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You are here: Home / Naturally Frugal Living / How to Make Hand Sanitizer

How to Make Hand Sanitizer

October 25, 2013 by Alea Milham 18 Comments

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How to make homemade hand sanitizer with 3 ingredients.
How to make homemade hand sanitizer with rubbing alcohol, aloe vera gel, and tea tree oil.
How to Make Hand Sanitizer
how to make homemade hand sanitizer with rubbing alcohol and aloe vera gel
DIY recipe for hand sanitizer using rubbing alcohol and aloe vera gel
lady with face mask putting homemad hand sanitizer on her hands
lady putting homemade hand sanitizer on her hands

Use this tutorial on how to make hand sanitizer.

Make a gentler hand sanitizer by using aloe vera gel as the base for your homemade hand sanitizer. Use 99% isopropyl alcohol so your gel is 60% alcohol.

It is cold and flu season. We have already had two different viruses work their way through our family. We are sick of being sick and have turned into hand washing zealots.

Scrubbing your hands with soap for 20 seconds is always the most effective way to kill germs. But when I am away from home, I bring along homemade hand sanitizer to use when we aren’t near a sink. I was introduced to the DIY hand sanitizer by a friend. I complained about how drying the store-bought stuff was and she offered me a bottle of her homemade version. The recipe uses aloe vera gel as the base, instead of glycerin so it isn’t as rough on your skin.

I keep aloe vera gel on hand to use in case someone gets too much sun in the summer. Since we rarely get burned, I usually have a mostly full bottle sitting neglected in the medicine cabinet to use in this recipe. If you don’t have aloe vera gel, you can pick some up at your local drug store, along with 99% rubbing alcohol to use in the DIY Hand Sanitizer tutorial below.

Tips for Making Hand Sanitizer

To be safe, hand sanitizer should have a minimum of 60% alcohol in the final product, 70% if you work in a medical setting. Use 99% isopropyl alcohol which is also known as rubbing alcohol instead of using one with a lower alcohol content.

Using aloe vera gel can help reduce how dry your hands get but realize that if your hands get cracks in the skin you are at greater risk for infection. So be sure to use lotion on your hands to keep them from drying out.

Tea tree oil may have some antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties, but more research is still needed. It does have a pleasant scent that helps mask the smell of the alcohol. If you want to use another type of essential oil, please research to ensure it is safe to use on your skin.

Make a gentler hand sanitizer by using aloe vera gel as the base for your homemade hand sanitizer. Use 99% isopropyl alcohol so your gel is 60% alcohol.

If you are working in a medical setting, the CDC recommends the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers with greater than 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol, so for healthcare settings, you should either buy a CDC approved hand sanitizer or use the ingredient amounts listed for the 72% isopropyl alcohol hand sanitizer.

However, a study has shown that a lower percentage of alcohol has killed Coronavirus, so for those of us who just want an easy way to sanitize our hands between hand washings, and can’t find hand sanitizer as the store, the 66% alcohol hand sanitizer recipe should help. But remember, the study was done in a lab setting, so take precautions, don’t touch your face, and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds as soon as you can.

Homemade Hand Sanitizer Recipe

There are 2 different sets of ingredients for you to use. Choose what percentage of isopropyl alcohol you want in your hand sanitizer and use that list of ingredients. The directions are the same for both.

Ingredients for 72% isopropyl alcohol hand sanitizer:

  • 1/2 cup 99% rubbing alcohol
  • 3 tablespoons aloe vera gel
  • 3 drops tea tree oil (optional)

Ingredients for 66% isopropyl alcohol hand sanitizer:

  • 2/3 cup 99% rubbing alcohol
  • 1/3 cup aloe vera gel
  • 4 drops tea tree oil (optional)

Items Needed:

4-6  two-0unce Squeeze bottles

Directions:

  1. Add the rubbing alcohol, aloe vera gel, and the tea tree oil to a small bowl.
  2. Mix well.
  3. Use a funnel to divide the hand sanitizer between the bottles.

I like to leave a little room in the bottle instead of filling it to the top. That way I can shake it up before using the hand sanitizer.

Here are 10 ways to teach kids about germs. If your kids do get a cold, use these tips for staying healthy when caring for sick kids. And here are some tips for naturally dealing with a sore throat.

