Making Homemade Hand Sanitizer is much easier than you might think. All you need is two simple ingredients that you might already have lying around your kitchen.
With news of the coronavirus, commercially-produced hand sanitizer is becoming hard to find at stores in several areas. This DIY Hand Sanitizer recipe meets the requirements outlined by the World Health Organization for another option if hand washing with soap and water is not available.
Make sure to also check out our Homemade Disinfecting Wipes.
Homemade Hand Sanitizer
You will need isopropyl alcohol to make your own hand sanitizer. This is so quick and easy to make. The key to making an effective hand sanitizer is to keep the ratio at a minimum of 60% alcohol. This can be done best with 91% alcohol.
You might have seen internet rumors about replacing the rubbing alcohol with vodka, DO NOT do this. It’s just not effective and not recommended. And honestly? The smell is terrible.
Many studies have found that sanitizers with an alcohol concentration between 60–95% are the most effective with killing germs than those with a lower alcohol concentration or non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers. 70% alcohol can be made into a spray sanitizer fairly easily.
This will be a bit more liquidy than the hand sanitizers you buy at a store because of the quantity of rubbing alcohol it takes to make this effective. When you use it, be sure to completely coat your hands and then let them air dry. (This is the CDC-approved method for effective hand disinfecting.)
How To Make Homemade Hand Sanitizer
Truly, this is very easy to make. I’ll bet you find yourself using this recipe more than your store bought sanitizer.
Here are the ingredients you will need
- 1/3 cup aloe vera gel (this is how we thicken the recipe to be a gel-like consistency)
- 2/3 cup 91% isopropyl alcohol (use at least 60 percent as suggested by the CDC to help kill germs)
- 10 drops essential oils (this is optional to add a scent to your sanitizer. I really like using a citrus oil like orange or lemon for the scent.)
- A container
Mix the two ingredients together in a bowl and stir well. Transfer the sanitizer to a container like an empty plastic squeeze bottle.
Essential Oils
You can use 10 drops of essential oil of your choice to add a fragrance. There are germ-killing oils as well that you can add to give your homemade hand sanitizer a bit of a boost. Some antimicrobial oils are: peppermint, tea tree, lavender, lemon and lemongrass.
How To Store Your Sanitizer
There are several options of containers you can choose from, the simplest being in an already emptied sanitizer bottle. You can also use a mason jar or the reusable travel bottles you see at Walmart and Target (in the mini shampoo travel section). Whatever you use, just make sure it’s sealed shut.
Of course, washing your hands with soap and water is always the best choice to completely rid your hands of germs. However, since that is not always possible, keeping hand sanitizer on hand can give you an advantage killing germs when you’re on the go. Better safe than sorry, for sure!
Other DIY Solutions
Homemade Hand Sanitizer
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup aloe vera gel
- ⅔ cup 91% isopropyl alcohol
- 10 drops essential oils optional
- A sealable container
Instructions
- Mix the two ingredients together in a bowl and stir well.
- Transfer the sanitizer to a container like an empty plastic squeeze bottle or mason jar.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Notes
Leave a Review!
We LOVE hearing from you! Submit your question or comment here.
Your email address will not be published.
20 comments on “Homemade Hand Sanitizer”
Thank you! I can’t wait to try your hand sanitizer recipe!
what is an essential oil.
I found aloe Vera gel at Trader Joe’s.
I’m allergic to aloe. Is there an ingredient I could use to replace the aloe? Thanks
Thanks for the hand sanitizer recipe.
Thank you so much I was looking for a good recipe. Problem is we can’t even find alcohol all places out of stock and having a 3 week old baby and almost half of a 15oz bottle I really need to at least make some. I was able to order aloe vera gel which I’m still waiting to arrive and husband found a small bottle of rubbing alcohol but I think is 100% will that work for this recipe and should I use the same amount? I have some lavender essential oil, could I add a few drops as well?
Just add some water (distilled if you can) to weaken the alcohol percentage
Im going to try this sanitizer because there is a shortage here where I live.
I have read tea tree and lemon essential oils are germ killing. Is that right? I have also read about the Powers of neem, and I bought some leaves, but Dont know how to use it…
Can we use raw Aloe Vera gel to make homemade sanitizer?
I’m gonna try this because we been going to the store and there out of sanitizer
Can you send me that ingredient for hand stationer
This is so much help, where do you buy the aloe vera gel?
Where do you get vera gel
I found it atTrader Joe’s.
Any health food store has it in large bottles some better grocery stores.
What do you store it in etc?
We put ours in squeeze bottles
Thanks for the hand sanitizer recipe! !
Thanks