Why natural hand sanitizer?
As a former public school employee, hand sanitizer was a mainstay on my desk (and in any other strategic location that might encourage students to use it when needed). However, I had a love-hate relationship with this germ fighting, often offensively scented gel. I typically didn’t have time for the necessary 30-second hand wash while working with kids, but knew I had touched something icky, gooey, and most definitely packed with tons of bacteria. Commercial hand sanitizers were often so chemically-scented that I could not bear to have it on my hands all day, and more importantly, I worried about the safety of these commercial formulas for myself and the kids.
The good news? There really is no need for your nose and eyes to burn every time you apply hand sanitizer, and this DIY formula won’t dry your hands out! A non-chemical, naturally scented version of hand sanitizer can be made right at home using powerful essential oils and a few other ingredients. The essential oils I chose to use boast the following beneficial properties: antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal.
* Tea tree oil has been found in clinical studies to kill most types of bacteria at a concentration of 0.5-1%. If you are making adjustments to the recipe, make sure your tea tree is adjusted accordingly so it remains at this concentration.
Homemade natural hand sanitizer recipe
Arm yourself with a softly-scented natural version of hand sanitizer using this recipe:
- 5-10 drops lavender essential oil (where to buy 100% pure essential oils)
- 30 drops tea tree essential oil (this is a 0.5% concentration)
- 1 Tablespoon witch hazel (commercially prepared is fine) or high-proof vodka
- 8 ounces 100% pure aloe vera gel (where to buy 100% pure aloe vera gel)
- UPDATE: Add several drops of Vitamin E oil as a natural preservative to increase shelf life of this product. (It will also help soften hands!)
Add essential oils (and Vitamin E if using) to a small glass bowl or container and swirl to mix. Add witch hazel to the oils and swirl again. Add this mixture to the aloe vera gel and mix well. Shake well before each use. (Sanitizer should last a few months with the addition of Vitamin E to help preserve. Without a natural preservative, shelf life is much shorter.)
Tips and warnings
The lavender is used in the recipe to round out the strong scent of the tea tree oil. If you’re not a fan of lavender, choose another antibacterial oil such as rosemary, sage, sandalwood, or peppermint.
I simply added my new hand sanitizer to clean 3 or 4 ounce squirt bottles that had once contained commercial hand sanitizers. They already have the perfect lid that drops a dime-size portion into my hand for each use. Perfect for throwing into a purse or a backpack! You could also mix up a batch and keep in a container with a pump.
Always take care when handling essential oils. Keep in mind these are very concentrated, powerful plant extracts. If you are new to using essential oils you may want to test for an allergic reaction before slathering on this hand sanitizer. As with any natural plant, family members could be allergic. For a simple patch test mix one drop of essential oil with about 1 TBSP of olive oil. Rub a bit on the inside of your elbow, cover with a bandage, and wait 24 hours to see if there is any negative reaction.
You will notice on our website that we have several favorite essential oils that are frequently used. If you are interested in investing in a basic set of oils to get you started with some of our recipes, we created a starter kit that is now available at a nice discount.
We want to hear from you
It always makes me smile when I can make something I have been purchasing for years. I feel like I am breaking some unwritten rule about big companies being the only ones who can supply us with what we need. I can also breathe easier when I know the EXACT ingredients in something my family depends on. I know my family is safe and I’m a sucker for a good DIY challenge! What are YOUR reasons for wanting to make a homemade non-chemical hand sanitizer? Let us hear from you!
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About Betsy Jabs
Matt and Betsy are passionate about living naturally and building a like-minded community focused on the sustainable lifestyle.
DIY Natural is about rediscovering the traditional value of doing things yourself, doing them naturally, and enjoying the benefits. Welcome to the movement!
What a great idea!!! How long does it last before it goes bad?
Great question Aryadne! When mixed with other things, essential oils do not last indefinitely. I would make small batches that you can use up this season. Unfortunately, I can’t give a concrete expiration date like milk or bread would have, since there are so many factors that affect the shelf-life of products containing essential oils. Keep in mind that when essential oils are heated and cooled repeatedly the beneficial properties begin to deteriorate. Don’t leave in a freezing car or near a heat source in your house.
