Carex Aroma Gel and Hand and Surface Spray - Review and Giveaway

Review

For me hand hygiene is all about balance.  Having suffered from Sepsis in hospital I understand all too well the need for clean hands, but with two little boys I also know how hard getting them to wash their hands can be.  So when Carex asked me to be their brand ambassador at CyberMummy 2010 and to send me some of their new Aroma Gel and Hand and Surface Spray to review, I was more than happy to oblige.

Carex Aromatic HandGel

 

First the science bit from Carex themselves "Carex Hand Gel is an ethanol-based hand rub with high alcohol content. Ethanol is known to be effective against most bacteria such as S.aureus, E.coli and many viruses, and has been proven to kill more than 99.9% of these bacteria in less than 15 seconds. Ethanol quickly evaporates off the skin leaving your hands feeling cool and fresh. Our hand gels also contain glycerin, a widely used skin conditioner, to help leave your skin feel soft and moisturised."

The Aroma Gels that I tried  both leave your hands spelling of either Lavender and Rosewood or Grapefruit and Lime.  So one the alcohol smell evaporates you are left wit h wonderful smelling hands.

What I liked

I like the fact that these are pocket sized, easy to pop in your handbag, picnic basket or nappy bag (in fact I carried something similar in m nappy bag for the whole time the mini''s were still in nappies).

I also like that the scents are universal, so there is not issue in the boys using them and use them they do especially when we are out.  Most public toilets have the sinks far too high up for the boys to use and I no longer have the strength to lift them, so we use these after public toilets.  They are also great for before we have a picnic, as again often our favourite place don't have sinks and you can imagine how mucky the boys hands get in fact I have often said that Mini is just "noise with muck on".

What I am not so keen on

I am not trying to push the fact the as a mother everything must be disinfected, because I believe a little muck never hurt anyone, but there are times when I feel that hand hygiene is imperative.  don't want anyone to read this and feel that they are not doing there best by not using them.  don't want t perpetuate the need for another product.

Hand and Surface Spray

The hand and surface spray is Alcohol free and comes in a handbag, nappy bag friendly 75ml pump size.  Yo don't nee water, you can just spray on your hands an allow to dry or you can spray on to any hard surface and wipe.

What I liked

I wish that this had been about when the boys were smaller as it would have saved me carrying a hand gel and a pack of disinfectant wipes.  I always found that high chairs in some places were pretty dirty and I would clean them before giving the boys their food especially as did not tend to use plates (if I did they used them like Frisbee's).  

Again this would be fantastic for sanitising nappy changing areas and for cleaning your hands after.  

It is great to have in the car, as it doesn't dry as fast as the handgel, so the boys can give their hands a spray and then wipe clean with a tissue to remove stickiness.

What didn't Like so Much

This is a little more expensive than the handgel at a RRP of £2.99, but a little goes a long way.

Overview

I have to say I have found these products to really just fit in with our lifestyle.  They do not remove the need for handwashing, but in places that you can not access it they are great.  Perfect for any busy mums, a must for new mums and also would be great for anyone going to a festival too!

Giveaway


I have 10 sets of carex products (1 spray and one each of the hard gels) to giveaway to any UK based bloggers who can not make it to CyberMummy (I will have plenty of samples available at CyberMummy, you just need to ask, so that we comply with the conference rules).  So if you are interested in receiving them, then please leave me a comment and I will use the random number generator to allocate them on Thursday 1 July.