This DIY hand sanitizer recipe is easy to make, and it’s ingredients include everyday household products. I’ve added my favorite germ-fighting essential oil to this recipe to make it extra potent!
If you’ve tried to stock up on hand sanitizer, you may have found the shelves in your local stores empty. Don’t worry; it’s effortless to make homemade hand sanitizer, and you probably have the ingredients in your medicine cabinet to make it!
Before I go into this recipe, I want to be clear about how to use this DIY hand sanitizer. It is to be used as an extra precaution when hand washing isn’t available. Washing your hands with soap and water is the best option to keep germs at bay.
DIY Hand Sanitizer Recipe
You will need rubbing alcohol (90+%), aloe vera gel, and essential oils. These empty reusable bottles are great for homemade hand sanitizer and other homemade products like toothpaste and hair gel.
In a small bowl or a container, mix 1/4 cup of aloe vera gel with 3/4 cup of rubbing alcohol. Mix well.
Then add 10+ drops of thieves essential oil.
If you’re not familiar with this oil blend, then I recommend you google it! This essential oil is a unique blend of therapeutic-grade essential oils, including clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and rosemary. Its name comes from the story of four thieves who used these herbs to protect themselves while robbing people dying of the plague.
It’s important to use a 2:1 ratio of the proportion of alcohol to aloe vera gel, this is the minimum amount needed to kill most germs, according to the CDC.
Because alcohol can be very drying to the skin, I recommend using a good lotion to help keep your hands soft. I use my whipped coconut oil moisturizer after washing my hands and using hand sanitizer.
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DIY Hand Sanitizer
Materials
- 3/4 cup rubbing alcohol (99%)
- 1/4 cup aloe vera gel
- 10+ drops essential oils like thieves blend
Instructions
- Mix the rubbing alcohol, aloe vera gel, and essential oils together in a small container.
- Pour mixture into a container or empty bottle
The standard 2:1 ratio will NOT work with just any alcohol, it depends on the percentage of alcohol you’re using! 99% of the recipes I’m seeing are incorrect, and if you follow them you’ll end up making something that’s only qualified to be a deodorizer. The CDC standards for alcohol content are 60% and over for Ethanol, and 70% and over for Isopropanol. For instance, if you’re using 91% isopropyl alcohol your necessary ratio of ingredients would be 3.5 parts alcohol to 1 part extender. I’m sharing a link to a calculator that, once you make your own copy, will allow you to figure out what ratio of ingredients you need to make hand sanitizer that meets CDC requirements. I use 190 proof Everclear, which is 95% ethanol. Only with that am I able to use a 2:1 ratio and it ends up being 63% alcohol/37% extender. I prefer to make a liquid spray, so I use 2 parts Everclear and then for the extender I use a mixture of witch hazel and pure glycerin. Then I add my favorite essential oil purely for the scent, the 2 most popular scents I make are lavender and citrus (orange and lemon). I’m currently making up batches and giving them out, I don’t feel right selling them at the moment! Mine also have custom labels because I feel it adds a personal touch. Here is the link to the calculator, it should prompt you to make your own copy that you can edit as needed
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18vQUIEnJKcYnysQlNKI5-LdEINPfZjxPIfQH-Nu2G2w/edit?usp=drivesdk. Also I don’t recommend baby oil gel, but you could use glycerin, hair gel or water based personal lubricant if you can’t find aloe vera gel. I also want to share a link to a video from a biomedical engineer who goes into detail of alternative ingredients that can be used, how to calculate the proper ratios, etc. Nothing is a substitute for hand washing, but if you’re going to make your own sanitizer it’s important to make it properly! You also HAVE to sanitizer any utensils, surfaces, and containers before mixing your ingredients. I soak my utensils and containers in either bleach water or Pine-Sol water, then I disinfect all surfaces. I can’t guarantee my recipe is 100% effective but it’s certainly close! Here is the link to the video
https://youtu.be/kJYX70o9ELg
I made some hand sanitizer and doubled the recipe. I used my Bamix to combine all of the ingredients and it worked great. I already love this recipe. So easy and useful. Thank you Coconut Mama.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, Aimee!
Hi! So when I went to the pharmacy yesterday, they were handing out small sanitizers to customers. They told me it is from the state (I’m in NY). It is very runny, but works just fine! If the state says runny is ok, I’m going to go with it. I think as long as you have the required alcohol in it, it’s good. I was also pondering making some myself with the J&J baby oil gel, as you mentioned above…
I just made a batch using the baby oil gel using a 2:1 ratio at first, and then it was too watery so I squirted just a dab more into the 2 oz jars I made and it’s perfect. Just the right consistency and isn’t overly drying.
I was wondering if baby oil gel worked. Thanks for posting. Making it rightnow, lol!
Hi…I tried this with 100% aloe vera gel, and 91! isopropyl alcohol. I stirred and poured it into the container and the alcohol went in, then the aloe. it didn’t mix. so i stirred in a bit of alcohol at a time. still wouldn’t mix. put it in the bottle and shook it a LOT, then poured it back into the mixing bowl. now I have a lump of aloe vera, about a tablespoon size, and alcohol with a bit of aloe sinking to the bottom. Am I doing something wrong? Any helpful hints here or does the aloe really not mix?
same here-its very watery, no matter how much i shake it
Thanks for this recipe. I just tried it using the ratio 2:1 and follow the easy steps but the aloe vera doesn’t seem to dissolve completely. Is it normal? Will it still be usable? Have a lovely day!
