Wellness & supplements
Autan Tropical Insect Repellent dupe
Why pay around £7.99 for Autan? The bulk active is DEET 99% technical — 55% less per working litre than a typical shelf pack.
From the retail pack to the active and the mix
1 · Retail
Autan Tropical Insect Repellent
100 millilitres · £7.99 typical snapshot
Isopropanol and cosmetic base
2 · Active
DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide)
50% on the label
134-62-3C12H17NO
Bulk DEET 99% technical
3 · Mix
50 ml DEET + 50 ml isopropanol (50% w/w spray)
£36.00 per working litre · 55% less than the shelf pack
- Active
- DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide)
- CAS
- 134-62-3
- Dupe
- DEET 99% technical
- Saving
- 55% / L
Saving is per litre of working-strength mix versus a typical pack price, not versus the DIY kit total. Shop prices move — always check the listing.
Label teardown
What the pack promises versus what the label chemistry actually is.
The marketing claim
“Up to 8 hours protection against mosquitoes”
The chemical reality
Autan Tropical is DEET at 50% in a spray bottle. Technical DEET dissolved in isopropanol to the same strength is the same repellent without the travel-aisle markup.
Active vs filler
50% DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) · 50% carrier / filler — Isopropanol and cosmetic base
- Typical retail
- £7.99
- 100 millilitres
- Estimated active cost
- £3.64
- Scaled from bulk £18.00 / 250 millilitres
- Indicative markup
- 2.2×
- Snapshot maths, not a live shop price
The Marketing Claim & The Catch
A 100 millilitres pack of Autan Tropical Insect Repellent typically retails around £7.99 in wellness & supplements. That is a UK shelf-price snapshot for the maths on this page — not a live shop quote or a manufacturer RRP. Listings, sizes and deals move. The marketing line is that you are buying a finished lifestyle product, not a weighed chemical.
On the pack: Up to 8 hours protection against mosquitoes; Suitable for tropical travel; and Spray format for arms and legs.
The catch: Autan Tropical is DEET at 50% in a spray bottle. Technical DEET dissolved in isopropanol to the same strength is the same repellent without the travel-aisle markup.
- “Up to 8 hours protection against mosquitoes”
- “Suitable for tropical travel”
- “Spray format for arms and legs”
Proprietary Blend & Dosage Breakdown
The labelled active is DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) at 50%. Everything else in the pack is isopropanol and cosmetic base.
Even when the pack is sold as “pure” or ready-to-use, the dose that actually does the work is DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide). The rest is how they get it into a bottle you will pick up.
This is a food-supplement comparison, not a medicine. Proprietary blends, gummies and resins make it hard to see milligram-level doses. The teardown below uses the labelled active and a bulk equivalent you can weigh or capsule yourself.
- Labelled active
- DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide)
- 50%
- Carrier
- Isopropanol and cosmetic base
- Retail pack
- 100 millilitres · £7.99
The Active Chemical Alternative (Dupe Stack)
The dupe stack is DEET 99% technical at 99% bulk. Indexed as CAS 134-62-3, formula C12H17NO. Buy it as 250 millilitres for around £18.00 from Amazon UK.
Working strength: 50 ml DEET + 50 ml isopropanol (50% w/w spray). Indicative cost £36.00 per diluted litre — 55% below a typical branded pack on a per-litre basis, before you reuse leftover bulk.
Mix or dose as a food supplement using the steps below. Do not exceed labelled amounts, and read the supplier’s information. This is not medical advice.
- Flammable. Mix in ventilation away from flame. Gloves when handling concentrated DEET.
- Blend 50 ml of 99% DEET with 50 ml of isopropanol 99% in a labelled 100 ml spray bottle — Autan Tropical strength.
- Apply thinly to exposed skin; do not spray on face — use hands. Reapply per label if sweating heavily.
- 250 ml of technical DEET makes about 500 ml of 50% spray — five Autan bottles.
- Store locked away from children. DEET melts some plastics and watch straps — test first.
Dilution recipe
0.1 L working batch
Working strength 50 ml DEET + 50 ml isopropanol (50% w/w spray). Educational estimate from the listed ratio — check the SDS before you mix.
Chemical
50 millilitres
DEET 99% technical
Water
0.05 litres
Carrier / diluent
50% concentrate · 50% water by working volume (solids are dissolved into the water share).
