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DIY Homemade Hand Sanitizer Recipe

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eight bottles of hand sanitizer with an assortment of colored spray tops.

Certain microbes in dirt make us healthier, smarter, and even happier, and kids actually need exposure to germs in order to train the immune system. (1) That’s why I love this quote . . .

First child eats dirt – parent calls the doctor. Second child eats dirt. Parent cleans out mouth. Third child eats dirt. Parent wonders if she really needs to feed him lunch.” – Unknown

But y’all, even I have my limits, and my kids have FOUND. THEM. ALL.

When hand washing is not an option – whether that’s because we’re camping or in an airplane with a bathroom waiting area that looks like a conga line – I use this homemade hand sanitizer.

It’s inspired by a recipe found in Treatment Alternatives For Children, which was written by holistic pediatrician Lawrence Rosen, MD. However, I substituted the suggested essential oils with ones from this child-safe list based on recommendations from Essential Oil Safety,  which was published after Dr. Rosen’s book was released. The oils I chose have similar therapeutic actions, but are ones I feel more comfortable using with children.

CDC Guidelines for Homemade Hand Sanitizer

According to the CDC’s guidelines, homemade hand sanitizer must contain at least 60 percent alcohol by volume. Although it does not kill every pathogen – the superbug C. diff, for example – hand sanitizer is considered effective against the current virus that is going around. That’s because the active ingredient – alcohol – disrupts the protective shell (envelope glycoprotein) that the virus needs to survive. 

Alcohol that is sold in grocery stores and online comes in varying concentrations. For example, some is diluted so that it is 70 percent alcohol and 30% water, while others are 91 or 99 percent alcohol. 

Because alcohol is very drying to hands, it needs to be mixed with an emollient such as aloe vera gel or glycerin. The important thing is to make sure that the final product is at least 60 percent alcohol, so the recipe needs to be adjusted based on the concentration of alcohol you are using. I’ve included recipe recommendations for the following commonly available concentrations: 

  • 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol (can substitute Everclear 151 proof)
  • 91% isopropyl  rubbing alcohol (can substitute Everclear 189 or 190 proof)
  • 99% isopropyl alcohol
Homemade hand sanitizer in spray bottles

About The Optional Essential Oils In This Recipe

If you decide to use essential oils in your homemade hand sanitizer, I recommend choosing one or more of the ones below. They’re all safe for kids over two.

Also, ifyou only have (or want to purchase) a couple of these oils, that’s okay! Tea tree oil and lavender oil would be my choice – just make sure you use a max of 15 drops total. One important thing to note is that cinnamon leaf essential oil can be irritating if used in concentrations above 0.6%, so it should be limited to 9 drops per batch.

Of course, you can also skip them altogether. Although certain essential oils have been clinically shown to have antimicrobial properties, alcohol is considered the primary active ingredient in this recipe. 

Tips for Making Homemade Sanitizer

  • Clean your working surface and wash your hands before starting.
  • Sanitize your spray bottles and equipment. To clean your bottles, you can pour a little rubbing alcohol into them, put the lid on and shake until the whole inside of the bottle is wet. Next, remove the lid and let the bottles air dry. Clean any equipment you plan to use with hot, soapy water. 
  • Label your containers. I use a chalk marker to write the date on the bottom of my bottles so that I can keep track of when they need to be replaced. 

How To Use Hand Sanitizer (The Right Way)

There are a couple of important things to know about applying hand sanitizer. First, it’s all about contact time – you need to rub it into your skin for 30-60 seconds or until your hands are dry. Also, if your hands are oily or grimy, hand sanitizer is not likely to be effective. Hand soap is your best bet in that case. 

With that in mind, here’s how to apply hand sanitizer the right way: 

  1. Spray enough hand sanitizer in your palm to completely cover both hands. 
  2. Rub your palms together, then rub the back of each hand with the palm of your other hand. 
  3. Next, rub the sanitizer on the tips of your fingers and on the underside of your fingernails. 

Keep rubbing until 30-60 seconds have passed or your hands are completely dry. 

Why avoid most store-bought hand sanitizers?

