Can You Put Bug Spray on Your Face? Yes, Hands First, and Here Is Why the Label Says So
Short answer: Yes, but never sprayed at your face. EPA says to spray on your hands first and then apply to your face, not near your eyes and mouth, and sparingly around the ears. The Longsleeve label gives the same technique for a lotion: small amounts in your palms first, then face and neck, avoiding your eyes.
Why are you told not to spray it at your face?
Because of your eyes. Health Canada's insect repellent guidance says it in one line: do not spray directly onto your face because you may get it in your eyes. EPA's version of the rule is the instruction itself: spray on hands first and then apply to face.
The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) spells out the hazard. NPIC's general fact sheet on DEET says that when products containing DEET get into the eyes, they may cause irritation, pain and watery eyes. NPIC's technical fact sheet on DEET says reported symptoms were most frequently associated with ocular exposure, with effects including eye irritation or pain and excess tearing, and describes 24-hour ocular exposure studies in rabbits with technical grade DEET: researchers observed slight to moderate corneal opacity, slight iritis, and moderate to severe conjunctivitis, and symptoms generally cleared within five to seven days.
Picaridin has its own NPIC sheets. NPIC's general fact sheet on picaridin says that if picaridin gets into someone's eyes, it may cause irritation. NPIC's technical fact sheet on picaridin says picaridin is not considered a skin irritant and is not a sensitizer, but it can cause slight to moderate eye irritation.
The warning printed on the bottle comes from a rulebook most people never see. EPA's Label Review Manual sets the standard wording EPA requires on pesticide labels. One entry defines an eye irritation level as corneal involvement or other eye irritation clearing in 8 to 21 days. Another gives the precautionary statement: "Causes substantial but temporary eye injury. Do not get in eyes or on clothing." The Longsleeve label carries that statement in its own form: "Causes substantial but temporary eye injury. Do not get in eyes." That sentence stops people at the shelf. It is the wording EPA's manual requires for that eye irritation level, and the technique in the next section is how you keep the product away from your eyes.
How do you put bug spray on your face?
Hands first, then face, then wash your hands. That is the entire technique. EPA's wording: when using sprays, do not spray directly into face; spray on hands first and then apply to face. EPA also says not to apply near eyes and mouth, and to apply sparingly around ears.
Longsleeve is a lotion, and its label says it this way: apply on face by first spreading small amounts in palms of hands and spreading on face and neck, avoiding your eyes. The label also says to apply sparingly around ears. Small amounts is the operative phrase. You are spreading a thin film across a face, and the palms are how the label tells you to place it.
Two more lines belong in the routine. EPA says never to use repellents over cuts, wounds, or irritated skin, and the Longsleeve label says to avoid contact with lips, cuts, wounds, or irritated skin. Then wash your hands. The CDC Yellow Book says to wash hands after application to avoid accidental ingestion or exposure to eyes.
What if bug spray gets in your eyes?
Rinse them with water, right away. Health Canada's guidance is that if you have accidentally sprayed repellent in your eyes, you rinse them immediately with water. The first aid wording EPA requires on pesticide labels is more specific: hold eye open and rinse slowly and gently with water for 15 to 20 minutes, and if you wear contact lenses, remove them after the first 5 minutes, then continue rinsing. The Longsleeve label's first aid line for eyes reads: hold eye open and rinse gently with water.
Poison Control, meaning the National Capital Poison Center, describes what to expect. Poison Control says that when an insect repellent gets in the eyes, irritation and redness are common, serious eye injury is not likely, the eyes should be rinsed immediately, contact lenses should come out, and you should use lots of room temperature water. For a child, Poison Control's technique is to pour water onto the bridge of the nose and let it gently run into the eyes, and to encourage blinking.
Then call. NPIC's fact sheet says to contact the Poison Control Center at 800-222-1222. Save the number in your phone now.
Can you put bug spray on a child's face?
Yes, through your own hands. The CDC's instruction is to apply repellent onto your hands and then apply to a child's face. The CDC Yellow Book adds that children should not handle repellents; instead, adults should apply repellent to their own hands first and then gently spread product on the child's exposed skin, avoiding the child's hands. The American Academy of Pediatrics says the same: spray a little on your hands first and then rub it on your child's face, avoiding the eyes and mouth.
EPA says that because children frequently put their hands in their eyes and mouths, it recommends that all repellent products carry precautionary statements about children on their labels, among them: do not allow children to handle this product, and do not apply to children's hands. The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees: no repellent on children's hands, because they may put their hands, and the insect repellent, in their mouth and eyes. The CDC's list of places not to apply repellent on a child is hands, eyes, mouth, cuts, or irritated skin.
The Longsleeve label follows that chain: to apply to a child's face and neck, apply the product into your hands and apply to the child; do not apply to their hands; take care to avoid mouth and eyes and apply sparingly around ears; do not allow children to handle the product. For ages and infants, read our guide to mosquito repellent for kids.