I like this idea. Where do you get your witch hazel? The one at wal-mart has alcohol in it. Would that be okay? Thanks and may God keep up your good work.
Yes Kay, I buy the Meijer brand which also contains a little bit of alcohol.
Does this kill as many germs as the alcohol-based variety? I know essential oils have powerful properties, but just wondered how they compare to other hand sanitizers?
Susan, one thing I forgot to mention in the article is that witch hazel also has antibacterial properties. (The type I purchase also has a little alcohol in it.) So the essential oils are not the only thing working to kill germs in this recipe. It’s not meant to be a miracle in a bottle, but as long as your essential oils are stored properly and are not several years old, it should work very well compared to other hand sanitizers.
Do we have to buy aloe vera gel, or can we just “milk” one of our own aloe plants? And thanks for all of your great ideas!
Great question Christine, and you’re welcome. If you have plants available for milking there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use them over buying commercially sold AV gel. Let us know how it turns out.
Love love to see a recipe or formula for homemade toothpaste, and body soap.
No body soap recipe… yet. We have recipes for homemade toothpaste and even homemade mouthwash! Enjoy.
Homemade toothpaste? I have a formula I thought of and use every day. It consists of:
Aloe Vera Gel ( I use the raw plants from my back yard)
Tea tree oil
Baking Soda
Ground up calcium tablets
Your teeth are actually bones and need calcium, not fluoride. Fluoride is a carcinogen, a poison, and is made from industrial waste residue. Please stop using fluoride.
I didn’t even realize that you could make this yourself. For some reason this made me wonder if you could make your own eye drops. Any ideas on that?
Yes, you definitely can! Matt made his own eye drops a while back, but I’m not sure what he put in them. Maybe this will have to be a future post.
I can’t wait to try this! Along with doorknobs and meeting room tables, I just read that some of the germiest places are bank machines and gas pumps. I plan to keep a little bottle in my car.
Donna…although I used to keep commercial hand sanitizers in my car, I would hesitate to keep this natural hand sanitizer in the car. Keep in mind that the essential oils in the recipe will begin losing their beneficial properties if the mixture gets too hot or too cold. A bottle in your purse might be a better option.
I’ve been doing this for years. I just mix a small amount of cologne, perfume or eau de toilette of my choice, with a lot of water and aloe vera juice and alcohol
Hello!
I have used several of your other recipes to great success so I naturally had to try this one. I also researched a few other recipes and general information on the information super highway, found some interesting and hopefully useful tidbits. Armed with new data, I decided to improvise my own concoction.
12 oz aloe vera
1/3 cup rubbing alcohol
1/3 cup witch hazel
5(ish) drops of tea tree oil
25 drops of lavender oil
It has come out to be a decent consistency, smell is very lightly pleasant, no tacky feeling and few little burning in nicks and cuts. Here’s hoping it helps keep away the plague!
Thank you!
Looks like a good alternative to this non-alcohol recipe.
i just wanted to point out for anyone who hasn’t tried making their own sanitizer, it will usually smell better. Some of that store bought stuff smells cheap and awful. And with the home made sanitizer, you can adjust the ingredients to your liking.
I’m so glad I found this post. I tried making some of my own hand sanitizer. I used the knowledge of my RN friend and other research I had done. I used glycerin, alcohol, and essential oils. It was effective and helped with chapped “wintery” hands but it left a weird oily feeling to my hands. So I am super excited at trying yours!
Hi Betsy,
I putting together a cold and flu report and just came across this post – can you email me right away – i’d like to know if I could use this piece
*no need to post this on the public board*
Stephanie
I am a bit concerned about this recipe. I do think that making your own sanitizer is absolutely brilliant considering the way companies probably mark-up commercial sanitizers at least 200% (and that is me being nice). However, to be effective, sanitizers must have at least 60% alcohol. This is harsh on your skin, but this is why conditioners are added to most. “A little bit” of alcohol will not do the job of killing the majority of bugs (predominantly viruses…of which there are over 200 that cause the common cold alone). I am a RN completing my Master’s and have been teaching nurses for some time
I just want you to be informed!