Required PPE
Loading calculator…
Side-by-Side Price & Potency Comparison
Head-to-head comparison
| Measure | Retail brandedAutan | Raw active dupeDupeStack |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Tropical Insect RepellentAmazon UK search — listing, not a confirmed seller | DEET 99% technical |
| Pack / unit | 100 millilitres · £7.99 | 250 millilitres · £18.00 |
| Active | DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) at 50%Carrier: Isopropanol and cosmetic base | 99% bulkC12H17NO |
| CAS number | Not disclosed on pack | 134-62-3 |
| Working strength | Ready-to-use pack | Dilute 50 ml DEET + 50 ml isopropanol (50% w/w spray) |
| Cost per litre | £79.90 / L typical pack | £36.00 / L mixed from bulk |
| Headline saving | Baseline | 55% cheaper |
| COSHH / PPE | Follow the branded SDS | Gloves. Chemical-resistant gloves (nitrile or neoprene)Ventilation. Use outdoors or with mechanical extraction |
Active ingredient and cheaper alternative — FAQ
Is DEET safe on skin?
DEET (CAS 134-62-3) is the reference repellent on NHS travel advice when used as labelled. Do not spray on damaged skin or near eyes. Wash hands before eating. This teardown is chemistry advocacy, not medical advice.
Is Autan the same as citronella candles?
No. Citronella is a weak volatile oil. DEET is a synthetic repellent at pharmacological dose. Different molecules, different evidence base.
How do you mix the Tropical Insect Repellent dupe stack?
Flammable. Mix in ventilation away from flame. Gloves when handling concentrated DEET. Blend 50 ml of 99% DEET with 50 ml of isopropanol 99% in a labelled 100 ml spray bottle — Autan Tropical strength. Apply thinly to exposed skin; do not spray on face — use hands. Reapply per label if sweating heavily. 250 ml of technical DEET makes about 500 ml of 50% spray — five Autan bottles. Store locked away from children. DEET melts some plastics and watch straps — test first.
DupeStack provides chemical concentration data and educational mixing guides only. Wellness pages compare food supplements, not medicines or prescribed treatments. Always review the supplier Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and comply with UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and COSHH regulations when handling concentrated substances. Mixing and storage are at your own risk. Some links are affiliate advertisements (Amazon Associates, eBay Partner Network, and Awin when those programmes are live). Commissions do not change listed concentrations or calculator output.
Related guides
Lawn guide
Garden pests and disease: fungicides vs insecticides — not weedkillers
Blackspot, mildew, greenfly and ant runs use different molecules. Match copper, sulphur, triazoles, pyrethroids, acetamiprid and oil sprays to the job — then buy the bulk active, not another rose bottle.
Wellness guide
The wellness gummy tax — and why ‘detox’ drinks are usually dye and carbon
How TikTok gummies and charcoal/chlorophyll drinks mark up bulk actives, and which DupeStack teardowns show the food-supplement maths.
Wellness guide
Magnesium glycinate vs Beam Dream — capsules, citrate and the cocoa tax
Beam sells flavoured sleep powder; Nutrition Geeks sells glycinate capsules. Which magnesium salt, which delivery, and what the bulk stack actually is.
More teardowns
Wellness & supplements
Berocca Original
Berocca
- Retail pack
- £10.0045 tablets (22.5 g vitamin C)
- Raw active
- Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), food grade50-81-7
An effervescent sugar-and-flavour delivery system around ascorbic acid and B vitamins. Food-grade vitamin C powder is the same molecule. This is a supplement deconstruction, not medical advice.
Wellness & supplements
BetterYou Magnesium Oil Spray
BetterYou
- Retail pack
- £12.95100 millilitres
- Raw active
- Magnesium chloride hexahydrate flakes7791-18-6
‘Magnesium oil’ is a saturated solution of magnesium chloride, not a lipid. Flakes from the same Dead Sea / Zechstein geology dissolve in water for pennies. Not a medicine; evidence for transdermal magnesium is mixed.
Wellness & supplements
Electrolyte Drink Mix
LMNT
- Retail pack
- £42.0030 sachets (180 g total)
- Raw active
- DIY high-potency electrolyte raw stack7647-14-5 / 7447-40-7
Costs over £1.40 per sachet for about £0.06 worth of common mineral salts. Food supplement comparison, not medical advice.
£28.00Save 55% / L
Indicative DIY stack