bugshirts
jsmartt, I think this is the product website you’re talking about. http://www.bugshirt.com/
Skin So Soft
Works great for mesquitos. Used in in Alaska based on a recommendation from one of the Alaskan locals. Worked like a charm fending off Alaska’s “State Bird”.
TheBigYaker
Not according to experimental evidence
It provides only brief protection of 30 minutes or so.
I think they came out with a version
– Last Updated: Feb-14-06 2:08 PM EST –
with a DEET substitute, so they could keep their sales up after people realized the original formula did not work as well as promised against skeeters:
ACTIVE INSECT REPELLENT ACTIVE:
beta-alanine,
n-acetyl-N-butyl-,
ethyl ester / carboxylic acid
SKIN SO SOFT BUG GUARD PLUS IR3535 Insect Repellent Unscented SPF 15 Sunscreen Spray
The First Aerosol SPF 15 Bug Spray.
price: $10.00
Go boldly into the outdoors. Creating a virtual barrier against mosquitoes and deer ticks, the light-as-air mist makes braving the outdoors a walk in the park. The airy, CFC-free aerosol provides more even coverage than a pump and the SPF 15 provides protection from the sun's rays. DEET-free formula doesn't have to be washed off when coming in from the outdoors. 4 fl. oz.
I haven't tried it, so I don't know if it is as effective as advertised.
From Snopes.com
According to the first study to scientifically compare a wide range of products for their effectiveness in repelling mosquitoes, most insect repellents containing herbal oils proved far less effective than those containing DEET. This study appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in July 2002.
Mark Fradin and Jonathan Day of the University of Florida tested 17 nationally marketed mosquito repelling products under laboratory conditions. They asked 15 volunteers to stick a forearm coated with repellent into a cage containing 10 mosquitoes and observed how much time elapsed before the first bite. Products containing DEET repelled best, and the more DEET they contained, the better they worked. Off! Deep Woods, which contains 23.8 percent DEET, provided the longest-lasting protection: 302 minutes on average. By contrast, Avon Skin-So-Soft Bath Oil failed after 9.6 minutes, on average.
For decades rumor has held that Skin-So-Soft Bath Oil is an effective counter to mosquitoes, yet a 1993 Consumer Reports analysis found it ineffective for that purpose. Because so many people were buying the product for its purported mosquito combating properties, in 1994 Avon added a non-DEET repellent and a sunscreen to the popular bath oil and began marketing the new concoction as Avon Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard Repellent. Avon disputes the 2002 results posted in the New England Journal of Medicine study, claiming its Bug Guard Repellent works for three hours, not the 10.3 minutes for its Bug Guard Repellent and the 22.9 minutes for its Bug Guard Repellent Plus the study found, but a 2003 Consumer Reports analysis found the Skin-So-Soft repellent deterred mosquitoes for only one hour.
Skin-So-Soft & Gnats
I never had any luck with Skin-So-Soft repealing Sketters but it works wonders against the Sand Gnats down here along the Florida/Georgia coastline.