Frequently Asked Questions

• Shake bottle before use
• Spray into hands & rub on
• Be thorough! Don’t miss bits!
• Patch testing advised.

Here’s how we usually do it:

• Start with bare feet
• Shake the bottle
• Squirt 2 or 3 sprays of 2B into one hand then rub your hands together
• Apply first to feet, ankles and legs (between toes, up the achilles and to the backs of knees), respraying as needed.
• Apply to hands, wrists and arms, and finally rub around the neck line. That about does it in shorts and a t-shirt (if your T-shirt rides up when you sit do your lower back too).
• As a guide two sprays in hands should cover one lady-leg from the knee down thoroughly….. hairy men-legs generally need more
• You can touch your hands around your hairline and ears to keep bugs off your face, but keep it away from your eyes (strong plant oils can sting)

Patch testing is recommended, and this means putting a little spot of a product on your inner elbow and waiting at least 20 minutes to see if there is any skin reaction.  It is best if you can wait overnight to be sure, but most skin allergies show up pretty quick as an itchy or red patch, usually within a few minutes – if this happens you can simply wash the product off the area straight away and the symptoms should reduce very quickly.  If you get any persistent or extreme symptoms seek early medical advice.

Most people with allergies are excellent at self-management and know what works for them and what doesn’t.  If you haven’t used any of the ingredients before then patch testing is an easy way to ensure that 2B is right for you.

A thorough application of 2B in the morning can last most of the day, expect up to 8 hours. This makes it one of the world’s longest-lasting natural repellents. 2B’s unique formula means the action of the essential oils is maximised to give far longer effectiveness than a single essence can provide in a candle or ointment form.

As 2B lasts so long, we find here in New Zealand the best time to put your 2B on is first thing in the morning.  Then we can pretty much forget about the bugs until we re-apply it ahead of fishing time in the late afternoon. Re-applying it then means we are protected around the cooking fire right up until bedtime.

You don’t have to do it very often so do it properly, take the time and don’t miss bits.….. you don’t need to use much, just as long as you spread it well. If you are half dressed on a beach somewhere or sipping a glass of wine in a skimpy cocktail dress, then you will want to apply 2B more widely before you sit down for a long evening.

*Don’t spray 2B around like an aerosol and hope for the best, you are just wasting it although it does smell lovely.

*Adding repellent to bedding or clothes is not recommended as it is not particularly effective. Using non-chemical bed netting is a much more effective option.

2B’s coconut oil base gives great coverage without leaving a greasy film on the skin. 2B is water-resistant so doesn’t wash off when you sweat or swim in cool natural water in the same way that water-based products usually containing solvents/alcohols do.  2B also doesn’t react with your suncreams like chemical repellents often do, just put them on 10 minutes or more apart.  If you go into a hot tub or a swimming pool, 2B may well be washed off by chemicals.

This depends what you are up to.

We generally say one bottle lasts one person for a NZ summer season when applying primarily to ankles/lower legs/hands for occasional BBQs and weekend trips.  That seems to be the norm for most of our local buyers.  Men tend to use more than woman as a rule, especially if they have very hairy legs.

If you are travelling around Southland or on the West Coast and putting 2B on twice a day every day you should still get 3-5 weeks from a single bottle.

Overseas in hot humid climates where bugs can carry nasty diseases we would put our 2B on every four hours.  2B is part of a regime of ‘good practice’, covering up, using bed nets and so on.  Here a single person would get 2-3 weeks from a bottle using it on ankles/lower legs/hands/neck/head – make sure you don’t run short! 

The safe-travel advice for overseas is to cover as much skin as possible in areas where mosquitoes carry serious diseases, but if you are in a safer area where there are still biting bugs about you may well be in shorts and short sleeves. Using 2B four times a day every day, a single bottle should last one person one week.  

Plant Oils are powerful, and that is why they have so many great applications. It is also why they can be unsuitable for a few people and for very young children.  Treating infected bites can lead to a lot more problems than using a good repellent so it is important to do your homework and choose well.

We don’t recommend 2B is used on babies under six months old.

For under three’s, the safest option is always to avoid areas where they might get bitten. Where that isn’t possible, using a good repellent is better than risking bites, secondary infections or insect-borne diseases.

Always patch test first, putting a small amount on the inside of the elbow for 30 minutes. If any irritation develops, wash the product from the skin and discontinue use.  In the very rare event that any irritation does not quickly pass do seek early medical advice.

When using 2B on young children, firstly cover as much skin as possible, then apply repellent on whatever skin is left exposed, focusing on the legs, arms and neck. Finally, wash any repellent off when no longer needed. The aim is to apply as-little-as-necessary, to as-small-an area-as-you-can, for as-short-a-time-as-possible.  If you have any specific concerns about your child please do consult a pharmacist or a doctor that can take into account your child’s particular medical history.

During pregnancy and breastfeeding women can have unusual responses to all sorts of smells, body products and foods.

We recommend patch testing to check whether you have a sensitivity to any of the ingredients, even if you have used 2B before pregnancy.

Chemical repellents used to be the only products that could give lasting protection and most contained DEET.

DEET is the common name for N,N-Diethyl-m-toluamide, an effective insect repellent developed by the U.S. Army in 1946. Whilst it is effective against a number of biting insects, it comes with a number of negatives.

• Some people have an immediate skin reaction when applying it.
• It has an unpleasant smell.
• It often reacts with nylons and plastic causing damage to cameras, sunglasses, gortex fabric and fishing line for example.
• It is not recommended to be used daily for more than 30 days.
• It has been linked to a number of health episodes with children
• It can interact with sunscreens and reduce the sun-protection given.

Check out the labels on DEET products, there’s lots of other warnings.

This long list of negatives, especially around children’s heath, means many people choose not to use it. We use Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus in our repellent because it’s proven to give the same top performance as chemical repellents, without the negatives.  With 2B’s unique recipe you’ll end up smelling a little like lemon cake, delicious to people but not to bugs!

We’ve given this one a lot of thought.  

2B bottles are #1 Plastic. We chose this over glass or aluminium bottles after much consideration of practicalities and reuse/recylable factors.  

2B is not a single use item, each bottle contains over 300 sprays and it’s concentrated formula means a single bottle lasts much longer than repellents with far less active ingredients or those with water-based formulas.  A lightweight but tough plastic bottle with a strong gasket means 2B bottles are safe to transport and are not easily broken if dropped on your adventures.  The bottles are strong and after life as a 2B bottle can be refilled with your own blends of water and essential oils to be used as spritzers for room fresheners, household cleaners or travel antisceptic/antibacterial sprays (use your imagination!). 

When you are finally done with your bottle, #1 Plastic are recyclable here in NZ, where they are turned into food packaging by Flight Recyclables in the Wellington area – the best thing is that the food packaging they make is totally recyclable here too.  Flight hope to close the loop in NZ for RPET, recycling the same stuff again and again – pretty cool eh!  So there’s no need for it to ever end up in landfill or to be shipped overseas to process.