Sprays, lotions, wipes and sticks: does the format matter for the face?
It matters in one way: whether the product can reach your eyes on the way to your face. EPA's rule is written about sprays: when using sprays, do not spray directly into face; spray on hands first and then apply to face. Health Canada gives the reason, that you may get it in your eyes. The hazard is a spray aimed at a face; the fix is your hands.
NPIC's technical fact sheet on DEET lists that repellent's formulations as liquids, pressurized liquids, lotions, sticks, foams, and impregnated materials such as towelettes. A lotion, a stick and a towelette do not leave their containers as a mist, so the product reaches your face without being in the air in front of it. That is a structural point, and the only one we will make; the agencies write about technique, and so do we.
The other format question people ask is skin or clothes. EPA says to apply repellents only to exposed skin and/or clothing, and not to use them under clothing. On the face, the answer is a technique rather than a format. Read your own product's label for what it allows.
How long does it stay on your skin, and when do you wash it off?
For as long as your product's label states, minus whatever the day takes off it, and you wash it off when you come indoors. This page will not give you an hours-on-skin number. Read the one on your own product's label, and read it knowing what EPA says about the published times: there are variations in the resulting protection times because of differences in the testing conditions.
What shortens it is ordinary. The CDC Yellow Book says product efficacy and duration of protection are markedly affected by ambient temperature, level of activity, amount of perspiration, exposure to water, being rubbed off during activities, and other factors. On a face that is sweat, a swim, a towel, and a hand across the forehead. For picaridin specifically, read how long picaridin lasts.
Then take it off. EPA's instruction is that after returning indoors, you wash treated skin and clothes with soap and water. NPIC's DEET fact sheet says people who have left DEET products on their skin for extended periods of time have experienced irritation, redness, a rash, and swelling. NPIC's picaridin fact sheet says some people have had skin irritation from using products containing picaridin, although this is very uncommon. Soap, water, done.
Common questions
What happens if you put bug spray on your skin?
Used as directed, the CDC says EPA-registered insect repellents are proven safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women. NPIC reports that people who have left DEET products on their skin for extended periods of time have experienced irritation, redness, a rash, and swelling, and that some people have had skin irritation from products containing picaridin, although this is very uncommon.
What bug spray is safe for skin?
The CDC's answer is a category. When used as directed, the CDC says, EPA-registered insect repellents are proven safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Look for the words EPA-registered on the label and follow the directions printed under them; "used as directed" is half of the CDC's sentence.
Does bug spray go on skin or clothes?
Both, on the outside. EPA says to apply repellents only to exposed skin and/or clothing, and not to use them under clothing. For the face, the rule stays the same whatever surface you started with: when using sprays, EPA says, do not spray directly into face; spray on hands first and then apply to face.
Can you put bug spray on a baby's or child's face?
For a child, yes, through your own hands. The CDC says to apply repellent onto your hands and then apply to a child's face. Age limits are a separate question, and repellent for infants is covered in our guide to mosquito repellent for kids.
None of this is medical advice. If an eye exposure does not settle after rinsing, call Poison Control at 800-222-1222 and see a clinician.
About Longsleeve
Longsleeve is an EPA-registered picaridin lotion (EPA Reg. No. 101457-1). It repels mosquitoes and ticks for up to 14 hours. Its label directions for the face: spread small amounts in the palms of the hands first, then on face and neck, avoiding the eyes, sparingly around the ears; for a child, apply to your own hands and then to the child, never to the child's hands.
Sources
- EPA, Using Insect Repellents Safely and Effectively. https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/using-insect-repellents-safely-and-effectively
- Health Canada, Insect repellents. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/about-pesticides/insect-repellents.html
- NPIC, DEET General Fact Sheet. https://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/DEETgen.html
- NPIC, DEET Technical Fact Sheet (PDF). https://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/archive/DEETtech.pdf
- NPIC, Picaridin General Fact Sheet. https://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/PicaridinGen.html
- NPIC, Picaridin Technical Fact Sheet (PDF). https://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/archive/Picaridintech.pdf
- EPA Label Review Manual, Chapter 7: Precautionary Statements (PDF). https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2018-04/documents/chap-07-mar-2018.pdf
- CDC Yellow Book, Mosquitoes, Ticks, and Other Arthropods. https://www.cdc.gov/yellow-book/hcp/environmental-hazards-risks/mosquitoes-ticks-and-other-arthropods.html
- National Capital Poison Center, Insect Repellent. https://www.poison.org/articles/insect-repellent
- CDC, Preventing Mosquito Bites. https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/prevention/index.html
- AAP HealthyChildren.org, Insect Repellents. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-play/Pages/Insect-Repellents.aspx
- EPA, Find the Repellent that is Right for You. https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/find-repellent-right-you
Last reviewed 2026-09-09 · every claim on this page is sourced above