One thing that bugs me about commercially available insect repellents is their effect on your skin, some are sticky, some are watery and some leaves a feverishly tingly sensation on my skin after spraying them on. It certainly appears as if my skin and it's condition was not really a priority during product development, apart from the purpose of being used as a surface to deposit the product on to repel these flying terrors.
Our roll on offering has evolved from our Mozzy muti balm, which is a fantastic product when you are after a bug repellent with exceptional skin care, but this format has its cons; the application of a balm on your entire body is not always the easiest thing to do, it is also not the most sensible thing to apply on a hot summers night after a day of dust and dirt. Our roll on is much easier to apply, and still offers a component of skincare with an additinal ingredient in the form of a good dose of Aloe Ferox. The liquid's consistency was quite a challenge to get right, it could not be too thick like you'd get with a typical deo, but also not too watery as to bypass the ball. As you would typically cover large areas quickly it has to dispense the liquid fairly quickly. Apply by rolling the bottle over all exposed areas, I do a few long parallel stokes over the length of my arms and legs and then use my hands to spread it over the entire skin area untill it goes a bit 'sticky' no need to worry about this sensation, it only lasts about 15 seconds, as soon as all the water has evaporated from your skin it is smooth and silky to the touch, so apply the stuff, then walk to the fridge and crack a beer, by the time you have taken that first refreshing mouthful your skin will be smooth and good to go! The peppermint en menthol and water combination also delivers a nice cool sensation on the skin, an added bonus for those hot summer evenings.
The secret weapon in this product is once again our indigenous Lemoenbossie (Lippia Javanica), this is used in addition to the better known natural repellents like Lemongrass, Citronella, Peppermint, Rosemary, Lavender and the like. Lemoenbossie has a very woody aroma that is hard to disguise, so our products will smell different than most others, but we like it, and importantly the bugs do not! The main reason we used this oil in our product was me coming across this article when researching potential ingredients for this product. It would appear a lot of research has gone into developing a product that worked well, but it never seem to have taken off. If you google a bit more you will find scientific papers on the plant's ability to repel and protect against mosquitoes. Like all natural products (and also many commercial products containing man produced chemicals such as DEET), it may not be a foolproof method of deterring mosquitoes and it will work better for some folks than others, but it surely worked for all of us who tested it.
The key skin care benefits of Aloe extracts are Amino Acids and Aloin. Aloe Ferox is 20 times higher in bitter sap containing Aloin and has twice the number of amino acids than Aloe Vera does. Thus, the ability to stimulate regeneration of cells necessary for healing and repairing skin tissue, is greatly enhanced when Aloe Ferox extracts are used in skin care products. We added Aloe Feroz for the value it adds in terms of skin care, imagine our surprise when we researched its insect repelling properties and found it most commonly used right after Lippia Javanica! Some more info on this here.
We have produced the Muti in three different strengths to gauge feedback from you, our 'test pool' of consumers, we will develop the product by maintaining and adjusting the three options as per your feedback and our testing over time. The three strengths in which the muti comes is certainly not without purpose and the product will always be offered in the three options because; 1) some folks are more sensitive to larger amounts of essential oils than others, 2) some folks may find the smell of natural repellents a bit overwhelming and choose a lighter fragranced version and 3), some folks are much more prone to attract mosquitoes, (around 20%) and they need a higher level of deterrence, find our here if you are likely to be one of them.
Ingredients; Water from an uncontaminated, natural source, Lemongrass oil, Lippia Javanica oil, Citronella oil, Peppermint oil, menthol crystals, Aloe Ferox and Polysorbate 20.
Not making any claims here, but when I apply the stuff over most of my body in copious amounts I experience a very deep, undesturbed sleep, I am a light sleeper and hardly ever take any medication, so it is reasonably safe to say that it is the muti that has something to do with this. There is quite a bit of literature on the amazing properties of this plant, one of them being for respiratory ailments, this effect I experienced may very well be as simple as a clear airway and deeper/better breathing. Please let us know if you also experience the same or similar, it is quite intriguing to me.
This plant has changed my perception on traditional medicines and their effectiveness quite a bit, read some more on the amazing Lemoenbossie here.