Easy Homemade Hand Sanitizer

Here in western New York State – at least in my surrounding stores – there are no bottles of Purell, Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer of any kind and even hydrogen peroxide and isopropyl alcohol was in slim pickings. I know everyone is trying to be prepared and we are sold out!

(speaking of being prepared – you may want to check out my Free Printable Emergency Preparedness Supply List – What To Stock Up On For a 3-Day Supply post. I know 3 days is probably not enough during this pandemic situation, but it will still give you an idea of the kinds of supplies to have on hand just in case.)

If you by chance already have isopropyl alcohol at home – here is a quick DIY recipe you can use, as long as the aloe vera gel doesn’t disappear from shelves next (which thankfully I have a full bottle of at home!).

Quick Recipe for DIY Hand Sanitizer

1 cup of 91% isopropyl alcohol.  (Amazon may be sold out??)

1/2 cup of aloe vera gel 

15 drops of tea tree oil

Only have 70% isopropyl alcohol? That’s ok! A recipe with 70% alcohol should be nine parts alcohol to one part aloe vera (1/2 cup aloe vera and 4 1/2 cups of 70% isopropyl alcohol.) A recipe with 99% alcohol could be three parts alcohol to two parts aloe vera.

The aloe vera gel is strictly just for moisturizing purposes, so you could just get a small spray bottle with isopropyl alcohol in it and spray your hands with it!  Caution with this though, if your hands get too dry, then they could crack, making your exposure to germs worse.  So be sure to keep those hands moisturized if you are using alcohol.

**One thing to note – if you can’t get any of these ingredients – handwashing works just as well!  Just be diligent about it and be sure to clean under nails, between fingers and the backs of your hands as well!  

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If you want to have a recipe for hand sanitizing that does not have alcohol in it (although not recommended if you are making this to avoid COVID-19) – read below:

What You’ll Need to Make Homemade Natural Hand Sanitizer (using witch hazel):

*Witch Hazel – I did use a brand that had alcohol in it (which I didn’t totally mind for its extra germ-killing qualities), but you can spend a bit more and get Thayers witch hazel without it if you prefer.  **If you are using this sanitizer to protect you from COVID-19, I would recommend sticking with isopropyl alcohol in the recipe above.  That is guaranteed to damage the virus so that it is no longer contagious.  There has not been conclusive evidence that witch hazel is effective against COVID-19.  Read this and it says “I do not suggest this (witch hazel) as a reliable method as we do not know how it stacks up with coronavirus,”

Aloe Vera pure 100% gel – I got a 2 oz bottle in the travel section so that I could re-use it and put the handmade natural hand sanitizer in it for my purse or car.

15 drops of Tea Tree Oil

This easy homemade natural hand sanitizer recipe is a part of the guest post that I wrote over on Livingwellmom.com.  To read the full post – click here!

**Again, one thing to note – if you can’t get any of these ingredients – handwashing works just as well!  Just be diligent about it and be sure to clean under nails, between fingers and the backs of your hands as well!  

Want a fun project to do with the kids while they are off from school?  Make some homemade soap together!  Check out this easy DIY Homemade Lavender Soap over here!