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 regular hand sanitizer? Does it have any harmful ingredients? What was our experience trying three different scents? And is Touchland better or worse than popular hand sanitizers like Purell?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Touchland hand sanitizer to give our take on whether or not the product is healthy, and whether or not it's likely to be effective at killing germs.
We'll also share our experience trying three scents of this hand sanitizer, and compare Touchland to other popular hand sanitizer brands to pick our winners.
Key takeaways:
- Some scents contain inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy
- We tried Touchland and disliked the scents
- We currently recommend Unscented version
Touchland Ingredient Review
The ingredients in Touchland hand sanitizer are shown below:
Ethyl alcohol is the active ingredient, and is included 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 Tested Touchland Hand Sanitizer
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.
Touchland is free of benzalkonium chloride, which is the main staining ingredient in hand sanitizers, as we documented in our does hand sanitizer stain article.
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.
Touchland vs. Popular Hand Sanitizers
Here's how the healthiness of Touchland hand sanitizer compares to other popular brands, in our opinion:
Purell
Fragrance-free version has the same active ingredient and concentration as Touchland, but contains an inactive ingredient which is clinically shown to irritate the skin in some cases.
We consider the naturally-derived inactive ingredients in Touchland's fragrance-free version to be healthier
Winner: Touchland
Primally Pure
Fragranced with organic essential oils, making this a significantly healthier option than the scented versions of Touchland.
Winner: Primally Pure
Honest
Very similar fragrance-free formulation; scented formulations use plant oils instead of generic "fragrance," giving this brand the edge.
Winner: Honest
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 alcohol, water, organic 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.
Touchland Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Beautiful branding
- Unscented version is effective and non-toxic
Cons:
- Scented versions contain fragrance
- Expensive
- Questionable Amazon reviews
