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Yesterday I went to the store with my little meager shopping list and the trip didn’t go according to plan. I came home with stuff that wasn’t on the list, you know, like you do. Why, hello new plants in the nursery department! While I came home with some things I didn’t intend, I also came home without some of the things on my list. I meant to get a loaf pan and it was on the list but I just didn’t see it staring up at me while I was at the store. Hmm. Perhaps I was too busy thinking about where I was going to put my new plants :)
There were a few things on my list that I couldn’t buy because they weren’t there. I’m not a moron and I don’t totally avoid the news so I am aware of the current health crisis. But I’ve been hearing about California and Washington State and Florida so I didn’t really think about it affecting me just yet in Texas. But when I went to the store for hand sanitizer it was all gone. Like ALL GONE. Crud.
As I wheeled my cart around the corner and saw the empty shelf I kind of had this sinking feeling that bordered on panic. Does everybody here know something I don’t know?
I decided to make my own hand sanitizer at home.
In the past I’ve made hand sanitizer without alcohol but this time I think it’s kind of necessary… And so I guided my cart around to the first aid aisle to grab some rubbing alcohol and lo and behold it’s all gone, too. Double crud. But that’s okay, I thought. I have some alcohol at home in my craft stash I’ll dig out and use.
To keep my homemade hand sanitizer spray from being too harsh I wanted to add some aloe vera. And so I wheeled around the pharmacy section looking and looking and finding nothing. And then I found a store associate to ask who gave me a frustrated “We don’t have any. You people bought it all up.” Man, can I really triple crud in a span of 10 minutes and in an area of, like 40 square feet? Apparently. CRUD.
Sourcing the materials online.
When I got home after my shopping trip I decided to look for what I needed online. Unfortunately I found that some of the people that bought up all of the rubbing alcohol and hand sanitizer are price gouging on the internet.
TEN BUCKS? Are you freaking kidding me?
And then I thought, why buy the materials when I can just get actual hand sanitizer. Womp, womp… of course that’s all sold out everywhere, too.
So I hopped on the phone and started to call around town. Every single pharmacy and store I called was out of stock with the exception of HEB, the amazing Texas grocery store chain. I was informed, however, that in order to supply as many people as possible, they were limiting the amount each shopper could purchase in a day. That. Is. Awesome. So, I don’t know about anywhere else, but if you’re in Texas and need hand sanitizer or Isopropyl Alcohol to make your own, swing by HEB because it’s going to be your best shot.
Making DIY Hand Sanitizer in a Pinch.
So here we are… making hand sanitizer in a pinch. Though I’m NOT making this prevent anything specifically, I did go to the CDC website to see what they had to say about prevention. And they’re saying to WASH YOUR HANDS with SOAP and WATER. IF and only IF you don’t have access to soap and water use a hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol. (source)
AND SO I MUST TELL YOU…
I’m not a chemist or a mathematician or a doctor or anything but a craft blogger. And, again, I’m not making this for anythign specifically, I’m making hand sanitizer myself because I have a crap immune system and constantly use it. But, since I can’t find it to purchase anywhere and because I seem to get strep throat just looking at a kid with it, DIY it is…
*edit* HERE IS A RECIPE FOR HOMEMADE HAND SANITIZER CREATED BY THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION.
Supplies needed to make Hand Sanitizer in a Pinch.
- 2 ounce (59 mL) spray bottles
- 91% Isopropyl Alcohol OR 70% Isopropyl Alcohol
- Aloe Vera
- Small Jar or Bottle with a Lid
- Medicine Syringe OR Something to Measure in Small Amounts
I’ve linked to some spray bottles that are currently reasonably priced but I purchased mine from the travel section of the pharmacy at the grocery store. I’m not bothering linking to alcohol or aloe vera at this time because if you are making hand sanitizer RIGHT NOW, like TODAY, you’re going to have to source your materials locally. I highly recommend calling around to see if any stores around you are limiting purchases to keep some in stock.
Varying Strengths of Rubbing Alcohol.
If you don’t craft a lot or injure yourself often like I do you might not know that there are different strengths of Isopropyl Alcohol out there. The percentage on the bottle means the percentage of alcohol to water. If you have 50% Isopropyl Alcohol, inside of that bottle is 50% alcohol and 50% purified water.
Since we are trying to tick that box of our hand sanitizer being at least 60% alcohol you’ll need to start with either 91% or 70% rubbing alcohol. Because it’s already too weak, 50% rubbing alcohol won’t achieve a 60% alcohol ratio. You’ll need at least 70% to achieve that 60% ratio.
Making Hand Sanitizer Yourself:
To make hand sanitizer at home you need to first make sure that all of the tools you are using are clean. To keep things simple and hopefully prevent contamination I’m keeping our process and tools required as short as possible.
