Good Riddance Insect Repellent Ingredients

You may have noticed that Good Riddance Insect Repellent ingredients are not listed on the back of the pack. Good Riddance makes a range of natural, DEET free insect repellents with the highest quality natural ingredients. This blog will explore what is in each product and how you can learn more.

What ingredients are in Good Riddance Insect Repellent?

The main ingredients in the Good Riddance Insect Repellent range are:

Why doesn't Good Riddance list all of their ingredients?

Products (like Good Riddance) that have been registered with the APVMA only need to list their active ingredients on the label. This helps us protect our formulation (and years of hard work perfecting our products) from being copied by competitors. As a small Australian, family-owned business, having that competitive edge is really important for us in what is quite a difficult industry to break into.

Good Riddance's founder, Jeannie, is a cosmetic chemist that specialises in natural ingredients. Jeannie created Good Riddance as an alternative to DEET based repellents that could be safely used every day by her two young boys while living in Darwin. She is extremely particular about the ingredients that go into our products. Rest assured, we are definitely not secretly adding any nasties.

Our Rescue Balm formulation is not required to be registered with the APVMA and as such, the full list of ingredients are available on the product page here.

Is Good Riddance Insect Repellent natural?

All of the ingredients in Good Riddance Insect Repellent are natural or naturally derived with the exception of the preservatives in the Tropical Insect Repellent range which are food grade preservatives allowable in Australian Certified Organic skincare products.

The term "natural" does not have a true, clear definition. We work with ingredients that are either extracted and purified directly from plants (such as our essential oil actives or the shea butter in our creams), or ingredients that are derived from plant extracts. This includes the emulsifiers we use. These ingredients are a refined component of extracted plant oils and are required to ensure the cream is shelf stable and homogenous (this keeps all of the active ingredients evenly distributed throughout the entire bottle and stops it from separating).

Why don't we use a natural preservative in the Good Riddance Tropical Insect Repellent?

Preservatives are an extremely important component of any safe cream. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying or is providing you with dangerous advice. A good preservative is needed in any sort of cream to ensure bacterial growth is limited and it is very difficult to make a truly natural preservative.

Creams are an emulsion of water and oils and because of the water content are a breeding ground for bacteria that can be extremely harmful to your skin and health. These bacteria will also consume the product, breaking it down, reducing its shelf life and leaving it ineffective very quickly.

When choosing a preservative you need to be conscious of the entire formulation including other ingredients you're using, the pH, the water content and whether it will affect the smell of the final product. There is not currently a natural preservative on the market that would be suitable for our Tropical repellent formulation. For this reason, we have chosen to use a synthetic preservative that is allowed in Certified Organic food products.

The preservative we use in the Sensitive Insect Repellent range is a naturally derived preservative from basil. We have chosen this preservative as it is suitable for the Sensitive formulation and also has a low irritancy profile so is more suitable for sensitive skin.

What if I have an allergy to a particular ingredient? How do I know Good Riddance is safe for me?

If you know you are allergic to a particular ingredient, please contact us via info@goodriddance.com.au or call 1300 643 443, letting us know what the ingredient is. We will be more than happy to clarify whether the product is suitable for you.

If you find you are prone to skin sensitivities with skincare products, we would strongly advise a small patch test before first use of the product. You can either find a stockist near you who will have a tester, or you can purchase the products through our online store. If you do react to the product or find it is not the right product for you for any reason, contact us via email on info@goodriddance.com.au and we will happily provide you with a full refund.