Target Instant Hand Sanitizer Vs. Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer

Unable to resist a bargain, I recently purchased a bottle Target Hand Sanitizer with Aloe and Vitamin E. The bottle reads "compare to Purell," so I have decided to do just that. This article will compare Target Instant Hand Sanitizer with Aloe and Vitamin E to Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer with Aloe and Vitamin E.

Antiseptic/Antimicrobial Quality
Both Target and Purell brands of instant hand sanitizer contain 62% ethyl alcohol, though Target brand calls it "antimicrobial," and Purell calls it "antiseptic." I'm assuming these are pretty much the same thing, and thus have the same germ-killing effect.

Ingredients
The Target Brand hand sanitizer contains: aloe barbadensis gel, carbomer, fD&C blue No, 1, FD&C yellow No. 5, fragrance, glycerin, isopropyl alcohol, Isopropyl myristate, propylene glycol, tocopheryl acetate, and water.

The Purell Brand contains much the same ingredients with the following exceptions. The Purell Brand contains water as its first ingredient rather than its last, and it has the added ingredients of aloe barbadensis leaf juice and aminomethyl propanol.

Color and Scent in Bottles
Both the Target Brand instant hand sanitizer and the Purell instant hand sanitzer appear to be the same color, a clear light green. Upon opening both bottles and smelling them directly from their containers, both have an alcohol smell mixed with the fragrance additives. The alcohol smell in the Purell is slightly stronger, and both smell harsh and pungent, like bug spray.

Consistency
Both sanitizers start out with a gelatinous consistency. When a few drops are poured into the hand, the Purell melts quickly, turning to a dripping liquid. The Target Brand also melts, but not completely, and nowhere near as quickly as the Purell. The meltability, or liquification factor, does not matter much except that when the Purell melted, it was a bit harder to deal with and had to be immediately rubbed into the skin to prevent a mess.