Although triclosan is still used in some antibacterial products, it’s no longer approved for use in commercial hand sanitizers due to potential health effects. That’s a big step in the right direction. 

Unfortunately, many products still include ingredients such as benzalkonium chloride, which is considered a moderate hazard by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). They also often contain fragrances that the EWG ranks as moderate to high hazard.

The Best Options To Buy If You Don’t Want To DIY

​Fortunately, there are some good options out there. Here are a few of my favorites: 

Dr. Bronner’s Lavender Hand Sanitizer – This is one of my favorites because it incorporates just four simple ingredients: organic alcohol, water, lavender, and glycerin. Lavender is safe for kids of all ages which makes this one my top choice for families with younger children. 

EO Organic Hand Sanitizer (French Lavender) – Like Dr. Bronner’s, this one is made from just a handful of ingredients including alcohol derived from sugarcane, lavender essential oil, echinacea leaf extract, and glycerin.

Wellnesse Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer With Eucalyptus & Mint – I like this one because it  comes in glass storage bottles that are perfect for DIY room spray and other recipes once the sanitizer is used up. Although pricier per ounce, a little goes a long way and it doestn’ smell like typical hand sanitizer. Because it uses eucalyptus and peppermint essential oils I recommend it for use with older children but prefer one of the other two options for small children. (More on using essential oils with kids here.)

Storing Your Hand Sanitizer

The consistency of this hand sanitizer will vary depending on the concentration of alcohol and aloe vera gel you use.

If you’re using 70% rubbing alcohol, it will likely be very runny and work best in spray bottles. I poured mine into old essential oil bottles with special spray tops designed to fit on 10, 15, and 30 ml essential oil bottles. You can find the spray tops on Amazon, or you can find them at this store for a good price along with essential oil bottles and spray cap sets.

If you’re using 91-99% alcohol your sanitizer might be too thick to use as a spray. In that case, this squirt bottle is made with HDPE plastic, which is considered safe for use with essential oils.

homemade hand sanitizer
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4.12 from 9 votes

Homemade Hand Cleansing Gel

This 2-3 ingredient hand sanitizer recipe is easy to make and can be adapted to several alcohol concentrations as needed.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Calories
Author Heather Dessinger

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 6 tbsp 70% isopropyl alcohol (can substitute Everclear 151 proof) (This is a  9:1 ratio. For recipes using 91% or 99% alcohol, please see the notes section below)
  • 2 tsp aloe vera gel (Or vegetable glycerin. Because the moisturizing component of this recipe is relatively small, you can use vegetable glycerin in place of aloe vera if you’d like. It can leave a residue if used in higher concentrations like the other recipes, but it works in this one.)
  • 9-18 drops essential oil (Optional – I use 3 drops each of tea tree, fir needle, cinnamon leaf, sweet orange, and lavender essential oil)

Instructions

  • Wash your hands and clean your equipment/ workspace.
  • Add the alcohol and essential oils (if using) to a mixing bowl with a spout or large glass measuring cup.
  • Add the aloe vera gel or glycerin and stir together until well combined. Pour your DIY hand sanitizer into your spray bottle (or bottles) and add a label (or labels).  

Notes

 

91% Alcohol Recipe

This is a 2:1 ratio as recommended.
  • 6 tablespoons of 91%  isopropyl alcohol alcohol (can substitute Everclear 189 or 190 proof)
  • 3 tablespoons aloe vera gel
  • 10-20 drops essential oil
 

99% Alcohol Recipe 

This is a 3:2 ratio as recommended.
  • 3 tablespoons of 99% isopropyl alcohol
  • 2 tablespoons aloe vera gel
  • 7-15 drops essential oil
hand salve recipe

Hand Salve Recipe

Lots of hand washing and hand sanitizer applications can be very drying to skin. If your hands could use a little TLC right now, here’s a moisturizing hand salve recipe that’s super easy to make. 

I’ve been applying it at night after I say goodnight to my littles, and once more at bedtime. I pop some light, stretchy winter gloves on on my hands to keep my sheets clean, and by morning my dry hands are soft again. 

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1. Forbes Magazine. Is Playing In The Dirt Good for Kids’ Immune Systems?