Yes, it’s still useful. Just shake it well before each use.
How long does it last (expire)?
Can’t we simply put alcohol (will 70% strength not work? I’ve heard different requirements. Some say “at least 70”, some say “only 91 and above.” Which is correct?) into a small spray bottle, maybe with a little essential oils? Wouldn’t spraying hands or surfaces with this (& it evaporates pretty quickly) work the same? This hasn’t been too drying for me. Feels good – maybe even add some fractionated coconut oil or jojoba for fun or even for moisturizing?? I’m not sure why people need it to be a Gel.
Straight rubbing alcohol is actually less effective than 60% because of how quickly it evaporates. You need at least a 60% concentration to be potent enough to dissolve the lipid envelope (think of it as the viruses “skin”) protecting the virus, but you also need a certain minimum amount of contact TIME to accomplish this as well. The CDC has determined that between 60% and 70% is most effective because it is both powerful enough AND evaporates slowly enough to achieve total destruction of the lipid layer. So, while it may seem counter intuitive, 90+% alcohol is actually less effective because it evaporates faster than it can do its job on those nasty viruses.
thanks for clearing that up. so, Nico is correct, that we can just put some 60-70% in a spray bottle and it will be effective?
Its physically impossible to get 99 percent alcohol. Alcohols is hydrophilic, that it absorbs moisture from the air. Best you can do is 95 percent! Also, the product is very dangerous. Probably is considered a hazardous material.
Not true – I work in an industrial facility, and we have 800lb drums of certified 99% IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) for a mixture we use. You may mean most you can get in a store is 95%, but I have gallons of 99% at home for this virus issue, just need to add a bit more moisturizer, so the spray doesn’t dry immediately, and the hands can be rubbed thoroughly in between constantly washing which is more important when available.
It says on the CDC site the hand sanitizer is best if it contains 60 to 95% alcohol. I wonder if adding some whipped coconut oil would help with dryness. Coconut oil is also antibacterial. I don’t have any essential oils so I won’t use that. Luckily I have 90% alcohol on hand as well as vodka!!!
This brand of alo Vera jelly didn’t mix well no matter how much I mixed it. Kept settling to the bottom and separated. Looked almost grainy.
instead of using essential oils you can use normal lemon juice in your food cupboard its a natural cleanser to
It’s good you have a nice DIY hand sanitizer, however, the rubbing alcohol just isn’t on the shelves. I won’t be paying outlandish prices to have it shipped to me. We use soap and water at home and, considering our ages, will be going out only if very necessary till the situation with COVID-19 changes.
This is similar to the one I make but to keep from being too drying I add 1-2 teaspoons of Vit. E oil as it also helps last longer and I put it in a spray bottle. This doesn’t dilute it if you add more alcohol to keep rations the same. I sometimes use tea tree EO. as it is antibacterial and an effective EO. for viruses.
Please inform that all 91-99% alcohol is not available on any website at this time. Nor is antibacterial soap/sanitizer.
you can buy everclear or high proof vodka in place of rubbing alcohol. Mix with witchhazel makes a great sanitizer spray
Hi my name is sonya..i want to make hand sanitizer i want to know can i use savlon as a hand rubbing alcohol thn i will add aloe vera gel amd instead of essential oil can i use coconut oil and what will be the proportions..please help me..
Thank you.
I couldn’t find aloe vera gel so I used the pulp of the fresh leaf and blended in to a more liquid. I added it to the alcohol 91% and EOs…At first I was concerned because aloe can go bad if fresh…However, realizing that alcohol is a very strong preservative, I believe it’s okay. I hope.
I appreciate your recipes and all the info you share. However, if the ratio of alcohol to aloe vera gel should be 2:1, then your recipe of 3/4 c. alcohol and 1/4 c. aloe gel is a 3:1 ratio. Could you please clear up the confusion? Perhaps anywhere between 2:1 and 3:1 is acceptable? Thanks for your help.
From other recipes i’ve seen the correct ratio IS 2:1 which translates as for example ⅔ cups alcohol to ⅓ cup aloe. Hopefully that is right but always stand to be corrected.
My sanitizer is coming out too runny. Any suggestions to thicken?
mine came out runny as well i whisked it up with my hand mixer, but added a bit more gel as well
regards penny
Lotion and alchohol? Anyone try this and did it work? We have tons of both. For some reason we bought large quantities late 2019 (must have been on sale) and thought some type of lotion might work. Any suggestions? Thanks so much. Hope everyone is healthy and safe.
Hi Belinda,
Yes, you’re right! This recipe is stronger. Between 2:1 – 3:1 is good, just don’t go under.
I’m going to try using baby oil gel since all the aloe is gone. I think itll help with over drying as well.
Did the baby oil gel work? I was thinking of doing the same.
I tried it bc i couldn’t find any aloe Vera gel and it leaves your hands soft and silky with a little bit of an oily after feeling and it separates. I put it in a plastic bottle and shake it very well before pouring it on my hands. It does separate and have more of a liquidity than the store bought brands. Anyone else try the baby oil gel????
Does this work? That is the only kind of aloe gel I can find as well. Any hacks that you may have learned?
Has anyone tried by mixing lotion with alcohol?
I am going to try baby oil gel…
I did and it works wonderful.
Did the baby oil gel work if so what was the mixture you used?