New Yankee Candle Hand Sanitizers - Product Review

The Yankee Candle Company has come out with even more new products! The newest method they have for distributing those everlasting Yankee Candle scents and just in time for cold and flu season, is their new scented hand sanitizers!

Bottled in plastic with an easy to open flip top and again, shaped similarly to the companies large 22oz. housewarmer jar candle, these portable hand sanitizers are available in just a few fragrances. Currently available are; Garden Sweet Pea, MacIntosh, Lavender Vanilla and Vanilla Cupcake and the promise of more fragrances on the way! Now available in Yankee Candle Retail Stores or on-line at yankeecandle.com. Only $3.99 for a 2 oz bottle!

As you may well know, waterless hand sanitizers have truly gained in popularity over the past decade or so. Even so, there has been some controversy over their use and effectiveness. I will leave that up to the professionals to debate. However, I do use hand sanitizers daily, along with washing my hands often. Did you know there is a proper way to use hand sanitizer?

Technique for Using Hand Sanitizer:

After removing all excess dirt or other organic matter from hands, apply a dime-sized amount of waterless hand sanitizer to the palm of one hand.
Next, Rub hands together covering all surfaces of hands and in between fingers. Use the friction of hand rubbing to help absorb and dry up the hand sanitizer.

One benefit of the hand sanitizer is that it takes less time than hand washing with soap and water. You often hear that one should wash hands for twenty seconds or the time it takes to sing a round of Yankee Doodle; to be sure hands are cleaned sufficiently. With waterless hand sanitizer, one only need 'wash' until hand sanitizer is absorbed...a matter of seconds!

While its true that alcohol based hand sanitizers are a convenient, temporary and quick fix when soap and water are not available, the lasting effects of hand rubs in fighting germs will not last all day long. One should still take care to wash hands regularly throughout the day, especially if dealing with the public.

Like many hand sanitizers, Yankee Candle's hand sanitizer uses alcohol to make their hand sanitizers Anti Bacterial. They've also added moisturizer so your hands are not dry and dusty!

I sampled the Macintosh and Garden Sweet Pea varieties of Yankee's new hand sanitizers.
At first squirt, I was overwhelmed by the strong scent of alcohol when I applied a squirt of the Macintosh hand gel. The alcohol smell lingered until my hands were dry, even though they were moist afterwards. A little while later I rubbed my nose and realize the alcohol scent had dissipated. I was then left with a pleasant fragrance that was not completely apple-scented; rather it smelled as if a little bit of floral was mixed in.

Later, I sampled the Garden Sweet Pea. This scent did not come out smelling strongly of alcohol like the Macintosh fragrance did, and it maintained a pleasant floral smell, along with smooth-feeling hands until I washed them again later.

Yankee Candle's hand sanitizer kills 99.9% of common germs and bacteria, and its convenient size travels well in purses, diaper bags, back packs, gym bags, lunch boxes and anywhere else you might need an alternative to soap and water.

*Visit the Infection Control website for help in selecting a hand sanitizer.