I absolutely love winter time. I love the cold, I love the snow, I love the foods and the clothing but one thing I can not stand is being sick. I don’t mind taking care of my family when they are sick, but I hate being sick myself. There’s just too much to do as a mom to be feeling yucky for a few days. Luckily we’ve been pretty healthy this winter.
This homemade hand sanitizer is a great thing to have on hand during cold season. I’ve never been one to keep regular hand sanitizer on me at all times. I’ve always disliked the smell and it seemed to dry out my hands and I always just felt like old fashioned soap and water was enough. However there are times when it does come in handy when you can’t wash your hands.
This homemade version has the added benefit of almond oil to keep your hands from drying out and also essential oils which smell wonderful and provide antibacterial and antiviral properties naturally.
Just mix the ingredients in a glass measuring cup and pour them into a container of choice. I found these handy little squeeze containers at Wal-Mart hanging on the salad dressing aisle. You could also use a glass spray bottle and spray the sanitizer on your hands, whatever you desire.
Homemade Hand Sanitizer (that won’t dry your skin)
3 T. aloe vera gel (I use this brand)
1 T. witch hazel (I use this brand)
1/2 t. almond oil (I use this brand) You could also use olive oil.
30-40 drops of essential oils of your choice (cinnamon, lemon, clove, eucalyptus, rosemary, or a blend like Thieves from Young Living)
Containers like these, these, or these
yield: 1/4 cup (4 ounces)
Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a glass measuring cup. Pour into container of choice.
Oils to use: Tea tree, eucalyptus, thyme, lavender, rosemary, clove, cinnamon or Thieves blend.
Hey, Hannah! Have you ever tried using something other than almond oil for that third ingredient? I have two nuts allergy people and sometimes even the oil can be irritating; maybe olive oil? Too heavy? Oooh, maybe coconut oil to firm it up a bit…but then, you’d need to put it in a dish type container. So many possibilities!
Hmm, maybe apricot oil, avocado oil or argon oil? Or fractionated coconut oil? They are all quite runny oils and would work I bet, I just used almond because it was cheap and I had it on hand. I didn’t think about the allergy aspect though, good point! If you don’t have a problem with dry skin you could leave it out all together.
Love it, thanks for this – my kids and I are always picking up rubbish, so we go through a lot of hand sanitiser!
I’m really excited to try this, but I’m wondering if the essential oils are enough to actually kill bacteria/viruses? The witch hazel has alcohol but not enough to do the job obviously. What does it feel like on your hands?
They are, here is a website to check out concerning the germ killing properties of essential oils. http://www.experience-essential-oils.com/thieves-essential-oil.html. It feels pretty much like conventional hand sanitizer, cool, runny but not watery, the aloe vera gel thickens it a bit. Let me know how it goes!