Thanks Stace! Keep in mind that the tea tree oil in this recipe is the germ-fighter. We believe in the therapeutic properties of essential oils.
Hi Betsy, do you have any web sources I can use to look up about the effectiveness of tea tree oil. Have there been any studies published on this with data to back these claims up? I do believe that tea tree oil has antibacterial properties; I just want to know how much it really does take to be truly effective as a sanitizer (for this recipe and cleaning my home). There has to be some ratio of EO to other products in which it becomes too diluted and thus ineffective right? I would really like to go the more natural route, I just want to make sure what I’m doing is really working. Thanks a bunch
Thanks for asking Sarah! I have updated the article with a link to a published study and more information about how much tea tree is necessary to kill bacteria. I had been meaning to add this, so thanks again for inquiring!
From the above article – “Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use tea tree oil, and this formula should not be used on infants.”
I am due in six weeks. My last child got very sick when very little and it made us very germ conscious. I would love to use my own hand sanitizer. We don’t leave the house often, but when we do, we use a lot of it. Do you know why it is not safe for babies?
Tea tree oil is very powerful stuff, and is a little too much for the nervous systems of little babies (you can read more about essential oils in the book The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood). An alternative recipe would be lavender and rosemary oils. Or just making sure to wash your hands well with a mild soap!
Wait, I just remembered that rosemary isn’t great for little ones either. Lavender it is!
I have had a blast on this site the last two days. The tea tree oil is in other recipes I would like to try as well. Thanks.
I would love to know about the tea tree oil as well. I am 22 weeks preggo and work in a day care, so I am constantly washing my hands. Any alternatives you would suggest for the time being?
Ps: LOVE the laundry detergent recipie!! Thanks for all you do
Carrie & Jessica,
I recommend checking with your doctor about using tea tree oil. He/she might say it’s okay to use it for topical applications, but you’ll want to ask to be sure.
From things I have read, there is not enough scientific information right now on tea tree (and a few others like rosemary & peppermint essential oil) to recommend during pregnancy/nursing. I’m also assuming that’s why all the warnings I see discourage parents from using it with infants and young children.
The following website gives more information, but you will also notice that this site says tea tree oil generally has a reputation for being safe during pregnancy…lots of contradictions out there. http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/aromatherapyduringpregnancy.asp
Read up on everything you can about these oils, consult your doctor, and make the best informed decision you possibly can!
I love the idea of this. But when I made it, it was so thick I couldn’t get it into the pump bottles no matter what I did. I ended up wasting about a third of it. Did anyone else have that problem or is it just me?
I’m guessing the problem was a result of the aloe vera gel being too thick. What kind did you use? My sanitizer actually turns out pretty thin.
I was doing a little research on tea tree oil & came across a warning about when lavender & tea tree essential oils are mixed together – well here is what it says: Applying products to the skin that contain tea tree oil along with lavender oil might not be safe for young boys who have not yet reached puberty. These products might have hormone effects that could disrupt the normal hormones in a boy’s body. In some cases, this has resulted in boys developing abnormal breast growth called gynecomastia. The safety of these products when used by young girls is not known.
Here is the link too: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/113.html
That is because the industry uses synthetics in essential oils, detergents, shampoos etc. If the essential oil is truly 100% pure and certified, there are no problems with preteen boys and breast development. I would definitely be cautious when buying essential oils. Although many producers claim “100% pure” they most likely are not.
I am also wondering about the aloe vera gel. Is it the kind you can eat? That is what I got and it comes out kinda chunky. Mine finished product is pretty thick. I did not put it in a pump, though.
Amy, it should be pure aloe vera gel. I’m sure the consistency depends on the brand. I use Lily of the Desert Aloe Vera Gel. It’s runny enough to put in a pump bottle.
hi,
its very nice. and natural too
Thanks
Gaurav
http://www.gladna.in
can you use distilled water instead of aloe so it will last longer, and should i double the liquid to use in a foam pumper?
You can certainly try using water instead. Water will need to be doubled for use in a foam pump, and you may want to add a few drops of glycerin to soften hands.
Hello!