Make a gentler hand sanitizer by using aloe vera gel as the base for your homemade hand sanitizer. Use 99% isopropyl alcohol so your gel is 60% alcohol.

More DIY Tips:

12 DIY Face Mask Tutorials (includes free face mask sewing patterns and no-sew mask tutorials)

8 Ways to Keep Your Mask from Fogging Up When Wearing a Face Mask

Printable Recipe for Hand Sanitizer

DIY Hand Sanitizer Recipe
Print

Homemade Hand Sanitizer Recipe

Easy DIY hand sanitizer recipe using 91% - 99% isopropyl alcohol and aloe vera gel.
Prep Time5 mins
Total Time5 mins
Author: Alea Milham

Equipment

  • 4-6  two-0unce Squeeze bottles

Materials

  • 2/3 cup 99% rubbing alcohol
  • 1/3 cup aloe vera gel
  • 4 drops tea tree oil optional

Instructions

  • Add the rubbing alcohol, aloe vera gel, and the tea tree oil to a small bowl.
  • Mix well.
  • Use a funnel to divide the hand sanitizer between the bottles.

Notes

I like to leave a little room in the bottle instead of filling it to the top. That way I can shake it up before using the hand sanitizer.

More Tips for Cold & Flu Season

10 Ways to Keep Your Family Healthy This Winter

How to Create a Sick Day Kit for Kids

20 Cold & Flu Prevention Tips

Tips for Avoiding the Common Cold

4 Tips to Help You Stay Healthy During Cold and Flu Season

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About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. Kate says

    July 17, 2020 at 12:14 pm

    Is there a replacement for aloe Vera gel?

    Reply
  2. Aimee says

    April 2, 2020 at 3:56 pm

    What is the alcohol percentage for this mixture? I’m not the best with numbers haha

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      April 2, 2020 at 5:26 pm

      It is 66% alcohol if you use 99% isopropyl alcohol.

      Reply
  3. Roxy says

    April 1, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    How do you figure how much the alcohol content there is?

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      April 2, 2020 at 5:28 pm

      It is 2/3 99% alcohol and 1/3 aloe vera gel, so the final product is 66% alcohol.

      Reply
  4. Caroline says

    March 31, 2020 at 11:21 am

    Why is my aloe turning white and not
    Mixing in??

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      March 31, 2020 at 1:05 pm

      I am not sure. I have not had that problem. Does your aloe vera gel have any additional ingredients?

      Reply
      • caroline says

        April 2, 2020 at 8:00 pm

        Not that I read. But I ordered a different brand. So we shall see

        Reply
  5. S says

    March 17, 2020 at 8:06 am

    It is quite liquidy, unlike the stuff you purchase. May be a dumb question- but is it supposed to be liquid or should I add more gel? Seem more like a spray bottle kind of sanitizer.

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      March 17, 2020 at 10:11 am

      First, make sure you used aloe vera gel and not aloe vera juice. Either way, you do not want to add more gel because it will lower the alcohol concentration and make it less effective.

      Reply
  6. Mary says

    March 14, 2020 at 10:52 am

    Where do you get aloe vera gel?

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      March 14, 2020 at 5:51 pm

      You can usually find it in drug stores, health food stores, and sometimes grocery stores. I recently found it at my local Sprout’s grocery store near the vitamin section. I have also bought it online.

      Reply
      • Cindi says

        April 22, 2020 at 1:00 pm

        Can I use real aloe Vera from a plant?! Cindi

        Reply
  7. Mariline says

    March 14, 2020 at 6:00 am

    I could only find 91% alcohol. Will it still work?

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      March 14, 2020 at 5:53 pm

      Yes, you will be just barely over the 60% mark. You should not go any lower than 91% alcohol.

      Reply
  8. DavetteB says

    March 12, 2020 at 7:07 pm

    Thank you for posting a sane recipe! (I’m totally serious and not being sarcastic 🙂
    So many recipes out there, especially lately, have been either ineffective or downright dangerous.
    I’ll be sharing this one!

    Reply
    • Shazyou says

      March 15, 2020 at 5:21 am

      Thank you for sharing this piece of information.

      Reply
  9. Melissa says

    October 25, 2013 at 7:12 am

    Thanks for sharing this. We generally use hand-sanitizing wipes, but I would rather use something like this.

    Reply

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Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

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