The current state of affairs in the grocery stores and pharmacies had me wonder: did we as a society get so spoiled we need to have everything readymade?
With sanitizers disappeared weeks ago and both me and my husband holding what turned out to be essential jobs I had to improvise and dig back into my high school chemistry skills.
Hand sanitizer is essentially alcohol mixed with water soluble base. After considering possibilities Aloe Vera gel appears to be the most cost effective option and is still mostly readily available in cosmetics isle next to sunscreen. For Alcohol I skipped the drug store and went straight to liquor one. Essential oil I had on hand, although it is totally optional.
Everclear was the strongest alcohol I could find at the store except for tequila that apparently can be stronger. Who knew? Deciding that wasting tequila to kill germs is a bit wasteful I stuck with basics.
When picking out Aloe Vera gel pay attention to the label. You are after the cheap stuff. I would have grabbed store brand, but anything related to sun bathing is slim pickings in Montana before June. The main thing to pay attention to us presence of topical anesthetic such as Lidocaine in the product. While great for sunburn, it is not a good idea to add to something you will be using in your hands multiple times a day. Unless you enjoy not feeling your hands.
Measure gel and alcohol and put in an a large bowl. You will need roughly 1 part gel to 2 parts of alcohol in whatever units you are planning on making the final product. I had one cup of gel to 2 cups of Everclear. Essential oil ar added at this point as well, however it is optional. Add as little or as much as you’d like or omit it all together. I added 3 droppers of peppermint oil just because I had some around.
Mixing this concoction took a little longer than I expected. You do have to put some effort into until the mixture blends together smooth. And it’s ready!
I did have some 3oz traveling bottles for toiletries I used for the final product. You can use any portable container as long as it has a tight fitting lid. Alcohol evaporates, and you don’t want to loose any of the germ killing goodness.
Unless you have a funnel with a wide spout, do not use one. The sanitizer will be to thick to go through. For as uncoordinated as I am I had way better luck spooning it into the bottle straight up.
And here it is! Home made sanitizer in a pinch!
Perfect Imperfections 