DIY Aloe Vera Hand Sanitizer To Bust Those Germs

If you’re keeping up with the news you would know, that, thanks to the alarm over coronavirus, sanitizers are now a rare commodity. Along with toilet paper, water and other simple basics that we took for granted, they have “poof”- disappeared off the shelves ( both online and in real life)! Well there’s always good old soap and water and a good scrub cleans better than any hand sanitizer, but let’s face it, there are times when you do need hand sanitizer. Like when you’re in train, and a sudden lurch makes you grab the rail on top and you feel something sticky (don’t ask me what) and of course there’s no water around. Or out on a hike among picturesque waterfalls and trees and you pick up rocks, twigs and then feel like cleaning your hands. Or when that person at the grocery store who looked like he had a cold was handling the grocery cart with all the finesse of stroking a pet (!!!) and that’s the only cart left. A good squirt of something purifying to sanitize the cart handle would sure come in handy.  I was at the friendly dentist the other day and my dentist was telling us how hand sanitizers are being stolen at doctor’s offices by patients. While I giggled at the thought, I looked at my dangerously low “hand sanitizer pouch” hanging on my bag and wondered if maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea. Thanks to my generously doling out swigs of hand sanitizer to friends and family I was down to my last stash and I still have errands to run and I sure would like to go jogging in the park. I casually mentioned to the dentist as he was talking about rationing toilet paper and hand sanitizer at work, that maybe we should think about making hand sanitizer using CDC guidelines of course. He looked at me and said, “Sue if you make me a bottle, I will give you a free tooth whitening treatment”! We laughed and of course I don’t want the free treatment but that got me thinking that maybe I should make some and post it so others may follow suit. I know many folks have already made it but I did want to make my own and blog the experience.

CDC recommends at least 60% alcohol to fight COVID-19 or any other virus. It must be mixed in a gel base and Aloe Vera is a perfect base. Use aloe gel and not juice as the juice can be runny. Just using rubbing alcohol will dry out your skin which can make you more vulnerable to germs. Always dry your hand before applying hand sanitizer because wet hands will render the sanitizer less effective. Now you must use Isopropyl Alcohol (91% or 99% preferred) or Ethanol (more than 180 proof or 90- 99%) to meet CDC standards.  Oh, and don’t go thinking you can use regular vodka or whiskey which contain 40% alcohol and about 40 -60 % respectively, not strong enough and just won’t cut it i.e., won’t meet CDC recommendations. Using essential oils is optional but recommended if you want a nice scent. Tea tree oil has disinfectant properties and makes a nice addition to this recipe. You can also add lavender, eucalyptus, citrus etc., whatever you fancy.  If you’re sensitive to smells skip the essential oil. Depending on where you’re getting your aloe vera from can make this project reasonably cheap or pricey. Some dollar stores sell aloe vera gel. CVS sells an 8 ounce for under $ 5 and this large tub on Amazon ( still available) is quite reasonable.  My take is that you don’t really need a pricey gel for a hand sanitizer so go with what’s available without breaking the bank.

Now thanks to having two grown girls who love to dabble in cosmetics, I just happened to have aloe vera gel at home and Isopropyl alcohol was in my medicine cabinet too. I decided to make a small amount, test drive it and see if we liked it. So, in a mixing bowl, I added 3 parts alcohol (¾ cup) to 1 part Aloe Vera Gel (¼ cup). Since the alcohol I had was only a 70% this makes it a little more than 60% concentration which is just about right. Next time I will be using 99% alcohol. I added few drops of tea tree oil and gave it all a good mix. It smelled good, felt good and was way gentler on the hands than regular hand sanitizer. My hands felt hydrated. My girls tried it out and they liked it too. It was a little more watery than store bought hand sanitizer but still had a viscous consistency. I made a little bottle for my dentist and filled up my little pouch. I will be making a bigger batch next time. So anyway, it was a fun experiment and I just want to reiterate that hand sanitizers must not take the place of hand washing. Be sure to wash your hands. A lot. There’s no better precaution. But if you do need hand sanitizer and run out, never fear, make some and be on your way.  Load up on zinc and vitamin C. Be safe everybody and thanks for stopping by! Love <3

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