With the number of COVID-19 (coronavirus) cases recently surpassing 100,000 globally, frantic shoppers have been raiding supermarket and pharmacy shelves, spiralling into apocalyptic madness to stock up on toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Shops are quickly running out of such essential items and so are limiting hand sanitizer purchases to two per person. On most websites that are not taking advantage of the COVID-19 panic by charging exorbitant fees to their buyers, hand sanitizers are completely out of stock. However, you needn’t be affected by this; there is a simple way to find hand sanitizer. Make your own.
Dr Anne Marie Helmenstine, who holds a P.h.d. in biomedical sciences, provided a simple, 5-minute recipe for homemade hand sanitizer on The Spruce. The active ingredient in the recipe is alcohol, which must comprise at least 60 percent of the product in order to properly act as a disinfectant. Make sure that you use either ethanol (grain alcohol) or isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), and not other types of alcohol such as butanol and methanol, as these are toxic.
The hand sanitizer recipe also includes the (optional) ingredient of essential oils, which not only imbue the hand sanitizer with a pleasant fragrance, but certain oils may also help to protect against germs. For example, thyme and clove oil have antimicrobial properties, but these should only be added in very small quantities (1 or 2 drops) as they may cause skin irritation.
Here’s the recipe for homemade hand sanitizer, courtesy of The Spruce:
What You’ll Need:
- Bowl and spoon
- Funnel
- Bottle with pump dispenser
- 2/3 cup 99 percent rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) or ethanol
- 1/3 cup aloe vera gel
- 8 to 10 drops essential oil, optional
Steps to Make It:
- Gather your ingredients (rubbing alcohol, aloe vera, and optional essential oils) and measure them out.
- Add all the ingredients together in the bowl and mix them thoroughly with a spoon.
- Using the funnel, pour the homemade hand sanitizer mixture into your chosen bottle, screw the lid on tightly, and now the product is ready for use.
However, if the homemade hand sanitizer recipe doesn’t work out, the WHO states that thorough hand washing with soap is still the most effective way to protect yourself from catching or spreading COVID-19.
For more on precautionary measures against COVID-19, click here to read about how your facial hair may put you at risk of catching coronavirus.
Featured image via: The Spruce.
