Homemade Hand Sanitizer
Stop the spread of germs and keep your hands clean during COVID-19 with our homemade hand sanitizer!
We all know how important it is to keep our hands clean to stop the spread of any germs or illness, especially during the current COVID-19 public health crisis. While washing your hands with warm water and lathered soap for 20+ seconds is the best option at home for keeping your hands clean and free of germs, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be very effective.
No Purell? No problem!
Of course, a lot of stores are already sold out of hand sanitizer. Cue TBK to the rescue! We have a super simple Homemade Hand Sanitizer recipe to help get your hands germ free with only 3 ingredients that you (maybe) already have at home.
This Hand Sanitizer is so easy to make!
The main ingredient in our Hand Sanitizer is rubbing alcohol (also known as Isopropyl Alcohol) with at least 90% alcohol as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to disinfect. Your sanitizer mix must be at least 60% alcohol overall to be effective. The second ingredient is aloe vera gel which is known to help inhibit fungi, bacteria and viruses and soothes dry skin to keeps your hands from drying out too much. The third (and optional) ingredient is essential oil for fragrance. Pick an essential oil scent that you like or use a few drops of fresh lemon or orange juice for a nice citrus scent!
You can easily store your homemade sanitizer in travel containers, just be sure they are clearly labeled as “Hand Sanitizer”. If you have young budding chefs at home, have fun with it and let your kiddos design the labels so they are excited to use what they’ve made!
Store it around your home, in your car & more.
Place hand sanitizers around your home, in your car and other strategic places where you may not have quick access to soap and water. Remember that hand sanitizer should be used on hands that are not already dirty or greasy – so if your hands are visibly dirty it’s still best to wash them with soap and water, then use sanitizer after. The same goes for chemicals, so if you have just been cleaning and sanitizing elsewhere in your house, use soap and water first as the hand sanitizer won’t have an effect on getting the dangerous chemicals off your hands.
TBK Tip: The World Health Organization recommends letting your homemade Hand Sanitizer sit for a minimum of 72 hours once made so that the sanitizer has time to kill any bacteria introduced during the mixing process.
Sending healthy thoughts from our Kitchen to Yours!
xoxo, Taste Buds Kitchen
Homemade Hand Sanitizer Recipe
Makes: 1 cup
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup rubbing alcohol, 90% or higher
- 1/3 cup aloe vera gel
- 8-10 drops essential oil (optional)
Instructions
- Choose a bottle to store your hand sanitizer in. You can use a bottle with a pump, a flip top or a spray nozzle. Make sure to label it!
- Pour the rubbing alcohol into a bowl, preferably with a pour spout. Add the aloe vera gel and essential oil.
- Stir with a whisk, starting slowly at first and then mixing faster to fully incorporate the ingredients into a gel. The sanitizer will be thinner than the store-bought varieties that you are used to.
- Pour the mixture into your bottle. If you aren’t using a bowl with a pour spout, use a funnel to easily pour your hand sanitizer into your bottle. Enjoy your clean hands!