If you’re reading this, you’ve probably been looking for hand sanitizer.
You’re well aware grocery stores in the United States are sold out.
Drugstores don’t have it.
You can’t even find this product online either, unless you’re willing to pay outrageous prices for a tiny bottle.
This point was driven home to me last weekend.
I went to a small out-of-the-way convenience store. I just knew they’d have hand sanitizer.
The store had three small bottles. Heavily marked up. To the point I considered it highway robbery and decided not to buy them.
That’s because I decided to make my own hand sanitizer, with just a few simple ingredients.
Did I mentioned that rubbing alcohol was nowhere to be found. Nowhere. The shelves had been cleaned out.
The good news, though, is that rubbing alcohol is still available online. It costs more than I’d like to pay for something that normally sells for just a couple of dollars, if that. But it is what it is.
Making your own alcohol-based hand-sanitizer is easy. You need just three ingredients, if you want to include essential oils.
Essential oils are optional. The alcohol is what’s supposed to kill the nasty bugs.
But I decided to include essential oils because various aromatics have been proven to kill pathogens.
Some time ago, I wrote another post on How To Make Your Own Alcohol Free Hand Sanitizer.
This is a good recipe for when we’re not dealing with a serious outbreak. (PLEASE DON”T RELY UPON THIS MILD RECIPE DURING AN OUTBREAK.)
When our health is at risk, we need something stronger.
The CDC recommends a 60 percent alcohol solution. So I needed to add some strong alcohol that in my DIY hand sanitizer recipe.
What To Do When There’s No Hand Sanitizer
(This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything I receive a referral fee, at no extra cost to you.)
As I mentioned earlier, isopropyl alcohol, which was sold out in my area.
But fortunately, it’s still available online.
The other ingredient is aloe vera gel, which gives it a consistently somewhat similar to chemical hand sanitizer that comes in a bottle.
Essential oils are optional. But I like to add them, both because they smell good and also because they have germ fighting potential.
I can’t claim that my homemade hand sanitizer recipe will keep you healthy or kill pathogens.
But since I can’t find commercial hand sanitizer (without paying ridiculous prices online) I’ll rely upon my DIY recipe.
(Also, medical experts stress that washing your hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds goes a long way toward keeping you healthy. I didn’t quite understand the science behind this until I heard a medical professional explain that soap kills lipid-coated pathogens.)
DIY Alcohol Based Hand Sanitizer Recipe
I do need to stress that I’m not promising you that this recipe will in any way protect you from dangerous bugs.
Since I don’t have a home bio-hazard lab, I have no practical way of testing.
But this is what I’m using to get through this time.
So here’s how to make homemade alcohol based hand sanitizer.
- 2/3 cup of rubbing alcohol (You can find it here)
- 1/3 cup of aloe vera gel (You can find it here)
- 10 drops of germ fighting essential oil (You can find it here)
I’ve tried a number of different kinds of germ fighting essential oil blends.
The brands I recommend include:
Instructions:
Mix the alcohol, aloe vera gel and essential oils in a glass bowl.
Transfer to a glass container and use as needed.
I don’t recommend putting this mixture in plastic, because the essential oils will eat away at it.
If you plan to use portable plastic bottles (you can find them here) skip the essential oils.
Reminder: Pregnant women should not use essential oils. Certain essential oils including those found in the popular germ fighting blends should not be used in children under 10. Instead, use a special formula made with children in mind.
Disclaimer
These statements have not been approved by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