Couple of questions – for the AV does that need to be refrigerated after opening? Also do you have any recipes for an all natural foaming hand soap?
Thanks!
Check your bottle of AV to be sure about refrigeration. If it’s 100% pure aloe vera gel, it will need to be refrigerated after opening. For foaming hand soap, I put 1/3 liquid castile soap (like Dr. Bronner’s) and 2/3 water into a foaming pump. Simple!
OK thanks so much for the info – not sure if I have room in the fridge for all this AV gel – bought a big one. Also I tried that ratio with the foaming soap but it makes my hands feel almost “stripped” or dry. Maybe it was the essential oils I used, mixed lemon and orange? Thanks for your help
Lemon and orange are degreasers, so you could try a more gentle oil like lavender. You can also cut the amount of castile soap and add more water. Mess with your ratios until it feels nice for you.
Forgot to say that I know you had mentioned adding glycerin, maybe for a moisturizer, is that all natural? I want this product to be all natural. Thanks!
Yes, but be picky about the type of glycerin you purchase because it can be GMO and very unnatural if you get it from the wrong source. Make sure it’s 100% pure, non-GMO. It’s a great moisturizer.
Hello
Thanks so much for your help. On a seperate subject I was wondering if you had a recipe for a natural liquid lipgloss? I’d like to be able to use a wand applicator tube.
Not yet!
I bought a small aloe vera plant last so I could use the gel at home. It has multiplied into several pots now and I would like to harvest it…any special tips on it or do I just peel away the skin and blend it smooth to mix?
Check out my article on “10 Uses for Aloe Vera,” in which I link to a good tutorial on skinning your own aloe plants, and also instructions on preserving the aloe for a few months: http://www.diynatural.com/10-uses-for-aloe-vera/
I wonder if coconut oil would work in some manner? “Coconut oil is very effective against a variety of infections due to its antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. According to the Coconut Research Center, coconut oil kills viruses that cause influenza, measles, hepatitis, herpes, SARS, etc. It also kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, etc. Coconut oil is also effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete’s foot, thrush, diaper rash, etc.” http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html
Interesting thought! I knew it was antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral, but hadn’t seen all of those disease-related uses for coconut oil. Thanks for the information Erin!
I made hand sanitizer using this recipe but it seems to dry out my hands. I have to use it frequently due to the nature of my work. Do you have any suggestions? I did use pure aloe vera, not the green kind. Thanks!
I would recommend adding Vitamin E oil and/or a little vegetable glycerin, which are both very moisturizing.
Tee tree oil is amazing but should also be used with caution until you know for sure if you are allergic. I tried it for nail fungus only to find I was allergic. I thought I would go nuts from the wicked itchy oozing bumps that lasted for over a week.
Yikes, sounds horrible! I agree everyone should perform a patch test (instructions can be found in the post under “Tips and Warnings”) if they have not used a certain essential oil before.
My s.son’s teacher informed me of your site and I am so thankful you have this recipe for hand sanitizer! I used to use commercial sanitizer until my s.sons teacher informed me it was toxic to kids (EEEEEK!!!!) I will be ordering the necessary ingredients and mixing up a batch to keep in my purse! Thank you
I bought an organic spray hand sanitizer by Dr Bronner’s. I don’t often use any hand sanitizer but on the rare occasion I do I prefer it be organic. I would like to make my own. The ingredients on the bottle say Ethyl Alcohol 62%, water, organic glycerin and organic lavender oil. It is not thick like I imagine the one with Aloe Vera would be. Any idea or suggestions what the amounts of the above would be and should I use distilled water?
Definitely use distilled water for any homemade products. It reduces chances of microorganisms from the tap being introduced. In regards to amounts, depending on how big you want your batch, you’ll have to do a little math to make sure your ethyl alcohol makes up at least 62% of the solution. Since the alcohol is the ingredient killing germs in this sanitizer, the lavender essential oil is optional. But for scent, you can just add a few drops. Glycerin is also optional, used as a skin softener. Start with just a tiny bit, or it will leave your hands sticky-feeling. So, the magic number is 62%…just make sure your alcohol makes up this much of the final sanitizer. Hope this helps!