Healthy Hand Sanitizer

Finding a healthy hand sanitizer has become a real challenge for me. I’ve been forced to use the generic “hand sanitizers” made by major companies at work. Every time I goop on that clear jelly, I get an eczema break-out a day later… It’s harsh, toxic, and filled with perfumes.

I get the need for hand sanitizers, especially during flu season, but on the flip-side I’m also a health-nut and won’t just goop anything on my skin. Coming-up with my own healthy hand sanitizer recipe only made sense, so I put my aromatherapy skills to work.

I’ll share my entire recipe below, it’s quick/simple and you don’t have to be a chemist! You’ll be able to spay this stuff on guilt-free, all day and night. It’s aloe vera based with some witch hazel love. Three essential oils that won’t break your bank (tea tree, thyme, and peppermint) and you have yourself a DIY healthy hand sanitizer. Hand Sanitizer is something that is accessible to pretty much everyone, so it makes sense for anyone to just buy it from the store or online. But for anyone who is into making their own products like I am, by following the recipe below, you can have your own DIY hand sanitizer in no time!

I know pictures make life easier, so I’ll lay-out ever step for your eyes too.

RECIPE:

• 1 ½ cup witch hazel
• ¾ cup aloe vera gel
• 1 tsp vegetable glycerin
• 1 ml vitamin-e oil
• 25 drops peppermint essential oil
• 10 drops tea tree essential oil
  
• 5 drops thyme essential oil
  

Supplies:

• Glass bowl for mixing (anything but alumin bowls, they react negatively with essential oils…)
• Mixing spoon
• Amber glass spray bottles (I buy mine from NewDirectionsAromatics)
• (optional) A large liquid syringe for transferring liquid to bottles – makes life easier…

DIRECTIONS:

Step 1: Get supplies, ingredients, and bottles ready.

Step 2: Pour aloe vera gel into bowl (sometimes can be a little lumpy- stir it and break down as many lumps as you can – some aloe vera gel can be really gooey and lumpy…)

Step 3: Pour witch hazel into bowl and mix into aloe vera gel for a few minute… The goal is to break down every last aloe vera gel lump. You can’t have lumps in your final product; it must be pure liquid or it won’t spray out of the spray bottle.

Step 4: Add vitamin-e oil and vegetable glycerin, mix well.

Step 5: Drop-in the essential oils (peppermint, thyme, tea-tree) and mix well again.

Step 6: Transfer your final healthy hand sanitizer to bottles (whatever method works best for you… funnel, straight pour etc…)

Since my bottles have these tiny little holes, pouring is a no go. My solution was to order a liquid tranferring syringe on Ebay.com for a few bucks. Very worth it, makes the job way easier!

(Products expires after 6 months – store in cool area, in amber glass bottles)