How to Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer

How to Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer

Properly scrubbing your hands is one of the best ways to stop the spread of germs and viruses, and to ensure you don’t get sick yourself. But if you don't have access to soap and clean water, or if you're out and about and nowhere near a sink, you should carry hand sanitizer to protect your health and to prevent the spread of infectious diseases like Coronavirus, germs and bacterias.

To prevent the spread of infectious diseases like Coronavirus, nothing beats handwashing.

Due to the rapid spread of the new coronavirus, most shops and markets can’t keep up with the demand for hand sanitizer.

The good news is that it takes only three ingredients to make your own hand sanitizer at home to prevent coronavirus.

What ingredients do you need?

Making your own hand sanitizer is easy and only requires a few ingredients:

1. Isopropyl or rubbing alcohol (99 percent alcohol volume)
2. Essential oil (tea tree oil or lavender oil) or you can use lemon juice
3. Aloe vera gel

To make an effective, germ protective hand sanitizer is to stick to a 2:1 proportion of alcohol to aloe vera. This keeps the alcohol content around 60 percent. This is the minimum amount needed to kill most germs, according to the sources.

Hand sanitizer formula combines:

2 portions isopropyl or ethanol alcohol (90–99 percent alcohol). 1 portion aloe vera gel a few drops of essential oil or lemon juice.

If you’re making hand sanitizer at home, you must adhere to these tips:

1. Make the hand sanitizer in a clean space. Wipe down countertops with a diluted bleach solution before preparation.
2. Wash your hands thoroughly before making the hand sanitizer.
3. To mix you can use a clean spoon. Make sure you wash these items thoroughly with water before using them.
4. Make sure the alcohol used for the hand sanitizer is not diluted.
5. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly until they’re well blended.
6. Don’t touch the mixture with your hands until it is prepared.

For a larger quantity of hand sanitizer, the World Health Organization (WHO) Trusted Source has a formula for a hand sanitizer that uses:

Isopropyl alcohol or ethanol
Hydrogen peroxide
Glycerol
Sterile distilled or boiled cold water

Is it safe?

DIY hand sanitizer recipes are all over the internet these days but are they safe?

These recipes, including the ones above, are intended to use by professionals with both the expertise and resources to safely make homemade hand sanitizers.

Homemade hand sanitizer is only recommended in extreme situations when you’re unable to wash your hands with soap or any other hanwashing liquid.

Improper ingredients or proportions may not effectively eliminate risk of exposure to some or all microbes, skin irritation or burns exposure to hazardous chemicals via inhalation

Homemade hand sanitizer is also not recommended for children. Children may be at more risk to use improper hand sanitizer, which could lead to greater risk to their health.

How to use hand sanitizer:

You need to rub it into your skin until your hands are dry.
If your hands are dirty, you should wash them first with an antibacterial soap and water.

Spray or apply the sanitizer to the palm of one hand. Thoroughly rub your hands together. Make sure you cover the entire surface of your hands and all your fingers.

Continue rubbing for 30 to 60 seconds or until your hands are dry. It can take at least 60 seconds or a bit longer for hand sanitizer to kill most of the germs.

What germs can hand sanitizer kill?
According to the sources, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that meets the alcohol volume requirement can quickly kill or remove the number of bacterias from your hands.

It can also help destroy a wide range of disease-causing agents on your hands, including the new coronavirus.

However, even the best alcohol-based hand sanitizers have don’t eliminate all types of germs.

If your hands look dirty, go for handwashing instead of a hand sanitizer.

Handwashing vs. hand sanitizer:

Knowing when it’s best to wash your hands, and when hand sanitizers can be helpful, is key to protecting yourself from the new coronavirus as well as other illnesses, like the common cold and seasonal flu.

While both serve a purpose, washing your hands with soap and water should always be a priority, according to the sources. Only use hand sanitizer if soap and water isn’t available in a given situation.

Also read: Face shield VS Face mask: Which is more effective in keeping viruses away?

It’s also important to always wash your hands:

After going to the bathroom
After blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing, and before eating
After touching surfaces that could be contaminated

The most effective way to wash your hands. The following ways are recommended:

Always use clean, running water. Wet your hands first, then turn the water off, and lather your hands with soap. Rub your hands together with the soap for at least 20 seconds. Make sure to scrub the back of your hands, between your fingers and under your nails.

Turn the water on and rinse your hands. Use a clean towel or air dryer.

Hand sanitizer is a handy on-the-go way to help prevent the spread of germs when soap and water isn’t available. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can help keep you safe and reduce the spread of the new coronavirus.

If you’re having a hard time finding hand sanitizer at your local stores and handwashing isn’t available, you can take steps to make your own. You only need a few ingredients, such as rubbing alcohol, aloe vera gel, and an essential oil or lemon juice.

Although hand sanitizers can be an effective way of getting rid of germs, health authorities still recommend handwashing whenever possible to keep your hands free of disease-causing viruses and other germs.

Warning:
Hand sanitizer recipes, including the one below, are intended for use by professionals with the necessary expertise and resources for safe creation and proper utilization.

Homemade hand sanitizer is only recommended in extreme situations when you’re unable to wash your hands with soap or any other hanwashing liquid.

Improper ingredients or proportions may not effectively eliminate risk of exposure to some or all microbes, skin irritation or burns exposure to hazardous chemicals via inhalation

Some Coronavirus Tips:

Wash your hands regularly: Again, nothing beats washing your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water. Hand sanitizer even the real, professionally made stuff should always be used when you're traveling or unable to wash your hands.

Wear a face mask outside the house: WHO now recommends everyone wear face coverings when out in public where you may be near other people. Kids under 2 years old should not wear a mask, nor should anyone who has difficulty breathing or taking it off. 

Avoid touching your face: You could transmit the virus from your hands into your mouth.

Stay at home: Don't leave the house except for essential trips outside like trips to the grocery store or to see your doctor. This is also called sheltering in place.

Stay at least 6 feet away from other people: This is called social distancing. Keeping your distance makes it hard for the virus to jump from someone else to you (or vice versa) through respiratory droplets.

Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces: Do it daily, especially if items or people leave or enter your home.