While hand sanitizer is very useful, especially when you’re making your weekly visit to the supermarket or if you’re working in an essential job, the best way to keep your hands clean is still to wash them with soap and water. This needs to be done for at least 20 seconds and should be done every time you come home or have touched something which could be carrying germs.
Additionally, if you’re planning to make your own hand sanitizer, remember your ingredients must be measured precisely for the product to work.
⅔ cup 99% isopropyl alcohol, ⅓ cup aloe vera gel, 8 to 10 drops essential oil (optional).
1 mixing bowl, 1 mixing utensil, a clean funnel, and a thoroughly washed and dried bottle with a resealable lid or pump to store sanitizer.
It literally couldn’t be easier to make your own homemade hand sanitiser! It’s as easy as making a baguette! Simply mix the ingredients together in the bowl and then use the funnel to pour them into your storage bottle. Add essential oils like tea tree oil to give the sanitiser a more pleasant smell. Screw the pump back onto the bottle and you're ready to go.
The alcohol content in hand sanitiser must not drop below 60% so for that reason, if you want to use aloe vera, the alcohol needs to be at least 80% as it will get diluted. It is much safer to just use soap and water than it is to use a hand sanitiser which has not been properly measured with the correct ingredients.
You can make all the hand sanitizer in the world and wash your hands as thoroughly as you like, but you may be putting others, more at risk than yourself in danger. So wherever possible please stay home.