Alcohol-Free Smart & Silky Hand Sanitizer Wages the War Against Germs

The fact that computer keyboards are hotbeds for harmful bacteria that invite illnesses is the reason why I stand at the door of our school’s computer lab and dispense hand sanitizer by the gallon. With H1N1 making the rounds with the regular seasonal illnesses, I try to make sure that the germs stop at the door so they aren’t passed through the school on our computer lab’s keyboards. Everyone gets a squirt at the door but trying to model proper hygiene for my students through my constant use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer is a nightmare on my hands.

Before school started, I was shopping at Target to replenish our supply of hand sanitizer and found Smart & Silky Foaming Hand Sanitizer. Since Smart & Silky contains Benzalkonium chloride as an antimicrobial agent rather than alcohol I bought a couple bottles to try. Standing in the aisle, the Smart & Silky seemed more than the rest of the hand sanitizers but when I looked closely, the 8.5 ounce bottle was $3.14 and contained more than 600 pumps, a far greater number than your average bottle of Purell.

Fast forward to the present… One of the bottles lives in the cup holder in our car and it has become habit for our whole family to use some as soon as we get in the car. I feel better not dispensing alcohol laden hand sanitizer to my kids and have noticed a clear difference when using Smart & Silky on my hands. Smart & Silky doesn’t strip my hands of moisture and the foaming liquid is pleasantly scented.

How does Smart & Silky work if it does not contain alcohol?

According to the Smart & Silky website, Benzalkonium chloride belongs to group of ingredients called “quats.” Quats are commonly found as skin care ingredients in hair conditioners and lotions. They are effective in killing germs because they are surfactants that attach directly to the cell and dissolve the cell wall whereas alcohol works by drying up the cell. The Smart & Silky website also says that since quats are antimicrobials, not antibiotics, pathogens do not develop resistance to antimicrobials because antimicrobials are “non-specific.”

While I find the information about quats interesting, I appreciate the fact that there is an alcohol-free hand sanitizer on the market that is backed by research proving that Benzalkonium chloride effective in stopping the spread of germs.

We still have plenty of alcohol-laden hand sanitizer at school but I’m now keeping a bottle of Smart & Silky in my office for my personal use.

Smart & Silky can be purchased at Target and Office Max. Regular retail price per 8.5 ounce bottle is $4.49.

I purchased 2 bottles of the 8.5 ounce Smart & Silky Hand Sanitizer, put it in our cabinet where I forgot about it. When Smart & Silky approached me to review their product, I was not using it at the time and had no idea that I had already purchased it at Target. I didn’t actually make the connection until the Smart & Silky arrived at my doorstep. Thank goodness it did since we’re almost bathing in it at this point to diminish cold and flu germs.