Making my own hand sanitizer has been on my list of to-dos for a looong time! I am so happy to say that I’ve finally made some! Yay! I’m going to show you how very simple it is to make homemade moisturizing hand sanitizer. With the approaching winter months and cold/flu season, killing germs is on most of our minds. I am one of those that cleans the shopping cart handle and carries a (natural) hand sanitizer in my purse. But it’s important to use natural hand sanitizer and I’ll explain why.
Why Traditional Hand Sanitizers Are Not OK
I recently looked up the ingredients of the Purell brand hand sanitizer because it is a popular one. While the chemicals in this hand sanitizers are not listed in the high zone for causing cancer, the ingredients are still not natural or, in my opinion, completely safe. In this post, I’m going to focus on just 2 aspects of traditional hand sanitizer ingredients that concern me the most.
Alcohol
Have you heard about the kids getting drunk from ingesting a few squirts of hand sanitizer? This is due to the alcohol content. The high alcohol content makes store-bought hand sanitizers not safe to me. Even if a child doesn’t eat the sanitizer, the alcohol is getting into the bloodstream via the skin. Hand sanitizers contain about 63-70% of pure alcohol. Yikes! That is not something I want to continuously put on my children’s skin.
Bad for the Immune System
Hand sanitizer strips the hands of both good and bad bacteria. This is not a good thing since the body uses germs to build strength and help the immune system fight illness. So in other words, the hand sanitizer that is supposed to help you NOT get sick can actually contribute to you GETTING sick. This is one reason that it’s so good to let your children play in the dirt, run around outside barefoot, and play with animals. Kids that stay indoors too much are often sickly looking and acting. I am all about keeping the hands washed and cleaning dirty handles that may have germs, but let’s do it in a safe way!
How To Make Essential Oil Hand Sanitizer That is Actually Safe for Your Kids
Making hand sanitizer is very simple. All it requires is some essential oils mixed with witch hazel, and you have yourself a safe sanitizer just in time for the winter months!
Homemade Essential Oil Hand Sanitizer
1 cup 100% pure aloe vera gel or 1/2 cup witch hazel and 1/2 cup aloe vera
1 capsule vitamin e oil
3 drops rosemary oil
4 drops eucalyptus or tea tree oil
5 drops cinnamon oil
10 drops lemon essential oil
10 drops clove oil
I buy essential oils here.
Directions
- Puncture vitamin e capsule and squeeze into a jar.
- Combine all the other ingredients in the jar and shake well.
- Transfer to spray or squeeze bottle.
- Shake well before each use.
And there you have it! Simple and safe hand sanitizer that will kill the germs but keep your immune system intact too!
Have you ever made hand sanitizer? Are you concerned about the safety of traditional sanitizer?
Resources
- Hubbard | , B. S. (2014). 6 Reasons to Avoid Hand Sanitizers. Retrieved September 23, 2016, from http://www.newsmax.com/Health/Headline/illness-washing-hands-sanitizers/2014/12/23/id/614647/
-
Are We Overusing Instant Hand Sanitizers? (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2016, from http://www.doctoroz.com/blog/susan-evans-md/are-we-overusing-instant-hand-sanitizers
Hi there,
Where can these be bought inexpensively from the United Kingdom (Great Britain)?
Instead of cinnamon oil – what about 4 drops of eucalyptus and 4 drops of tea tree oil?
Thanks
Hi, Alicia! I have a link above to the oils I use. And yes you can leave out the cinnamon oil if you can’t get it where you live! Just add extra drops of the others. Thanks for the question!
Jill recently posted…How to Make Milk Kefir in 5 Easy Steps
Thankyou! Great recipe. May i reference this on my website?
Sure, Karissa! Thanks for linking to my site!
Can I eliminate the aloe and just use 1 cup of witch hazel? I’m allergic.
Thanks
I think that would be fine, Wendy!
Jill recently posted…Homemade Christmas Simmering Pot Recipe
can we switch out the oils to our liking or do they play a part other than fragrance?
You can switch out the oils, but it’s best to choose those that are highest in antibacterial properties. Some other good oils are orange, lemon, thyme, oregano, etc.
Hello Jill! Thank you for teaching us many important things in life. I remember a mother asking how to clean her doughter’s hair from lice. I was sad that I did not know something to help her. Well, thank you for that and for the hand sanitizer. God bless you and keep you always healthy.
You’re welcome, Carmen! 🙂
Hi, Jill! So I am fairly new to using and understanding essential oils… something I still don’t understand is if it is ever okay to use plastic containers with it. I know essential oils can eat through styrofoam cups (did this when forgetting while making some tea. Should this concern me regarding ingesting those oils??)
And I’ve heard you shouldn’t use plastics? But plastic squeeze bottles for hand sanitizers would be so much easier…
Hi, Jami! Many aromatherapists don’t recommend ever ingesting EOs – even diluted, though a lot of people do! They are very powerful! I haven’t decided for sure on that. 🙂 I mixed this recipe in a glass bowl but did use a plastic spray bottle because it’s all I had access to. The oils did not eat through the plastic because it was mixed well. Glass is always best for EOs, but sometimes not an option!
The oils you mentioned above in your recipe, which of those are high in killing bacteria?
Tea tree oil would probably be the highest!
Thankyou! Great recipe.