DIY Waterless Hand Sanitizer: Easy Recipe & Cost-Saving Guide

The active ingredient in store bought waterless hand sanitizers is alcohol. You can easily duplicate hand sanitizers at home for much less cost and create scents that you and your family love without spending a fortune. In addition to alcohol, the ingredients needed can be found at your local drug or health food store.Make up a batch and put it in smaller containers so you can keep one in the car, in the bathroom, at the office and/or in your purse. Hand sanitizers are great on picnics, camping and fishing trips, too.

Things You'll Need

• 1 cup of plain aloe vera gel
• 1 to 4 tsp. of alcohol or witch hazel
• 10 to 12 drops of essential oil such as lavender, tea tree, orange, neroli, or grapefruit
• spoon
• bowl
• several small, clean squeeze bottles

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Instructions

• 1

  Pour the aloe vera into a bowl.

• 2

  Slowly stir in the alcohol or witch hazel a little bit at a time. You don't want the mixture to be too thin. It should be the consistency of soft set gelatin.

• 3

  Add the drops of essential oil. When picking an oil, make sure to find one that is skin safe. Also, if you are using the sanitizer on small children, or if a pregnant woman is using it, make sure it is a safe oil for those ages and pregnancy. Look for oils with antibacterial properties to boost the cleaning effect.