DIY Chemical-Free Hand Purifier!
No mom’s purse (or diaper bag) is complete without a bottle of hand purifier. But have you ever stopped to read the ingredients on a bottle? One common ingredient is propylene glycol, which is a known carcinogen. I don’t want my kids rubbing carcinogens on their hands – and then eating lunch!
Killing cold and flu germs is good though, so what to do?
There is thankfully an easy solution! It is surprisingly simple to make your own, with ingredients from your local drug and health food store.
Chemical-Free Hand Purifier Recipe
1 c aloe vera gel (get the 100% aloe vera gel, with no added colors)
1-2 tsp witch hazel
10 drops Christmas Spirit Essential Oil or Tea Tree Essential Oil
Mix together and add witch hazel until you like the consistency.
If you don’t live close to a drugstore, or just like the convenience of ordering online, Vitacost is a great resource.
I’ve packaged mine into a little container and put one in my purse and one in my son’s lunchbox. He’s thrilled to have his own “special” hand sanitizer and will hopefully happily use it instead of the one at his co-op.
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15 Comments
Adrienne @ Whole New Mom
Hi there.
I’ve been wondering about making this for awhile. I’ve NEVER bought or used the regular kind. Is there any documentation that this really works? I think I looked but couldn’t find it. Not to say that the documentation for the regular stuff is to be believed.
I just wonder if I should just keep washing w/ soap and water.
Sarah
That’s a fabulous question! I’ll update the post with that info (too much to type in the comments).
Kelli
I’ve been using Burt’s Bees hand sanitizer for the last month, which contains ethyl alcohol as its main ingredient. Not too bad though I wouldn’t blindly trust all of Burt’s Bees product ingredients.
Sarah
I just learned today that Burt’s Bees has a hand sanitizer! I agree with you, it doesn’t seem like a bad alternative. It has witch hazel in it as well.
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WM
Tea tree oil is good at killing bacteria, but parents should know that it does have some hormonal effects on the body. It is known to increase the size of breasts in males, for instance. If you use it, be very sparse on the oil and have your kids wash their hands with water afterward. Here is some NIH info about tea tree and one of its effects on boys:
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jan2007/niehs-31.htm
Sarah
That’s actually from one study that involved just 3 boys, only one of whom had any tea tree oil. The oil in common was lavender.
dwindle
This does, in fact, work. Still, there is no risk in glycol (unless you’re drinking it) or any other alternative. More importantly, there is simply no need for this. People who obsess over cleanliness and sanitation simply end up sick more often than those who do not, simply because their immune systems are not primed correctly. I work in filth (I clean out abandoned houses for a living) don’t wear gloves or even wash my hands, and I almost never get sick. Humans were designed to live with bacteria, not to avoid it.
Holly @ Faithful Womanhood
Thank you for this alternative! I am a pediatric cardiovascular ICU nurse and we are required to clean our hands before and after touching our patients. Sometimes there simply isn’t time to wash my hands in the sink when my patient needs me NOW, and I hate using the hospital hand sanitizers (the ingredient label is monstrous)! I am going to make some of this right now!
Holly @ Faithful Womanhood
Update: I just made it (so fast & easy!) and I like it, but I did add lemon essential oil to give it a nicer smell. Rubs in well, a little goes a long way, and it makes my hands feel soft!
Sarah
I’m glad you like it and have such a perfect application for it! We’ve been really happy with it too.
Terri
There are huge issues with using a non hospital approved hand sanitizer in a hospital setting (and an ICU, my specialty). I’d check with your facility before placing them at risk for huge violations with regulatory agencies.
Terri
I like the idea of the homemade sanitizer… as for the effectiveness of the “regular” ones… I can only speak for the hosptial grade ones, as an RN… very extensive studies, and some of them done by people I know personally for personal study projects… actually show them to be more effective at germ reduction than soap and water hand washing.
As far as a nurse using this product in a hospital… it is putting a hospital at a HUGE risk of being in violation of Joint Commission, Center for Disease Control, and state regulation as there is not PROOF that it works. I am a manager and very involved with our preparation for surveys with all these regulatory agencies, and this could result in a major ding or even find for a hospital finding an employee using a “home-made” product that hasn’t been tested. Now…if you want to set up an actual research study in your facility and get backing from the facilty.. it would be as simple as using the product on peoples hands and then doing cultures for looking for germs.
For personal use…I would try this. But I wouldn’t use it in a hospital setting when we are looking for a product that kills diseases with deadly consequences for people who are already immune compromised.
Nicolle
what about using peppermint oil instead of tea tree?
Sarah
Hi Nicolle,
You could definitely add peppermint oil for the scent, but the tea tree oil is part of the ‘sanitation’ ingredients.