In
1955, just as I was turning six, my eldest sister Harriet had her first baby.
This was my first experience around a baby. Up to that time, I was the baby.
One
of the things I remember about this event was the array of lotions and potions
Harriet had on hand for the baby’s care – baby powder, baby oil, AND Baby Magic
by Mennen. Baby Magic had a wonderful fragrance! That kid smelled so good! –
most of the time. No other baby lotion compared to Baby Magic. (You can read Baby Magic history online.)
Switching
now from the sublime to the ridiculous, let’s talk about ticks. From March to
July, ticks infest our outdoors, especially in rural grassy areas, and I’m always
searching for a repellent. Recently I read several comments that Johnson’s Creamy
Baby Oil is a great tick repellent, and I finally found it at Walmart. The fine
print on the back of the tube reads: “Designed to moisturize and help protect
baby’s delicate skin. With a rich creamy texture and gentle fragrance, it’s
great for kids and adults, too!” My fragrance memory kicked in and I thought of
Baby Magic. “Wow! All this and it’s a tick repellent, too,” I thought to myself as I tossed the tube into my cart.
We
have some dry skin itchiness at our house, and Mike asked if we had any skin
lotion. I happened to think of the Creamy Baby Oil and handed him the tube. He
applied the lotion liberally to his itchy arms, whereupon a heavy, acrid scent
permeated our living room.
“What
is that smell,” I demanded to know. “Is it that Creamy Baby Oil?”
Yes,
said Mike, and agreed that it was a horrible scent, but at that point there was
nothing he could do. Honestly, it was nearing bedtime, and I thought I might
have to toss him out the back door. However, the smell seemed to abate after
half an hour or so.
It
was an unpleasant scent, all right, but then that begs the question – Was it the scent of the product itself or a
chemical reaction with Mike’s body?
And that’s a distinct possibility. Still, when I gave the product the sniff test,
I wasn’t impressed. Baby Magic it is not! If you’re applying this to your baby,
test a small inconspicuous patch first. Otherwise, you might have to throw the baby out with the bath water, figuratively speaking, of course. But yes, it probably will repel ticks –
and people. KW
8 comments:
I just got crazy messages when I scrolled through the Baby Magic link, but I did find out Naterra Baby Magic is available at Walgreen's and WalMart. You might try there, and get a better "nose" test.
Wow! Crazy messages. I hope the link is not problematic.
I could certainly buy Baby Magic if it's available, but I'm afraid it wouldn't repel ticks.
This made me laugh! How could they sell something for babies that smells that bad?? Do you suppose the oil had gone rancid?
I sniffed the product itself. I don't think it's rancid. I just think it's not as sweet-smelling as I expect a baby product to be. I also applied some to the back of my hand, and again, there's a sharpness to the scent, especially initially. Then that seems to subside and a lighter fragrance lingers.
I just looked at the Amazon reviews for this product and noticed many people commented on how nice it smelled!! Huh??
Well, clearly my expectations for the scent are too high. Opinions were mixed on whether it was a good repellent. I won't be able to text that until spring.
But -- I didn't pay Amazon's exorbitant prices. I think it was less than $5.00 at Walmart.
It probably had some lovely smelling agent that was later linked to cancer and then banned.
We give Primo an oral medication for fleas and ticks that the vet recommends year round. They said that due to the mild temperatures in Seattle there isn’t really a die-off season. I really don’t like giving him a medication because it can’t be good, but I also really don’t want to deal with a flea problem in the house.
I have to wonder that so many reviewers said that Creamy Baby Oil had a pleasant scent. There's something there that isn't pleasant, and on Mike, it's obnoxious. It would repel fleas, ticks, mosquitoes -- and his wife.
We have given that oral medication to Bess, but this last year, we returned to the topical once-a-month stuff. I think cost was a factor, or maybe we just had topical stuff to get rid of. We've always said that dogs don't live long enough to develop some of the problems that people have from medications and such.
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