The global coronavirus pandemic has changed the attitudes that many of us have about a lot of different subjects, and one of these topics is hand sanitizer. While previously, hand sanitizer was really only carried by people who worked with their hands or worried about the presence of germs, there’s no denying that hand sanitizer has become an essential item in the majority of people’s purses, bags, or cars.
While there are certainly a number of hand sanitizer products available on the market, the quality of these products varies. Plus, if you are buying hand sanitizer on the regular, it can really add up! For these two reasons, some may choose to make their own hand sanitizer products. In this article, we’ll share a few of our favorite hand sanitizer recipes on the internet.
How Does Hand Sanitizer Work?
Hand sanitizer is touted as the perfect alternative to handwashing that comes in handy when you are far away from a sink and still want to do your part to prevent germs. So how does hand sanitizer work? Most hand sanitizers use alcohol in high concentrations to destroy illness-causing germs. Some alcohols may also be alcohol-free and instead use something called benzalkonium chloride to kill germs. There are studies that show that this might work, but it’s still being researched.
Does Homemade Hand Sanitizer Work?
The key to a functional hand sanitizer is the right quantities of disinfecting properties. While this can be easily measured in a lab, it is harder to reach exactitude in your own home.
However, there are certain cases where you may have no choice but to use your own homemade hand sanitizer, and doing so is certainly better than nothing. You should, however, use any of the homemade sanitizers on this list at your own risk and do your research before you rely on DIY hand sanitizer as your sole type of disinfectant.
Alcohol-Free DIY Hand Sanitizer
Alcohol can be used as an important disinfectant, but not everyone wants to use alcohol in their sanitizer. In fact, one of the most common reasons for somebody to seek out homemade hand sanitizers is to avoid alcohol altogether. While many of the recipes that you’ll want online for DIY hand sanitizer do include some form of alcohol, there are several good alcohol-free recipes out there, such as this one.
Essential Oil Scented Hand Sanitizer
Essential oils have become really popular in recent years. Not only do many people like them because of their pleasant smells, but many people will incorporate them into their household cleaning routines as well as their everyday products. If you’d like to use essential oils in your own homemade hand sanitizers, there are many recipes online that can show you how to do just that. This is a good place to start.
World Health Organization (WHO) Recipe Hand Sanitizer
When the novel coronavirus reached pandemic status in early 2020, manufactured hand sanitizer products were flying off the shelves. This left many people scrambling to come up with their own at home, without much guidance. It was for this reason that the World Health Organization (WHO) set out its own guidelines for how to make hand sanitizer from household items. If you are looking to make a sanitizer that is guaranteed to be effective, then this recipe might be your best bet. You can grab it here.
Hand Sanitizing Spray
Most hand sanitizers come in a gel format in a small bottle, but that’s not the only way to sanitize. You can also use hand sanitizer in a spray bottle form, which many people prefer over gel because it doesn’t ever leave a sticky residue and is easier to administer when you’re on the go. Here’s an alcohol-based hand sanitizer recipe.
Olive Oil Hand Sanitizer
What if you are looking for a hand sanitizer recipe that can be made from ingredients around the house? While many DIY hand sanitizers use aloe vera, not all of us have a casual jar of aloe vera gel hanging around (this is especially true for those of us who live in the north and don’t necessarily spend a lot of time getting sunburns). This hand sanitizer recipe uses olive oil as a base.
Witch Hazel Hand Sanitizer
Witch hazel has been a very popular ingredient in homeopathic circles for many years, but it’s starting to gain mainstream success. Witch hazel is derived from plants and has been historically used as a topical anecdote. You can make witch hazel hand sanitizer by following the tutorial found here.
Aloe Vera Gel Hand Sanitizer
Aloe vera gel is often used in hand sanitizer recipes because of its thickening properties. It can also help provide moisture to the hands so that they don’t try out from hand sanitizer use. Aloe vera gel is also cheap and easy to find (you can get it at just about any drug store). If you’re looking for the perfect aloe vera hand sanitizer recipe, look no further than here.
Lavender and Lemon Hand Sanitizer
Lemon and lavender are two of the most delicious scents that can possibly be found in nature — it’s hard to disagree. So of course you’ll want to use them in your hand sanitizer recipe to make your hand smell truly divine. Before you go ahead and start adding lemon and lavender to your hand sanitizer all willy-nilly, you’ll want to find a recipe out there and follow it precisely. Here’s a good one.
DIY Sanitizing Wipes
Gels and sprays have their place and can be incredibly convenient in their own ways, but sometimes they also just aren’t going to cut it. Sometimes you just want something that is even more practical, especially if there are young children involved. You can’t get much more practical than sanitizing wipes, which can be easily applied to any hand for instant sanitizing. Get the recipe here.
Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer
If moisturizing is your number one concern, we’ve got something for you. If you work a job that has you sanitizing your hands on the regular, or if you live in a cold climate, you will probably notice that using hand sanitizer often will have the same side effects of washing your hands often — your hands will become flaky and dry. You can help reduce this effect by using a hand sanitizer that is extremely moisturizing. This is a good one.
Three Ingredient DIY Hand Sanitizer
Sometimes the truth is that simple is best. So why go to so much trouble to make a hand sanitizer that is made from a whole litany of ingredients? It would be much easier to just go to the store and buy one off the shelves instead. If you’re going to make your own, it’s best to stick to a recipe that only uses a few ingredients, such as this one which only calls for three.
Tea Tree Oil Hand Sanitizer
Tea tree oil is another favorite ingredient to use in homemade hand sanitizers. Tea tree oil is a type of essential oil that can only be derived from the tea tree that grows in Australia. It has historically been used as a disinfectant for minor abrasions. This recipe uses it as a base for hand sanitizer.
Lemon Homemade Hand Sanitizer
Here is another wonderful lemon-scented homemade hand sanitizer! There is just something about the smell of lemon that is synonymous with the feeling of being clean. Maybe that’s why it’s used in so many different cleaning products. Now you can use it on your hands, too.
Rosewater Hand Sanitizer
Rosewater has a beautiful, refreshing scent. You can use rosewater to make a lovely lightly scented hand sanitizer by following the video tutorial found here.
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a scent so relaxing that it is usually associated with spas. But who says that you can’t use it on your hands as well? You can make delicious eucalyptus-scented hand sanitizer by following this easy recipe.
Engaging in consistent hand sanitizer is just one of the many ways you can keep yourself and your family healthy. There’s no denying that it’s a good habit, pandemic or not!