What to look for in a hand sanitizer?

Assure hand sanitizer 

The Covid-19 pandemic has instilled fear in people across the globe. Among the several precautions advised by experts is regular washing of hands (at least 20 seconds) with soap and clean water. However access to water and soap is not always available. What to do in such a situation? Well, this is where hand sanitizers come to the rescue! 

Hand sanitizers have become high in demand. Companies that were already manufacturing hand sanitizers witnessed an increase in sales and many other companies also started manufacturing or selling sanitizers. The catch here is, not every sanitizer is a good sanitizer and may not kill germs as we believe. There is a certain formulation approved by World Health Organization (WHO) and FDA which effectively kills germs. 

Assure hand sanitizer 

Since the pandemic, I have tried several hand sanitizers by different companies; cosmetic brands, skin care brands, home made and pharma ones. The one that provided me great satisfaction and peace of mind has been "Assure", a product of CCL Pharmaceuticals. It is formulated and manufactured as per WHO guidelines which recommends the presence of at least 75% alcohol and 1.25 to 3% of isopropyl for effectively killing germs. 

Packaging: 

Assure hand sanitizer comes in a 50 ml plastic bottle with flip lid making it very travel friendly and spill proof. 

Texture: 

The hand sanitizer is clear in color and has a runny, water like consistency. One has to be quick in rubbing it as it tends to slide off the hands. It evaporates quickly when rubbed and leaves a citrus fragrance afterwards. 

Why formulation is important? 

I see a massive influx of hand sanitizers everywhere, pharmacies, departmental stores, grocery stores etc. But do they get the job done? Not all of them! Like I mentioned above, minimum 75% of alcohol and 1.25 to 3% of isopropyl is mandatory in a sanitizer to be effective. Anything less is not killing germs neither keeping you safe. I have seen sanitizers by Rivaj UK, Cool & Cool and so many other brands that do not meet the basic requirements of a hand sanitizer to be effective. 

How important is fragrance? 

Fragrance is the last thing you should be looking for in a sanitizer. When the pandemic struck in Pakistan, I got an early access to sanitizers as I and my husband work in pharmaceutical sector. We used some really foul smelling sanitizers back then which literally left an after smell similar to stinking socks. But since the formulation was per WHO standards, the smell really did not matter. Most of the sanitizers will leave a bad after smell due to the presence of isopropyl if not masked properly. 

NOTE: Fragrance is the last thing you should be concerned about, its the formulation that matters. Please opt for expert hand sanitizers rather than cosmetic ones. 

What about dryness of hands? 

The shortfall of any alcohol based product is, it causes dryness. This stands true for hand sanitizers as well. Excessive use during pandemic has made the hands really dry and is also affecting the nails. Alcohol makes the nails brittle. The best way to deal with hand dryness is moisturizing them. Use lotion or a cream to keep them moisturized and hydrated after using hand sanitizers. 

I am sure a lot of us have stocked upon these nice smelling hand sanitizers by Bath & Body Works and Pocket Bac. But do they actually work against COVID-19? I doubt. They have 68% alcohol content, much below the approved guidelines of WHO and FDA. These were definitely good for usage before COVID-19 but now? Not so much. I recommend getting a proper hand sanitizer for yourself instead of fancy, cosmetic ones. 

The purpose of this post is to create hand sanitizer awareness since a lot of us are using random, whatever is available sort of hand sanitizers. This basically means, we are not taking proper precautions and nor keep ourselves safe. "Assure" instant hand sanitizer is as per WHO formulation and does the job of keeping you, your family and everyone around safe.