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About Heather Dessinger

Hi, I'm Heather Dessinger, founder of Mommypotamus.com. I'm on a mission to help you put delicious, healthy meals on the table, find effective natural remedies for common complaints, make your own fuss-free personal care and home products, and save time and money in the process.

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  6. shuhan

    this is so helpful! I’ve always been paying attention to my food, makign sure I eat food that’s real and natural and whole, but only recently have learnt how important it is to keep the products that we use on our body real and natural too as our skin absorbs all these toxins too! makes no sense to only pay attention to one and neglecting the other! have now started using raw honey as a cleanser, but was thinking of switchign out my handsoap, this is a great article, thanks x

    to shuhan" aria-label='reply to this comment to shuhan'>reply to this comment

  7. Heather

    I am not qualified to give medical advice, but I like this comment from Emily on my post about making homemade bug spray (which also uses essential oils):

    “Peppermint is used with caution for nursing moms because it is thought to decrease milk supply., but clinically I haven’t really seen this to be true. Personally, I drank tons of catnip tea after my second was born. It helped to keep be emotionally grounded post partum (read: not yell at my husband), and my baby was a perfect angel with no health issue. My point is that warning labels for herbs are usually extremely conservative, especially when the application is topical. They shouldn’t be ignored, but If I were pregnant or nursing and in a swarm of mozzies, I wouldn’t hesitate to dump a bottle of the first recipe all over myself – but that’s just me. ;)”

    https://mommypotamus.com/easy-homemade-bug-repellent/

    to Heather" aria-label='reply to this comment to Heather'>reply to this comment

  11. Christina

    I just made your hand sanitizer recipe from Katja Swift which is a recipe which includes water in a spray bottle and then put 10-20 drops of Rosemary and Lavender. I filled about 6 spray bottles with this recipe and have been using it for hand sanitizer (for myself and the kids), sprayed down doorknobs, light switches, counter tops, bathroom sinks, etc, and used it for a “lysol” spray for the air. If Lavender is bad for young boys (I have 3) because it mimics estrogen in the body should I stop using these spray bottles and the hand sanitizer I made for them using this recipe and go with a different recipe or is it just a risk I should take since I already spent the money on the lavender oil and spray bottles and just hope they don’t get big boobs! ha ha. Did you use this recipe for Micah as a hand sanitizer?

    to Christina" aria-label='reply to this comment to Christina'>reply to this comment

  12. Lara Condon

    Thank you for this article…trying to come up with the winning combination that will kill the bad bugs but not the good ones or upset the pH balance! Do you know of any research about GSE? Does it kill the good guys too? After my daughter had a bout with Salmonella, I have been much more cautious about making sure her hands are clean. They don’t have a hand washing option at school and every day they are given a squirt of hand sanitizer at snack and at lunch! Ugg!! Going to try one of these natural one

    to Lara Condon" aria-label='reply to this comment to Lara Condon'>reply to this comment

  13. Diana

    Im currently still nursing (like crazy it seems) my 18 month old. Is it safe to use these DIY antibacterial recipes? I tend to not think so much anymore about avoiding essential oils now that shes older but maybe I should rethink this? My research on the topic is coming up spotty… Any personal thoughts? Our music class has a lot of mouths on instruments and would love to pack this in my bag. Thank you

    to Diana" aria-label='reply to this comment to Diana'>reply to this comment

  16. Lisa

    I just wanted to share with everyone that, when researching (quite a bit), I discovered that there are two brands of colloidal silver that are considered to be the top two “true colloidal silvers” when compared with many of the other well-known, popular brands. They are Mesosilver and Utopia. You can find both companies online entering the brand names in your search box. Utopia is a little less expensive and they do have specials. I prefer Utopia brand because of the price. You can buy larger-sized bottles from either company, and each site has quite a bit of educational information about colloidal silver. Mesosilver has gel form available, which is great for wounds and direct application to the skin. However, the liquid can just as easily be sprayed on or mixed with a little coconut oil to make it a little more “gel-like.” By the way, whether you want to use colloidal silver in the making of your own hand sanitizer, or whether you want to drink it for the cold or flu, or use it to cure eye or ear infections, or for a bladder infection (so many uses – its amazing stuff!) you WANT it to be in nanoparticles so it will be bio-available. I also learned that “ionic/ionized” silver is what you want more for topical/skin application and the regular colloidal silver is best for ingesting or for ears, eyes, etc….either way, in either version, it is amazingly effective and safe. Hope this information helps! Knowledge is power!

