Is Touchland Hand Sanitizer Unhealthy? We Investigate

Is Touchland Hand Sanitizer Unhealthy? We Investigate


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Touchland is a luxury hand sanitizer brand. The brand describes their products as “the most elegant, aromatic scents you’ll ever find in sanitizer” and claims that they can moisturize the skin.

But is Touchland really better than standard hand sanitizer? Does it have any harmful additive ingredients? What gives it its distinct fragrance? And how do real users rate its scent?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we review every ingredient in Touchland hand sanitizer to give our take on whether the product is healthy and likely to be effective. We’ll also share a real, unsponsored user review including a scent review.

Touchland Ingredient Review

Touchland ingredients

The active ingredient in Touchland hand sanitizer is ethyl alcohol at a concentration of 70%. This meets the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendation for concentrations at or above 60%, so we will consider Touchland to be effective at killing germs.

Aloe vera is one of the most effective natural moisturizers, so we do agree with the brand’s claim about the ability of this product to have a moisturizing effect.

Unfortunately, the product also contains a number of questionable additive ingredients.

Fragrance is an ingredient that we recommend consumers avoid. A medical review of fragranced consumer products published in the Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health journal concluded the following: “Results of this study provide compelling evidence that everyday fragranced products can impose serious risks to human health, environmental quality, businesses, and society.”

Coumarin is another scent additive, and one shown to be toxic to lung tissue in animal studies. We consider this a highly questionable choice for a spray product that may be inhaled.

Benzyl salicylate was categorized as a “hazard class 2” by a Japanese regulatory body due to toxicity data and its potentially endocrine-disrupting effects, as we documented in our review of Nexxus shampoo (another product containing this ingredient).

Overall we consider Touchland likely to be effective at killing germs and likely to have a moisturizing effect, but we do not recommend the brand overall due to the inclusion of a number of questionable additive ingredients.

The scented versions of this product are the worst hand sanitizer formulations we’ve reviewed to date on Illuminate Health, and we recommend that consumers avoid this brand entirely.

Touchland does offer an unscented version that is free of questionable additive ingredients, so for consumers set on purchasing from this brand, we would recommend that product.

We Tried Touchland Hand Sanitizer 

Touchland hand sanitizer UGC

As the author of this article, I wanted to try Touchland myself to share my thoughts on the scent and product experience.

I purchased a 3-pack of Touchland hand sanitizer from Amazon: Lavender, Vanilla Blossom and Rainwater scents.

Rainwater was the best scent by far. It was much more subtle than the other two, and smelled like the dew on a field after fresh rainfall.

The Lavender and Vanilla Blossom scents were overpowering, smelled highly synthetic to me, and would linger forever. I could use one of these scents and get in the car for a 30 minute drive, and my hands would still have this awful smell when I exited my car.

To the brand's credit, the product packaging is excellent and this is the best-looking hand sanitizer I've ever purchased.

One thing that concerned me using a hand sanitizer with synthetic dye is that I would stain my clothes, so I was extra cautious when applying it which was somewhat inconvenient.

I personally would not purchase from this brand again, because I do not want to pay $10 for a one-ounce hand sanitizer.

I would not recommend this brand to friends or family and would rate it 3/10.

Where to Get the Best Price

Touchland is available for sale at a variety of online retailers. Here’s the price breakdown for a 3-pack at the time of updating this article:

Ulta: $30 (plus shipping, link)

Brand website: $30 (plus shipping, link)

Amazon: $30 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)

Touchland is currently around 15-20% cheaper on Amazon than other retailers when factoring in shipping fees.

Real People Try Touchland

One of the most popular YouTube reviews of Touchland hand sanitizers comes from a YouTube creator named Morgen Raeh. She unboxes many different scents of the brand’s products, tries them and gives her take on which are the best.

The video is more focused on the experience and scent than the health benefits, and appears to be unsponsored:

A YouTube creator named Nick DiRamio tried Touchland as part of a series where he tries Instagram-famous products:

Our Clean Hand Sanitizer Pick

Dr. Bronner's Organic Hand Sanitizer Spray is our top hand sanitizer pick.

The only four ingredients in Dr. Bronner’s Organic Hand Sanitizer are: 62% organic ethyl alcoholwaterorganic glycerin, and organic peppermint oil.

There is no Zephiran or fragrance, which means the product shouldn't cause stains and should be healthier than commercial alternatives.

Dr. Bronner’s hand sanitizer also contains over 60% alcohol by volume, which meets the CDC recommendation for hand sanitizers. Products at or above this level of alcohol are more effective in fighting disease-causing germs.

Real Customers Rate Touchland

Touchland is sold on Amazon which is a more objective resource for customer reviews than a brand’s website in our opinion.

The brand’s most popular product on Amazon is a 3-pack including Watermelon, Peach and Berry scents. It’s been reviewed over 600 times with an average review rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. 

The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Tammi Hall” who appreciates the scent and product experience:

“They are the perfect size for a purse. The scents are delightful. My 4yo granddaughter loved them. Just another excuse to go in grammy’s purse😁. The spritz is a fine mist and it rubs away very smoothly. The bottles look like mini perfume.”

The top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “Yola” who claims that one of the products arrived half-full:

The velvet peach one came less than halfway full. I tried to report it but couldn’t due to it being a flammable item. Sucks that I can’t get compensated for a defective item but the scents are nice. It also took a while to get here.”

Touchland Pros and Cons

Here are the pros and cons of Touchland as a brand in our opinion.

Pros: 

  • Beautiful branding
  • Unscented version is effective and non-toxic

Cons:

  • Scented versions contain fragrance
  • Expensive
  • Questionable Amazon reviews
Stay up-to-date on our research reviews

Conclusion

The scented versions of Touchland hand sanitizers contain a number of questionable additive ingredients that we recommend avoiding. The unscented version is a healthier option, but we still don’t recommend it based on price (though we have no issues with consumers purchasing it).

The cheapest place to currently buy Touchland products is on Amazon, but the unscented version appears to only be available for sale on the brand’s website.

We do not recommend spending $10 for one fluid ounce of hand sanitizer based on branding alone. In our opinion there are better hand sanitizer options on the market.