UKC

Setting off for Cairngorms ladt week I discovered my stock of Skin so Soft had all crystalised in its bottles. Looking to reorder, Avon seem to have changed their packaging and there is a choice of five "Body Oils". Can anyone offer advice on which one to choose ? Thanks.

In reply to Mike Conlon: Dont bother with avon it doesnt seem to work since they changed the formula A new brilliant anti midge is SMIDGE you can get it most places in scotland Garages etc.

In reply to Mike Conlon: Just get some Smidge. Avon Skin so soft is bollox.

In reply to higherclimbingwales: It's looking like Smidge, glad I asked. Thanks

In reply to Mike Conlon:
To revive your Avon oil, pop the bottle in a dish of hot water.

Sx

In reply to joan cooper: When did Avon change? still sold in outdoor shops. If I was bothered by midges, I'd buy smidge anyway. Developed by Edinburgh Uni and the people behind the midgey forecast I believe

In reply to David Barratt: I think about 2 years ago the smell and formula of avon changed . I managed to get aUSA based Avon Expedition ant midge-tick and mosquito product direct from USA not available here Since then Ed uni as you say has produced Smidge which has the same formula as the USA Avon product, and is the best in my opinion. When Avon changed I sent them an e mail aking why and saying it wasnt as good I got a curt answer that it wasnt supposed to be an insecticide!!!! So SMIDGE it will be

In reply to Mike Conlon: Another vote for Smidge, living in Lochaber its an essential and works better than any repellant I've tried in 30 years!

In reply to Mike Conlon:

It's a myth that it keeps mosquitoes away, so pick the one that will make you smell nice and keep your skin soft!

http://www.newstatesman.com/society/2011/03/soft-skin-applied-group
http://www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/archive/reviews-ns/insect-repellents...

It became such a well known myth though I believe Avon started doing a version of SSS with some of one of the regular insecticides added, but i thought it was US only?

In reply to Mike Conlon:

I used to work for Avon and quizzed the chief scientist about the properties of SSS. He said that is creates an oily barrier on the skin and has citronella essence in it, and that was all there was to it (this was around 2005). The US market was able to market it as an insect repellant because it wasn't required to undertake the same level of testing as those markets in the EU...

In reply to TobyA: Smidge has similar content to the USA available Avon purchased through Amazon.com. I used to buy 6 at a time from USA they had sunscreen as well.

In reply to sargy: The USA expedition formula was completely different from the uk Avon SSS and was formulated particularly for insect repellant.

In reply to Mike Conlon: so where do you buy smidge?

In reply to guisboro andy: just google it! can easily get it online

In reply to guisboro andy: And this year's delivery to Tescos is on its way according to their Twitter feed.

In reply to Mike Conlon: Don't know about Smidge but Skin So Soft works for me far better than regular DEET against midges, the midges seem to just "slide" on the skin, but you need to apply quite a lot often to be efficient.
However for mosquitos when not in the UK DEET works best, Skin so soft is useless with mosquitos.

In reply to romainbossut:
maybe for you but not most people
http://www.newstatesman.com/society/2011/03/soft-skin-applied-group

I find SSS helps if the midgies are not that bad but if there is a feeding frenzy its close to useless.

In reply to romainbossut:

This is what I don't understand about people using SSS. You put smidge on well at the start of the night and that's it, done, pretty much no midge bites. Whenever someone has SSS they've got it in their hands all night, maniacally dousing every exposed bit of flesh with oil every 5 mins. Of course if you're covered in oil the midges will drown in it, but why not just use cheaper vegetable oil? Or alternatively, an actual repellent.

In reply to TobyA: Mosquitoes are different from midges. Thus a study showing a lack of effectiveness against mosquitoes does not imply a lack of effectiveness against midges (or vice versa).
Thus, the only evidence about SSS and midges is anecdotal.

In reply to Sharp:

Well that's just pish. Haven't used SSS for a while and probably won't if the formula's changed but it was a god send. Put on once, smell nice and have nae midgy bites.

Every minutes my arse

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:
Put on once
- yeah right

smell nice
- YEAH RIGHT

have nae midgy bites.
- SPLUTTER, have you actually tried it!

In reply to HardenClimber:
"Thus, the only evidence about SSS and midges is anecdotal."

No its not

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2045813

In reply to CurlyStevo:

Why the F**** do you think I posted???? Never use anything else. P****

In reply to Father Noel Furlong: Do you also like old spice?

In reply to CurlyStevo:

What's that?

In reply to CurlyStevo:

Part of the problem here may be that SSS isn't a single product, even ten years ago when SSS started to be used for repelling midges. Then, the one product recommended was the 'Woodland Fresh Dry Body Oil' spray. It may have been a coincidence that this fragrance deterred midges. In the US, I think Avon, recognising this reputation, actually produced a version of SSS that did contain DEET. I have no idea what variants of SSS are available now.

My limited experience of using it was that it did seem to have some repellent effect on Wharncliffe midges, but I didn't do a double-blind comparison with a DEET-based product.

In reply to captain paranoia: I still have some woodland fresh! Imo it works to some extent but smells not that night nice at all,, feels worse on and isnt effecctive for that long OR if there is a swarm of midgies wanting to feast on you! It works ok against mildly annoying misgies only.

In reply to CurlyStevo: That's the thing their test was with mosquitos, not midges, I woudl definitely agree that skinsosoft is useless with mosquitos but works a treat with midges as far as I can tell.

In reply to romainbossut: nah the last test I linked to was fot midgies....