How to Make Homemade Hand Sanitizer

I hope you are all doing well, despite all of the challenges of the Coronavirus crisis. Despite how well-stocked Steven and I are currently quarantined in our San Francisco apartment, we of course were worried when we saw the lack of hand sanitizer available for purchase at the moment. So I decided to learn how to make my own backstock for all the times we have to leave the house to go for walks and pick up groceries or other necessities. I hope this video will be helpful for you in figuring out how to use what you find in around your home or what's available in your stores to make a useful on-the-go disinfectant!

Try it For Yourself

The most important thing you must remember when making your own hand sanitizer is that your mixture must contain at least 60% alcohol in order to kill the bacteria on your hands. If you cut corners in measuring out the percentage of alcohol, you aren’t doing yourself any favors. And in case you were wondering, liquor doesn’t really have a strong enough alcohol content for what we need. Just because a substance can get you hammered on Mardi Gras doesn’t mean that it will properly kill off bacteria.

And when I say that 60% of your hand sanitizer mixture needs to be alcohol, I don’t mean 60% isopropyl alcohol - I’m talking about the alcohol within the isopropyl alcohol. Watch the video above or read below to see what I mean by that.

INGREDIENTS:

• Isopropyl alcohol

  The amount you’ll use of each ingredient percentage-wise will depend on the strength of your isopropyl alcohol. You’ll want the alcohol content of your isopropyl alcohol to be no less than 70%. Likely you’ll have a percentage close to one of the amounts below. Refer to that shortcut if so! If you have a different isopropyl alcohol percentage, or want to see how I did the math regarding this, see the timestamp at 4:01 in the video.

  100% isopropyl alcohol = It must make up at least 60% of your mixture

  90% isopropyl alcohol = It must make up at least 67% of your mixture

  70% isopropyl alcohol = It must make up at least 86% of your mixture

• Aloe vera gel (Liquid or gelatinous are both fine)

• Essential oil (Optional)

  The aloe vera gel and the essential oil will make up the rest of the percentage of your mixture. How much you use of each really depends on if you want the mixture more soothing for your hands, or want the product to smell nice. I personally only added a few drops of essential oil so that it wouldn’t affect the rest of the mixture too much.

SUPPLIES:

• A bowl for mixing

• A stirring utensil

• Measuring spoons (or cups for large portions)

• A funnel (for bottling)

• A vessel for storage (empty spray bottles or product tubes will work depending on the consistency of your aloe vera gel.)

Once you know what percentage of each ingredient to use, combine the three ingredients and bottle for later!

As I mention in the video, hand sanitizer is great for when you're at the grocery store, filling up gas, or on a walk with your dog. But otherwise, washing your hands is the best way to go! But don't take my word for it. Visit the CDC’s website to stay informed on best practices!

Please leave a comment if you have any questions and I will do my best to respond!

Stay safe and healthy. Until next time!