DIY Hand Sanitizer Spray {Alcohol-free and Kid-Safe}

When I started my green living journey I would have never thought my home would become a little lab and that I would be making all sorts of products. Fast forward to 4 years later I am still making products and they’ve only gotten better over time – at least that’s what I’ve been told. 🙂

I started making my own DIY products because I was worried about the toxic chemicals in conventional products. My biggest concern are heavy metals and endocrine disruptors since these build up in our bodies and have been linked to all sorts of health issues, including cancer. It makes you wonder if everything we’re exposed to is related to all the cancer that’s around us…

I made it my goal to minimize my kids’ exposure to toxic chemicals and one of the easiest ways to do this if by making your own DIY products. This way you know what’s exactly in every product.

Since I make them in small batches, I know the ingredients are fresh and I don’t need to use preservatives.

Hand sanitizer is one of the things that I carry in my diaper bag and something I’ve been using since before I had kids. Ideally we would just wash our hands with good ol’ soap and water but that’s not always available and that’s where hand sanitizer comes in.

One day as I was spraying my kid’s hands with a hand sanitizer that smelled like straight up alcohol I started to wonder if this was something I could make. I spent weeks researching and trying different ingredients until I came up with this DIY recipe but before I share it with you, let’s talk a little about conventional hand sanitizers.

What’s wrong with hand sanitizers?

Some sanitizers contain ingredients that I personally avoid in my own family. Here are the biggest concerns:

• Triclosan: is used as bactericide in personal care products. The problem with this is that it contributes to making bacteria resistant to antibiotics and it has been linked to disruption of hormone function.
• Fragrances: the problem with these is that companies are not required to disclose what’s in their fragrances and most of the time the ingredients used to make these contain phthalates and parabens – both endocrine disruptors.
• Alcohol: This is one of the main ingredients in hand sanitizer and the reason why they smell the way they do. The problem with this is that if your kid were to drink it, it could be toxic for them – and accidents like that happen. But there are also some other concerns with all the types of alcohols used in hand sanitizers, read more about it here.

Hand sanitizer should NOT replace hand washing

This probably sounds like common sense but hand sanitizers should ONLY be used when there’s no water and soap available. You can easily make your own DIY hand soap that’s safe and effective for home and use whatever is available when you’re out. I used to carry my own DIY soap too when my kids were babies but have since stopped because my diaper bag gets pretty heavy with everything I’m carrying.

In my case, I find myself needing to use the hand sanitizer on a daily basis. My kids usually want to snack when there isn’t water and soap around and once they’re snacking I might have a snack too.  So this is one of those things I always carry with me.

This hand sanitizer recipes doesn’t contain alcohol because I don’t want to use alcohol on my kids. The germ killing ingredients in this recipe are the essential oils. If you decide not to use essential oils then you will need to adjust this recipe and use at least 60% of rubbing alcohol.

Outbreak update: This hand sanitizer recipe has NOT been tested on the current virus and I cannot guarantee it kills it. If you’re looking for a hand sanitizer recipe that follows the CDC recommendations, make this hand sanitizer instead.

See how easy it is to make this DIY hand sanitizer spray by watching this video tutorial:

Tip to keep your home disinfected: If you’re looking for a disinfectant for your home, out go-to is Force of Nature, it’s just as effective as bleach but without the toxic chemicals. Force of Nature is EPA registered for disinfecting & sanitizing hospitals, ICUs, daycares, schools & more. Learn more about it here.

DIY Hand Sanitizer Spray

This recipe makes enough to fill up this one ounce spray bottle. If you reuse an old hand sanitizer bottle, you will probably need 2 oz of this recipe so just double the recipe.

Keep in mind that this recipe doesn’t contain preservatives so you should make it in small batches and use it.

The recipes takes about 1 minute to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz glass spray bottle
• 1 tablespoon aloe vera spray or aloe vera gel (after making this recipe many times, I recommend using the aloe vera spray)
• 1 tablespoon alcohol-free witch hazel
• ¼ teaspoon vitamin E oil
• 30-36 drops of Germ Destroyer (get on Amazon)
  • If you don’t have Germ Destroyer, you can use 30 drops to tea tree oil and 5-10 drops of lavender essential oil

Directions:

This recipes is so easy to make!

If you’re using the aloe vera spray, all you have to do is put all the ingredients in the bottle using a small funnel. Then shake it and it’s ready.

However, if you’re using aloe vera gel then you’ll have to mix all the ingredients in small glass jar.

Mix them well so the consistency of the gel becomes more liquid.

Transfer into the bottle. If you used the gel, it’s easier to transfer it using a pipette.

Give it shake and it’s ready! Spray on your hands like you would any regular hand sanitizer spray.

Keep it in your purse and use as needed. Don’t forget to shake it before each use.

If you love this recipe as much as we do, let me know. It’s one of my favorite ones!

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