Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Fort Smith (July 23/01) - You've all heard about Avon's Skin-So-Soft for use as a mosquito repellent. Well, how about Sea Breeze?

Sea Breeze is an astringent normally used by teenagers for problem skin. Perhaps a testament to how bad the bugs are this year, rumour was flying in Fort Smith that Sea Breeze works as a mosquito repellent.

Dave Grundy heard about Sea Breeze from his golfing buddies. "Apparently, it's just for your hair, it doesn't work on your skin," Grundy says. "I think it really works, probably because of the heat from your head. But for the rest of my body I use Watkins, a line of products that probably has the most DEET."

Dennis Mahussier tried it too. "I heard if you put it in your hair, the sandflies won't get in it. I thought anything is worth a try, so I bought two bottles, oily skin and regular. I'm sorry to report that it didn't work for me. I still got lots of it left if anybody wants some."

Sea Breeze contains water, alcohol, camphor, peppermint oil, clove oil, and eucalyptus oil.

Aboriginal researchers have suggested peppermint oil is effective against mosquitos, and in Australia, natural insect repellents often contain eucalyptus oil.

University of Alberta entomologist Ron Gooding, however, says that Sea Breeze is not very efficient as a repellent against mosquitos and other bugs.

"These oils of various plants have been recommended from time to time but they're in the category of folklore," Gooding says. "In standard tests, they don't fare well compared to DEET."

Barber Lucien Villebrun says that Sea Breeze "might work as a repellent, but I didn't notice that." What he noticed is that Sea Breeze is good for sores caused by sandflies and blackflies. He's been telling people to use it on scalp sores for more than a decade.

"My customers come in and they say, 'Boy I got sores in my head,' and I'm a barber and I say, 'Get some Sea Breeze.' You use it like a tonic and you rub it into your roots. It's a healing solution. You just leave it there until you shampoo again, and the sores heal right up. It doesn't hurt, it doesn't burn and it doesn't smell bad."

Villebrun uses it for his grandchildren when they get too many bites and he says lots of his customers have used it too. "I guarantee that it works."