Q. Can one use suntan and insect repellent liquid oils and lotions during Shabbos and Yom Tov, for skin protection when walking outside during the summer? Can you also spray the new aromatic insect repellent on clothing?
A. Poskim permit using suntan and insect repellent liquids, oils and lotions, when they are thin, of low viscosity, and of flowing consistency. They also should not be for medicinal use. (Piskei Teshuvos 327: 1).
Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is that it is permitted to spray repellent on clothing also, even if it has some aroma, since the main intention is not to impart fragrance, but to repel insects.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit’a