****Update March 13, 2020****

Hi there. Due to the Corona virus I am recommending you follow the CDC guidelines to make at-home hand sanitizer. Their guidelines are as follows:

1. DIY hand sanitizers should contain 70% rubbing alcohol. It is not recommended to use vodka, as vodka only contains 40% alcohol. You will also need aloe which can be found at drug stores. Aloe will make up 40% of the hand sanitizer. You can also add a few drops of essential oil. I add two drops of tea tree oil, two drops of lavender and two drops of peppermint.

2. Hand sanitizer is NOT a replacement for washing your hands! Simply applying hand sanitizer to soiled hands will not kill the virus. Make sure to wash and dry your hands before applying.

3. Dry your hands thoroughly before applying hand sanitizer. A study conducted last year found that wet mucus’s protect the flu virus. Since not much is known about the Covid-19’s behavior the CDC is taking all the same precautions as it does with the flu virus.

4. Be liberal with the amount that you are applying. Allow sufficient time for you to let the sanitizer dry on its own. That is the purpose and function of the alcohol, to sit on your hands and kill the germs!

5. DO NOT RELY ON ESSENTIAL  OILS! I know you found my blog post because of keywords like “all-natural” and “alcohol free.” This is not the time to be using that type of hand sanitizer. I’m a healthcare worker, so I fully understand that a full-strength hand sanitizer is necessary now!

I sincerely hope and pray that during this time you all stay safe and healthy. I am following the CDC’s guild lines on making hand sanitizer right now. I will switch back to my own recipe if and when things go back to normal. *******

It’s that time of year again when your little ones go back to school and bring home more than homework. This is the beginning of cold and flu season! During this time of year, we all need to take a little more care and keep those nasty germs off our hands. I have a wonderful recipe for a natural hand sanitizer that all my little nieces and nephews call candy cane spray.

After working in the Pediatric dental field for 17 years, my hands are now dehydrated and cracked and in need of some TLC. Some days I would wash my hands at least 120 times. NO JOKE!  Recently I have been researching alternatives to the chemical, clinical strength hand sanitizer. I made my own based on the antibacterial properties of some natural ingredients I had on hand.

Commercial hand sanitizer is laden with harmful chemicals and fragrances. There is an ingredient called Triclosan in most hand sanitizer that acts like an antibiotic, which in turn builds up our antibodies, making it harder to treat us with antibiotics when we need them. NOT GOOD! ***Triclosan is now banned from hand sanitizer. UPDATED MARCH 2020.***

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NATURAL DIY HAND SANITIZER

TOOLS:

1. 2 oz glass spray bottle
2. funnel (if you want)
3. Tablespoon and teaspoon measurement tools
4. Bowl for mixing (if you want)

INGREDIENTS:

1. Fractionated Coconut oil (antibacterial)— 2 teaspoons
2. 100% pure Aloe Vera gel (all-around amazing for skin)—2 teaspoons
3. Tea tree essential oil (antimicrobial)—15 drops
4. Witch hazel (astringent)—1 tablespoon
5. Peppermint essential oil (antibacterial, fungal and viral)—15 drops
6. Lavender essential oil (antibacterial and antiseptic)—5 drops
7. Filtered water. (steam distilled is best)

Mix all the ingredients in either a small bowl or add directly to the bottle using a small funnel. I used the funnel and found that you need to add the Aloe Vera first so the other ingredients will push it through the funnel. Once you have added all the ingredients fill the remainder of the bottle with water. Leave a small space at the top so you can shake all the ingredients together. If you prefer gel style hand sanitizer add two tablespoons of Aloe Vera and put in a pump or squeeze bottle. Shake well before every use!

Click here for the candy-cane-label. Just download,  print, cut out and tape onto the bottle using clear packing tape.

Please play it safe and use the chemical strength hand sanitizer (like Purell) if you are in a hospital setting where there are drug-resistant bacteria and viruses!!!!! This natural hand sanitizer is for the situations where you are at the store, playground, school, church, or on the bus and need a little hand cleaning. Before using it on your children, make sure that you test it first on your skin to ensure that it is not going to irritate your skin.

I have been using this mixture for six months now on my sensitive skin as well as a couple of my nieces and nephews (who love it) with excellent results. I do have very dry, cracked skin and eczema and have had no irritation or side effects.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Use at your own risk.

***I have not tested it with the use of gloves. Oil is not suitable for latex or nitrile gloves in general and may cause problems with the integrity of the gloves.***

Want some other essential oil recipes? Here are my fantastic poo-pourri and granite degreasing spray recipes!