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There are chemist tips for making just about anything you want at home. This DIY hand sanitizer is one of those super easy things to make and never have to buy again!
Plus by making your own hand sanitizer, you can control exactly what goes into it including scent!
Update 3/3/2020 – This post was originally created around Christmas, and this makes a great DIY Christmas gift idea! With everyone panicking to buy hand sanitizer for the pandemic scare, I wanted to update this a little bit to help anyone who wants to make their own!
Here is how to do it!
EASY DIY Hand Sanitizer
Regular Ingredients For Everyday Use
**Remember this original recipe was a Christmas gift idea, please keep scrolling a few more paragraphs for a more powerful disinfecting option. Readers, please please do not use this recipe in place of hand sanitizing. You need to be using straight rubbing alcohol to meet CDC recommendations. That is the only ingredient that is disinfecting!! This post was created in 2017, I’m trying to keep up with things while recovering from surgery. You need to be using straight Rubbing alcohol to sanitize! The other ingredients were only added for skin.
- 1 tbsp aloe vera (I recommend this one)
- 1/4 tbsp witch hazel (I like this one, )
- 2 tbsp rubbing alcohol (91%, no less than 70%)
- 1 tsp wintergreen essential oil (no need for expensive, I like this one)
- 1/2 tsp peppermint essential oil (I like this one or this one)
- Small Squeeze Bottles (These are great!)
Directions:
- In a small bowl, add in the aloe vera, witch hazel, and rubbing alcohol. Stir until mixed together.
- Add in the oils, mix around a little (don’t worry about it being 100% combined at this point).
- Add all of this to a squeeze bottle. It will fill one of these to the very top.
- Remember that oils will settle, so ALWAYS give it a little shake before use 🙂
For Proper and Extra Hand Sanitation You Can Use This Option:
For all the people sending me comments about %, it’s simple, please use straight isopropyl alcohol. No other ingredients are needed for this.
The original recipe above was created for a scented option for the winter season. And it is a great option specifically for moisturizing and cleaning hands! It is gentle and smells nice…. HOWEVER, If you want something to disinfect and aren’t as concerned with softness to hands, here is how you can make it quickly:
- Fill a small squeeze bottle with 70% rubbing alcohol then add in a few drops of aloe vera gel to make the solution more gelatin similar to store-bought recipes.
The FDA and CDC recommend at least 60% rubbing alcohol for proper disinfecting qualities.
That is all you need for the sanitation aspect. The rubbing alcohol is the disinfection you need for your hands. The aloe vera is added to be more gentle to hands and make this mixture a little thicker. It does not have any bearing on disinfecting.
Why Hand Sanitizer Should Only Be Used As Last Option
Update March 2020: Due to the numerous comments we have received the last few weeks, this portion has been added. We urge readers to please, only use hand sanitizer if you can’t get to a sink with soap and water. Hand sanitizer isn’t 100% effective for killing germs for many reasons. It depends on so many factors, even what is on your hands. You can visit this link from the CDC on precautions on using hand sanitizer.
How to Use DIY Hand Sanitizers
Add a small dime sized amount to hands and rub! It will leave your hands soft and clean!
Remember, this should only be used if you don’t have an option to WASH your hands at the moment.
Washing your hands is the best and most important way to keep germs off your hands!
The Most Important Tip to Keep Your Hands Germ Free??
Washing your hands is the most important thing to do to keep your hands germ free. The CDC recommends lathering well all the way up to wrists, then scrubbing thoroughly for at least 20 seconds! Visit the link they have here for detailed instructions on hand washing.
Only use hand sanitizer for the time being until you can get to a sink to wash your hands! Any soap can work. But don’t use hand sanitizer in the place of hand washing!
Remember to check out this post about rubbing alcohol here. Also, rubbing alcohol vs vodka.
Other Tips For Hand Sanitizing:
Keep alcohol wipes in your car, purse, and anything you are traveling with. Wipe down phones, hands, bags, or anything someone else may touch. I actually carry these around and use them on gas pumps, credit card machines, and other things like this.
Chemist Tips on DIY Hand Sanitizer
If you are coming to this post to make a nice gift or just something for fun, then you can continue to read below for more tips. With updating this post on 3/3/2020, many people are just quickly wanting something to make 🙂
This aloe vera I recommend is natural and non-gmo. An important thing to keep in mind with natural aloe vera is it will NOT be super thick! As you can see in the picture above, it is easy to pour, but still thick enough to make a good mixture with.
Many store-bought varieties contain chemicals to thicken the gel and make it very gelatin like in texture. This is not want you want for making your own hand sanitizer, so make sure to get an organic non-gmo variety like this one I recommend.
If you already have some aloe vera gel on hand and it’s thick, you will need to add some more liquid to it. Increase the alcohol by a few teaspoons.
Enjoy!
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OMG! What a cool idea, I love knowing how to make everything like this!
It really is so cool to make! And smells wonderful too!
Handmade gifts are the best – and I love this idea. I think the scents you picked would be my favorite!
They really are the best! I LOVE the peppermint with wintergreen!
O what a neat gift to make and give away….thanks sweetie… MOM
It is really neat to make!! Thanks Mom 🙂
What a bloody great idea
Thanks!! 🙂
LOVE this idea! Perfect for cold and flu season! However, I’m getting more weary of hearing about how most hand sanitizers don’t protect against the dreaded norovirus, and that only bleach kills it. I would love to be able to carry something in my purse that would protect me against from that awful bug that was more natural and wouldn’t stain my clothes.
