Ready to Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer?

Before I share this germicidal do-it-yourself recipe, I would like to thank you for a moment! Thank you very much for the support you have shown during this interesting time. I know that the support is shown in different ways. Be it by sharing my business with one of your friends or through social media, or by simply sending a prayer upstairs – it means a lot. This season there are some unknowns as business owners, but even that will pass. Right now I am working normally and I couldn’t be more grateful!

This homemade hand disinfectant is a great alternative to the products you can buy in the store, as it is made from more natural ingredients and is antibacterial and antiviral. I feel just as comfortable using this recipe, if not more so, than I do with something I can buy in the store – and yes, I have used it on the road for the last few days. However, due to the alcohol content it dries quite a bit on the hands, so make sure you have some lotion ready if you need some moisturizing.

Let’s go through how to make this simple DIY hand sanitizer without further delay.

But first!

CORONAVIRUS DISCLAIMER: This hand disinfectant is no substitute for proper hand washing. Although this home remedy contains antiviral ingredients by nature, it has not been clinically tested to assess its effectiveness against viruses such as the novel coronavirus.

As always, you should contact your health care provider before using any home remedies on you or your family. ALWAYS test on a small area first to see if a reaction occurs.

Again, I recommend that you wash your hands often, especially if you have a virus in circulation. Using this disinfectant should never replace washing your hands.

What you need

2-ounce spray bottle. You can reuse a toner mist bottle if you have one. However, make sure you reuse it and label it so you don’t spray it on your face! You can double the batch to make 4 ounces if you wish.

Ingredients

25 drops of a carrier oil, i.e. 1/4 teaspoon (optional) It can be olive oil or avocado oil (NOT coconut oil as it solidifies).
3 tablespoons witch hazel or isopropyl alcohol (see notes below, the use of witch hazel is not antiviral)
7 drops of essential tea tree oil
7 drops of orange essential oil
7 drops of lemon essential oil
1 tablespoon of water (or less, depending on which bottle you end up using, so add perhaps 1/2 tablespoon and work your way from there)
*If you feel particularly fancy (sometimes I do), add 5 drops of lavender essential oil.

You can replace water with aloe vera gel. I only recommend this IF you have natural aloe. Unfortunately, most aloes that do not contain any color, fragrance or additives (thickeners) have recently been bought up by large companies to produce hand disinfectants. This is super annoying, because these big companies in turn raise the price of aloe in ridiculous amounts and sell it at a high profit.

Ingredient options

Essential oils

In this recipe you can use a variety of essential oils. I prefer to use lemon, orange and tea tree.

When I make this hand sanitizer, I use one of the two main ingredients listed below to dilute the essential oils:

Witch Hazel/Hamamelis

This has the least antimicrobial properties of the two. It is also the most gentle. Actually, I would not recommend this ingredient for a “disinfectant”, but it is better than just using water. This recipe makes a nice room spray when mixed with witch hazel.

Rubbing alcohol

This is probably the most commonly used alcohol for a hand disinfectant. It is also the most readily available – most people already have it somewhere in their home. There are different strengths of rubbing alcohol. I personally use a 70% isopropyl alcohol, but some people use alcohol with a content of up to 99%.

Instructions

combine in the spray bottle drops of carrier oil (if you choose), alcohol (or witch hazel) and essential oils. Open the spray head firmly and shake well for 15-20 seconds.
open the bottle and fill it to the top with distilled or filtered water If you only have tap water, this is also fine. Replace the spray head and shake again for 15-20 seconds.

Voilà! Look at you, do-it-yourself, germicidal, ninja!

For a label you can use a label printer or just print a name for your hand sanitizer on normal paper. If you choose the latter, use a transparent adhesive tape to stick the label on the bottle by placing it all over the label.

Spray 2-3 times in the palm of your hand and rub your hands together until they are dry. You can use this simple do-it-yourself product whenever you are out and about and have no access to a sink and water.

Note: If you have read about how unhealthy the use of hand disinfectants can be, remember that the danger lies in the chemicals used in commercial disinfectants. This homemade disinfectant formula uses NO such harmful chemicals and relies on essential oils and alcohol to kill germs.