Since the latest on coronavirus (aka covid-19) has caused a panic in most stores and online, it’s almost impossible to get your hands on a bottle of hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol. The CDC said to only use hand sanitizer with alcohol which means thee kinds of hand sanitizers are flying off the shelves.
But – if you know what you are using in the hand sanitizer and how these ingredients work, we can feel confident that our DIY hand sanitizer will do the job against germs and the coronavirus.
My daughter Aliyah and I set out to make our own hand sanitizer. My husband had ordered bottles of 99.5% alcohol, I have aloe vera plant growing in my cocktail garden, I also have been buying essential oils from around the world for years. Now, it’s time to put all these ingredients to work with our Homemade Hand Sanitizer.
Aliyah and I had so much fun making our Homemade Hand Sanitizer and it came out lovely. So we’ve decided that since we’re all home indefinitely, she and I will be doing more DIY home projects.
Having aloe vera plant on hand tends to be a good thing when you want to make your own Homemade Hand Sanitizer. Fortunately, my large aloe have made almost 10 pups in the last year. (If you do not currently have an Aloe Vera plant though, you can buy it in bottles at most stores in gel or juice form.) Aloe Vera has many benefits which you can read about here. One of the benefits of aloe is that it’s antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral, plus many more. These properties make it a great ingredient to use in homemade hand sanitizer.
I am not kidding when I say this recipe is super simple! Combining the ingredients in a measuring cup is very helpful because of the pouring spout. Begin by pouring 3/4 cup 70% and above Alcohol add 1/4 cup Aloe vera pulp, juice or gel to mixture. Then add 20 to 30 drops of essential oils. Stir the ingredients together with a spoon for about 30 seconds. Once the liquids are beginning to combine, it is time to whisk the ingredients together. I used an electric mixer to whisk it all together but a small drink whisker or a larger whisker would work as well. Watching the mixture, you will be able to tell when it begins to thicken up. Once it is thick, that is when the Hand Sanitizer is complete.
Pour the Hand Sanitizer into any small bottles you have laying around the house.
My favorite container is an old store-bought sanitizer bottle that had a pump but I also used my small travel bottles which are the perfect size. Place the small funnel in the opening of the container and slowly pour the Hand Sanitizer in. Recipe and video on how-to are noth attached to this blog.
I hope that this gives you some ideas on staying prepared during this unbelievable epidemic/pandemic. I’m sending you all my wishes for everyone’s health and safety.
Remember to wash your hands well, use hand sanitizer when you can’t wash, and stay home when you are experiencing illness to help prevent spread to other people.
I’m praying for all of us!🙏🏽
