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Make your own hand sanitiser

All shops cleared out of hand sanitiser? Fear not, here is a simple, effective method to make your own at home.

Whether you’re currently on full lockdown or just being prepared for the potential same situation, we are all being given the lowdown on how to stay safe. One of the simple things we can do is to maintain a high level of personal hygiene and to sanitise our hands to remove any possibility of giving ourselves the virus or passing it on to others. If we have been in public spaces and are carrying the virus on our hands, using a strong, alcohol-based hand sanitiser can help eradicate it.

If you have already tried to go out and buy some you may well have noticed that there isn’t just a shortage but the shelves are totally bare. Everywhere! When this happened to me I looked up ways to make your own, or to see if there were natural alternatives that would have the same effect. As it turns out, you can do it yourself with only three ingredients. And it is quite possible that you may just already have these at home.

One of the stipulations is that the alcohol used in an effective hand sanitiser must be 60% or above in order to disinfect properly, and to really ensure you’re fully cleansed of any germs it is advised to wash with soap and warm water first, then apply the hand sanitiser.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN HAND SANITISER

hand sanitiser

So all you need are three simple ingredients:

Alcohol: which you can (usually) get at any supermarket or pharmacy. I would advise to select the one with the highest alcohol percentage for the best possible results – like vodka, for example.

Aloe vera: The best option here would be to use an actual aloe vera plant, strip off the skin and place all the flesh in a blender, and whizz until it becomes a smooth gel. If you don’t happen to have it in your garden you can buy pure aloe vera gel in most health food stores or even supermarkets.

Tea Tree Oil: If possible try to find a 100% essential tea tree oil. Tea tree also has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties.

Method: Combine 3/4 of a cup of alcohol and 1/4 of a cup of aloe vera and ten to twenty drops of tea tree oil. Place your mixture in a sterilised container – you could use the bottle the alcohol came in as they usually have a pourer and will be perfectly sterile due to having been previously full of alcohol! Alternatively you could use a glass spray bottle.

For a finer, sprayable version of the hand sanitiser use the following recipe:

  • Alcohol
  • Glycerol
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Distilled water

This recipe may prove difficult to achieve due to the slightly more complex ingredients but apparently it is more effective against the virus and also comes recommended by the World Health Organisation.

Method: Combine 2 cups of alcohol with three teaspoons of glycerol, 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide, and 1/4 of a cup of distilled (or cooled, boiled water).

Stay clean and safe everyone.

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