Hand Sanitizer
Yesterday I received an email that a major soap making supplier who manufactures hand sanitizer was out of stock and had just started 24 hour production of that product to try to meet demand.
This morning I had a conversation with a friend about the fact that it's almost impossible to find hand sanitizer in stores due to the fear of Coronavirus.
I felt a sense of panic welling up inside me.
Should I go to the grocery store today as planned? But I have to, I've run ot of food!
My friend suggested that I make hand sanitizer to sell but I don't ever want to be one of those people who tries to make money out of a calamity.
However, being an expert on soap, I feel I have a moral obligation to do something to help.
Even the FDA acknowledges that the best way to clean your hands is to use soap and water, but there are often times when you don't have access to water, which is when hand sanitizer is the solution.
How to Make
Natural Hand Sanitizer
If you Google "How to make hand sanitizer" you will find a whole bunch of sites with recipes so I'm not not going to give you an actual recipe, however, like any Google search result, you want to go to a site where the person knows what they are talking about, not just someone hopping on the band wagon who has no prior experience in what they are telling you.
I recommend this recipe by Wellness Mama, because it includes a version which is safe for kids and because it has been medically reviewed by a doctor
https://wellnessmama.com/281/homemade-hand-sanitizer/
Nearly every site I looked at with hand sanitizer recipes uses Tea Tree Essential Oil and Aloe Vera Gel - these two ingredients are going to get scarce pretty soon.
ESSENTIAL OILS MAKING
YOUR HAND SANITIZER
BOTH
ANTIBACTERIAL
&
ANTIVIRAL
WARNING
Sadly, it is Coronavirus that is bringing a huge boost to the value of Essential Oils
But you MUST learn how to use Essential Oils safely
THEY ARE MEGA POTENT
and in trying to protect
your family,
you don't want to
inadvertently or accidentally
cause other problems for them
I watched one YouTube where a young girl showed how to make hand sanitizer and she said to use as much of one particular Essential Oil as you want. NO! NO! NO!
There are safe limits for Essential Oil use and it is different for each Essential Oil, so you need to know what those dilution rates are before you go blindly adding Essential Oils to your recipe.
More is not better, more is dangerous.
Dr Axe is a well known
Essential Oil expert
and back in 2016
he posted this article
The Top 4 Antibacterial
Essential Oils
https://draxe.com/essential-oils/antibacterial-essential-oils/
Essential Oils have been around
for thousands of years,
so nothing has changed other
than our awareness of them
The 4 Essential Oils that he recommends are all
particularly strong
and will burn your skin if you
go over the safe dilution rates
Yes you must dilute
all Essential oils
at the safe level
I believe passionately in the benefits of using Essential Oils but I know that they can also cause you harm if applied at too high an amount, whether it is the 4 mentioned above or any other Essential Oil.
If you are going to use one of the 4 recommended by Dr Axe
in your hand sanitizer recipe
then here are
the recommended usage rates
for lotions for adults.
Lotions are a 'leave on' product just like hand sanitizer
You need to measure these accurately which may mean you need to buy a new scale that measures very small weights in grams.
You can pick one up on Amazon
for under $15
just search for 'gram scale'
Tea Tree Essential Oil
3% that means no more than 0.85 grams per ounce of your recipe
Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil
0.5% that means no more than 0.14 grams per ounce of your recipe
White Thyme Essential Oil
1% that means no more than 0.28 grams per ounce of your recipe
Oregano Essential Oil
This essential oil is not listed on the site I use and trust so I can't advise
but another good one is
Peppermint Essential Oil
3% that means no more than 0.85 grams per ounce of your recipe
Many essential oils are antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal,
but please be aware that there are some essential oils
that are phototoxic
(like Lemon Essential Oil)
so while it smells wonderfully fresh and clean, if you use it
in a leave on product
and then go out
in the sunlight,
it can cause serious burns.
Unless you are an essential oil expert
it's better to just stay clear
of those ones
for a hand sanitizer.
Did you notice that the above usage rates are for adults only?
Children are more sensitive and therefore the maximum is much lower, so stick to the recipe above by Wellness Mama.
The Essential Oil blend that she uses is linked in her recipe, to where you can buy it.
Of course this is not as easy or convenient as just being able to buy the complete product, but when you are facing out of stock situations everywhere, which may not improve for some months at least, then it's time to roll up your sleeves and get it done.
Perhaps if you have retired family members who have a bit more spare time, you could beg them to go into production for the sake of the family! Grandma or Grandpa to the rescue?
As soon as you get back home use good old fashioned soap and water to wash your hands because that is THE most effective way to clean your hands.
And washing your
hands properly means
more than 2 seconds and run.
Rub the soap lather over your hands for the time it takes
for you to sing
"Happy birthday to me" TWICE,
making sure you are getting in between each finger too.
With all this extra hand washing you are going to need to use extra moisturizer/lotion so why not add an Essential Oil to that too, get it working for you.
If your moisturizer/lotion already has essential oils in it, then don't add any more.
This applies only to lotions that do not have any essential oils in them already.
Empty your lotion into a container and weigh out how much is there, it doesn't matter if there is a bit left in the container, but get out as much as you can. Leaving it tipped upside down overnight will get the maximum amount out.
Then whatever weight that is multiply by the percentage usage rate of the essential oil you choose, as shown above.
For 3% multiply by .03
For 0.5% multiply by .005
For 1% multiply by .01
Using a whisk, thoroughly mix in the Essential Oil,
and then whisk some more,
just to make sure you have it
evenly blended.
All you have to do now is put your new lotion back in it's original container (which might be a challenge) or find a container that has a bigger opening making it easier to fill.
As a further preventative measure, use that lotion on your hands before you go to public places.
Avoid public restrooms if possible.
If you have any questions you can Send An Email and I will do my best to provide you with an answer.