Making your own hand sanitizer

So unless you've been living under a rock these days, you are aware of the scarcity of hand sanitizer in the world right now. Initially I set out to make a video entitled "How to make hand sanitizer using things you already have in your home".

I felt a need to make the video given the demand for sanitizer. I also felt like this video was even more necessary given the lock down we've been placed on and the limited supplies available to us at our local grocery and convenient stores. However, after pondering the idea of this video for about a week I decided to do a blog instead. One because I wanted to put the instructions to print form. I also wanted an opportunity for "patient education", if you will; considering I am also a Nurse Practitioner. So, here goes nothing.....

Before I begin, a little bit of a confession.... So, I don't really care for hand sanitizer. It's not very effective. In fact, according to the CDC washing hands with soap and water reduces the amounts of ALL types of germs and chemicals on hands, whereas alcohol-based hand sanitizers only reduce the number of microbes in some situations, but do not eliminate all types of germs. Furthermore, they advise sanitizer use only if soap and water are not available and must use at least 60% alcohol to achieve this minimal effectiveness. So you heard it here first, WASH YOUR HANDS AND WASH THEM OFTEN!

I spent a good amount of time researching the best recipes for hand sanitizer in a pinch. I chose the World Health Organization (WHO) recipe as a template because they are a repeatable source. The recipe is also fairly simple, again using things you probably have readily available in your home.

Recipe #1                                        Recipe #2
Ethanol 96%                                     Isopropyl Alcohol 99.8%
Hydrogen peroxide 3%                            Hydrogen peroxide 3%
Glycerol 98%                                    Glycerol 98%
Sterile distilled or                             Sterile distilled or 
boiled cold water                                boiled cold water

For either of these recipes in place of the alcohol (ethanol or isopropyl alcohol) you can use either Vodka, Rubbing alcohol or witch hazel, in order of effectiveness. The glycerol, also known as glycerin, can be replaced with an emollient you may have in your home. Emollients are ingredients like plant oils such as olive, avocado, argan or sweet almond oil. Other examples include Shea butter, cocoa butter, petrolatum and fatty acids as animal oils such as lanolin. Another great glycerin substitute which is being used in nearly 99% of the recipes I looked up is Aloe Vera gel. Lastly the sterile or boiled water is important because the last thing you want to do is contaminate your hand sanitizer supply.

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Yapheh Hair & Skin DIY Hand Sanitizer
12 oz 70% rubbing alcohol
2 tsp Aloe Vera Gel
1 tbsp of Hydrogen peroxide
3 oz of distilled water

Mix all ingredients together, store in a clean, dry bottle. Lasts about a week. Forgive my shortness, LOL. Again, as I stated earlier, making your own hand sanitizer is to be saved for dire situations. When soap and water are not readily available to you. With that being said, I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to teach proper hand washing.

Here's a very short picture demonstrating proper hand washing:

Key takeaways -

Hand sanitizer can never replace good hand washing!

Wash your hands people!

Avoid touching your face, eyes or mouth!

Cover your mouth with your elbow if you cough!

If you feel sick, stay home!

Most importantly, stay prayed up!

Love, peace & hair grease! (Yapheh, of course!)

T. Tipton

Owner, Yapheh, LLC