Many store-bought hand sanitizers don’t work as well especially for heavy duty viruses. I am not a fan of using bleach, but you can add some tea tree oil to this one and it will work just as good as bleach does for killing off all viruses and bacteria 🙂
Can I use the aloe vera plant, for the aloe vera
You’re welcome to try, but to create the hand sanitizer like texture you can squeeze, I prefer to buy it in the bottle. But you can definitely give it a try!
What a great idea! I was going to also ask about using the gel the aloe plant – I have so much growing inside AND outside my house!
Thanks Laurie 🙂 It is such an easy thing to make!
How lucky! If I want to grow Aloe Vera it dies. I poured a powdered milk mixture into a old pot of soil with a dead plant in it once and the most gorgeous Aloe Vera grew up in it. Once I made notice of it and started to care for it, it died!
*an old pot
not a
Would usng Tea Tree oil in the sanitizer be safe for kids to use as well?Can you suggest another germ busting oil? Thanks!
I look forward to each of your posts. So informing.
You can add a few drops of tea tree oil if you’d like. It is safe for kids to use too. I would only add a small amount since this recipe already has a great anti-bacterial factor 🙂 Thanks Mary!!
Alexis,
The amount of alcohol seems low to meet the CDC requirements for being 60%+. Can the amount of alcohol be adjusted without throwing other %’s out of whack?
Thanks
Bob
Hi Bob! We actually just updated this post with some information about heavy duty sanitation along with some recommendations from the FDA and CDC. This post was originally made as a fun DIY Christmas gift ideas years ago, so we just updated it with the current situation.
Do you know how long this will last, if I use fresh aloe instead of the store bought?
With fresh aloe, it lasts a few weeks
A few weeks ago I bought the brand of aloe vera you recommended, before it became unavailable everywhere, along with almost every other type of aloe vera! I mixed my first batch this morning, using 91% strength alcohol as 3/4 of the total 3 oz mix. . The aloe I added, less than an ounce, clumped in the bottom of the alcohol in the bowl and refused to blend with the alcohol. It became a fibrous clump almost like wet cotton and just wouldn’t mix.. I switched to 70% strength alcohol and mixed a new smaller trial amount, almost straight alcohol, and the same thing happened even when adding a few drops of aloe one drop at a time…. it still wouldn’t blend. What’s wrong with this??? I feel like I wasted my money buying the aloe for this purpose.
Hi Donna, I’m still recovering from surgery so I’m sorry for the delayed reply. I try to comment back within an hour. Anyways, with this solution, I’ve never had the aloe clump. With DIY solutions, you do need to shake well before each use. If it continues to clump, it might be climate related. I’m not sure where you live, but that can happen. Keep shaking and stirring well. If you think the aloe might be a bad batch, reach out to the manufacturer. I’ve never had a bad batch, but it might be the case. Some aloe is “chunkier” than others. This one in the photos is thin almost like water. Some are very thick
Hi Alexis….I just read your reply and appreciate your taking the time to answer. I live in the mountains of western North Carolina, if that possibly makes any difference. I do shake the mix vigorously in the bottle I poured it into, each time I use it, and the aloe still won’t blend….not even the few drops I put into the second batch I attempted to make, using only a few drops of the aloe. I can see the aloe floating around in the alcohol like some tiny jellyfish. Since I’ve never bought or used aloe vera gel before, I have no idea what it should look like in the bottle or when poured, but it does appear to look just like the pictures on your website, and as I said, it is the same brand. Since aloe vera is practically non existent in stores these days, I may try to contact the manufacturer as you suggested. I wonder if anyone else has had the same problem I have had with the blending? Hope you are recovering well from your surgery, BTW. Thanks again for your reply!
Gosh, I’ve never had any readers encounter this problem so I’m sorry to hear that. I did have a reader use an actual aloe plant she had, and it didn’t mix quite as well. I wish I could test it out for you to see. I just made another batch of mine. I poured the aloe in a little bowl, added in the alcohol with some witch hazel. I mixed it a little, then added it to my hand sanitizer jar. It wasn’t all the way mixed, so I shook it really hard. It incorporated well after that. If you’d like to email me, you can and we can try some different things alexis@chemistrycachet.com
Just now read your reply Alexis. Evidently I must be just about the only person alive who ever had this problem. I did, however, read a column on a national news site in which the author of the column said he ended up with a gooey glop of aloe in his home made sanitizer that would never dissolve or blend with the alcohol. That sounded identical to my experience. I finally gave up on my failed attempt and went to using straight alcohol as my hand sanitizer, which fortunately I already had since it is virtually impossible to find right now. I enjoy reading your posts, BTW, and appreciate all the info they contain. .
I have aloe Vera liquid and alcohol but want to know if I could use Glycerin as well to make it thick.
You can use glycerin. Just be sure to use small amounts so the alcohol stays more concentrated
Alexis, is there an issue with substituting glycerin in place of aloe Vera (very short supply right now).
Thanks
Bob M.
You can use glycerin 🙂
I’m looking to make a batch of the hand sanitizer.
I’m wondering if it would work to use the lemon infused alcohol (from your book) in place of the alcohol and essential oils your recipe calls for? Thereby ending up with a lemon scented hand sanitizer. Would there be any added benefit to using the lemon infused alcohol?
Yes you can used the lemon infused alcohol! It will work just the same as regular rubbing alcohol, but can help with the scent.
Thanks! 🙂