As mentioned in an earlier post, the good people at Elastoplast and The Soup has roped me in to do a product review.
Here are the results from my product test:
Challenge 1:
Stickability – just how strong is the ‘sure stick’ adhesive?
This is what happened:
9.32am Plaster removed from packaging and stuck onto my arm, where I get blisters most often from burning my hand on the hot wok.
9.50am One corner of the plaster started peeling off.
10.03am Another corner of the plaster started to peel off.
So I’ve got to be honest here, I wasn’t very impressed with the results of this challenge at this point.
2.35pm Well the plaster is still on! Although the corners weren’t stuck fast to my skin, the rest held on for over 5 hours now, even after regular hand washing.
This test showed a positive side of these plasters – while other ‘stuck-fast’ plasters would not budge for 24 hours, these ones do flex and move with your body, and does not leave an unsightly and sticky residue on your skin that wouldn’t come off no matter how long you scrub it in the shower for.
I’m giving this 4 stars out of 5.
Challenge 2:
Waterproof – how does it respond to water?
I stuck a plaster on my finger, and proceeded with my normal activities, including running water over my plastered finger to see how well it responds to water.
At first glance, the water beads appear to run off the plaster. When I leave my finger under the water for longer, it seems the water doesn’t bead and run off, and I thought ‘uh – oh there goes their claim’, but then when I removed my finger from the water and touched the plaster, I was amazed to discover that it wasn’t soaking wet! I peeled the plaster back a bit, and found that the inside of the plaster isn’t wet at all. Wow this is amazing!
At this point I’m going to give this 4 stars out of 5 as well.
I replaced the plaster with a fresh one. After a few hours, including multiple times of hand washing, the plaster has soaked through.
When I took it off, there was the tell-tale sign of water – the bit of skin under the plaster has a pale colour and a water-logged look.
So here I can only give it 1 star out of 5.
I asked some of my colleagues to put these to the test as well, hopefully they will post their results below!
Fabric test
In the pack there is also a large piece of Elastoplast fabric. I placed it on my kitchen bench and poured water over it. I wonder if the water will stay off or will it get absorbed!
See the water drops on top of the material? This is looking good!
They look pretty cute just sitting on top of the material. It reminds me of the tiny gel spheres as seen in Masterchef Masterclasses.
Right an hour’s up, let’s see what it looks like on the surface with the water wiped off.
Hmm… you can see the water marks on the fabric.
Right now let’s flip the fabric over to see it any water’s gone through.
No water soaked through, none whatsoever! This is great!
Additional Challenge:
Okay, now that the big piece of fabric has dried, I’ve decided to do something more akin to what TopGear and Mythbusters would do to give their subjects a REAL test:
I’m wrapping the fabric around a nappy and submerging it under water. I wonder if they will stay dry?
Results to come in the next giveaway post! Watch this space on 12 July 2012!
Blog Comp Giveaway:
They have also kindly sponsored a $200 gift voucher and 2 packs of Elastoplast Heavy Fabric Waterproof plasters for me to give away to one lucky reader. So kind! All you have to do is this: Follow my blog and in 30 words describe why you think the Elastoplast strip would be good for you in the comments section to this and the upcoming posts about this project. Easy Peasy. Just follow the instructions below.
Step 1
Follow this blog! (click on the follow button on the side bar to the right)
Step 2
Like Hopes dreams aspirations on Facebook. (Click on the Like button on the side bar.)
Step 3
Leave a reply to this post below to let me know you are following and we are now friends. In 30 words describe why you think the Elastoplast strip would be good for you.
Step 4
Share this with your friends and get an extra entry into the competition! Tell me that in your reply.
Good luck to all!!
Eligibility: New Zealand only. Closing Date: 10 July, 2012, 12pm. Now because this blog is primarily about food and photography, I’ve chosen the gift to be used at Auckland Camera Centre, one of my favourite shops in New Zealand. One $200 account will be set up for the winner to use there. The winner will be selected by me and contacted via email on 11 July, 2012. The prize is sponsored by Elastoplast and the Soup.
hopes.dreams.aspirations 
Okay, my test wasn’t quite as comprehensive as yours – but here are my results:
Stickiness
I have to say it past the test on this front. I wrapped a plaster around my thumb in the morning and twelve hours later it was stuck fast. The ends overlapped so it was effectively stuck to itself. However it didn’t budge all day despite lots of handwashing.
Waterproofness
Similarly the first time I washed my hands water beaded off the plaster and it seemed to be doing its thing. However as the day wore on the water seemed to soak into the plaster. By the time I took the plaster off 12 hours later underneath my thumb was white and soggy. So it didn’t seem to perform so well on the waterproof front.
Finally, although this wasn’t part of the test I have to comment on the packaging. It was incredibly hard to get the plaster out of the packet! Honestly – I tried for several minutes before resorting to a pair of scissors! Not that helpful if you’re in a hurry to administer first aid to a screaming child (or adult for that matter).
These plasters look amazing! Your review is quite in depth and exposes the pros and cons of the product. While they are not that waterproof, at least they stuck on! I always seem to have cuts on my hands so these would be handy to have – one box in every room of the house perhaps! And the car, the handbag, oh and the camera bag! *hint hint*