? I'm sold.

They have a really good website with lots of interesting facts and information. Check it out!

http://www.cleanwelltoday.com/

For more information on the dangers of Triclosan read this informative article.

http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/10-04/triclosan-article.htm