    to Lisa" aria-label='reply to this comment to Lisa'>reply to this comment

  21. Tiffany

    I want to try the recipe on the first link, but I wonder if I could use with hazel instead of water. As I use which hazel in other products, I went on quite a journey to find 100% witch hazel with zero alcohol (I haven’t used it yet, but I’ll try it and reveal the name once I OK it).
    It’s no secret the oil and water doesn’t mix. And it doesn’t mix perfectly with witch hazel either, but better than with water. And I do believe that I read somewhere that witch hazel increases the longevity.

    to Tiffany" aria-label='reply to this comment to Tiffany'>reply to this comment

  26. Liv

    I once thought about making my own hand sanitizer but I never did. Reading this makes me want to do it. I just wonder about the shelf life since it doesn’t have have any preservative nor alcohol. Or is the EOs amount good enough to preserve it? And for how long? As another person commented that since there is no alcohol in there it is not actually a hand sanitizer (the other recipes I’ve read included it or vodka instead ?), how can we know for sure it will actually clean the hands?

    to Liv" aria-label='reply to this comment to Liv'>reply to this comment

  31. Nancy

    Hi, I must be missing something in the recipe posted for hand sanitizer…wouldn’t a 2:1 ratio call for 3TBSP aloe vera gel?
    Also, could fresh aloe from a plant be substituted for the gel in the recipe? If so, how long can the sanitizer be stored for peak effectiveness?
    Thanks!

    91% Alcohol Recipe
    This is a 2:1 ratio as recommended.
    6 tablespoons of 91% isopropyl alcohol alcohol (can substitute Everclear 189 or 190 proof)
    1 tablespoon plus 1.5 teaspoons aloe vera gel
    10-20 drops essential oil

    to Nancy" aria-label='reply to this comment to Nancy'>reply to this comment

  33. Tara

    I have tried making hand sanitizer twice, but the gel and the 99% alcohol don’t thicken. I tried aloe vera gel from home grown aloes, and I also tried a store bought aloe vera gel (as a last resort) but neither versions thickened.
    I’m wondering if the aloe gel in the first recipe can be subbed with the glycerine? Or is there a natural thickener I could use for the home grow aloe vera gel? (Bearing in mind that I live in a small town with only one small supermarket and most ingredients for this kind of thing are hard to come by, so thinking if there’s something I may have in the pantry that might work..)
    Thanks.

    to Tara" aria-label='reply to this comment to Tara'>reply to this comment

    • Heather Dessinger

      Hi Tara, in order for the sanitizer to have the alcohol percentage that is recommended it needs to have more alcohol than aloe. As a result, it is a liquid rather than a gel. Commercially produced hand sanitizers often contain thickening agents to make them more gel-like, but I am not aware of any options for creating the same effect in a DIY recipe. Thickeners such as flaxseed, which can be used to make hair gel and such, would make the sanitizer more vulnerable to microbial contamination, which is obviously not what we want. I put mine in small spray bottles to apply. Hope that helps!

      to Heather Dessinger" aria-label='reply to this comment to Heather Dessinger'>reply to this comment

      • Tara

        Thanks for replying. I’ve watched videos of people making it with just the two ingredients and it has thickened up nicely, so thought that I was doing something wrong.
        I read that xanthan gum can be used but can’t get my hands on any yet.
        I may try mine in a spray bottle and see how it goes, but I’m worried it will be very drying. I do make a cream that is a great moisturiser though, so that would help I guess.

        to Tara" aria-label='reply to this comment to Tara'>reply to this comment

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I'm Heather, aka The Mommypotamus. I’m a wife, mom, real food lover, research geek, and amateur homesteader. And potamus... obviously.

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