Because I didn’t want to run back into town I used these teeny tiny beakers I bought for a different project that didn’t work at all because I’m not good with understanding sizes. BUT I would really recommend using a medicine syringe. Medicine syringes come in lots of different sizes and with their small increments could make measuring out your alcohol and aloe very super easy.
Measure out and transfer your aloe and alcohol to a small, clean jar or bottle with a lid. Now shake the daylights out of it to incorporate well. While using pure aloe vera is ideal, you might have a difficult time locating it as I did.Since this was in a pinch, I grabbed my tube of after sun care that is meant for sunburns since it’s mostly aloe vera.
FYI: Try though I might, stirring together never really worked for me. I found the only way to get a well incorporated spray was to vigorously shake.
If your mixture has visible chunks floating through the liquid you’ll need to strain out any gunk out. You can use a coffee filter or, in a pinch, a clean paper towel. Allow the mixture to filter through naturally. Do NOT squeeze the liquid through the filter with your hands or a utensil.
Transfer your strained alcohol and aloe mixture into a clean spray bottle. Screw on the lid and this DIY is done! Tadaa! DIY Hand Sanitizer in a pinch!
60% Alcohol Hand Sanitizer Recipe Using 91% Alcohol or 70% Alcohol.
To achieve at least a 60% alcohol ratio when using 91% Isopropyl Alcohol use a ratio of 7 parts alcohol to 3 parts aloe. If using a medicine syringe, this should be super easy to accomplish. For a 2 ounce spray bottle rounding up, that would be 42 mL alcohol and 18 mL aloe vera.
DIY Hand Sanitizer Using 91% Alcohol
Equipment
- Jar or Bottle with Lid
Ingredients
- 42 mL 91% Isopropyl Alcohol
- 18 mL Aloe Vera
- 2 oz Spray Bottle
Instructions
- Make sure all utensils and instruments are clean and sanitized.
- Measure and transfer alcohol and aloe into a bottle or jar with a lid. Screw lid tightly and vigorously shake to fully incorporate.
- If you see chunks in your alcohol mixture, strain using a coffee filter or paper towel. Do NOT squeeze or use a utensil to push the mixture through the filter. Allow the mixture to drip through and filter. Discard filter.
- Transfer to a clean spray bottle and mark accordingly.
Notes
To achieve at least a 60% alcohol ratio when using 70% Isopropyl Alcohol use a ratio of 9 parts alcohol to 1 part aloe. For a 2 ounce spray bottle that would be 53 mL alcohol and 6 mL aloe vera.
DIY Hand Sanitizer Using 70% Alcohol
Equipment
- Jar or Bottle with Lid
Ingredients
- 53 mL 70% Isopropyl Alcohol
- 6 mL Aloe Vera
- 2 oz Spray Bottle
Instructions
- Make sure all utensils and instruments are clean and sanitized.
- Measure and transfer alcohol and aloe into a bottle or jar with a lid. Screw lid tightly and vigorously shake to fully incorporate.
- If you see chunks in your alcohol mixture, strain using a coffee filter or paper towel. Do NOT squeeze or use a utensil to push the mixture through the filter. Allow the mixture to drip through and filter. Discard filter.
- Transfer to a clean spray bottle and mark accordingly.
Combat Dry, Cracked Skin by Using a Good Hand Cream
Because this is such a high amount of alcohol and such a small amount of aloe, I’d really suggest keeping a good, moisturizing hand cream with you, too. Too much alcohol can easily make your hands crack and bleed, but so can washing your hands very frequently. Because I do have a cruddy autoimmune system I wash my hands all of the time. My go to hand creams are O’Keeffe’s Working Hands OR Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream.
Remember, Hand Sanitizer is NOT a Substitute for Hand Washing.
I hate to stress it again but in all things the best prevention for getting sick is to WASH YOUR HANDS with soap and water. And remember, while we tried to hit that 60% alcohol ratio recommended by the CDC, this recipe has NOT been tested in a lab against any virus
*edit* Reminder: you can also utilize this hand sanitizer recipe from the World Health Organization.
If you read all of the recipes on the CDC cite, they don’t all call for 90% alcohol. And as you pointed out, the total alcohol content will depend on the amount of the other ingredients used. I use pure 70% alcohol spray on shopping cart handles. I carry a tiny pen size spray bottle. It’s more effective than a wipe.
That’s a great idea!
I am reading your post on hand sanitizer. However, I see no amounts of alcohol or aloe listed. I am looking at the CC site, buts written in a language–science–that I do not understand.
Help please?
Hi! It’s up in the post beneath the larger text that reads:
60% Alcohol Hand Sanitizer Recipe Using 91% Alcohol or 70% Alcohol.
The amounts are in mL.
Next time, put ingredients into a baggie to mix and mash together. Snip off a corner once thoroughly mixed and squeeze into a container.
That’s a good idea, thanks for the tip!