Alcohol Free Homemade Hand Sanitizer Recipe

The main ingredient of all hand sanitizers on the market is alcohol. In order to be effective it has to be at least 60%; that's ALOT of alcohol!  This is the warning on an alcohol bottle:

WARNING! FLAMMABLE LIQUID AND VAPOR. HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED OR INHALED. CAUSES IRRITATION TO EYES AND RESPIRATORY TRACT. AFFECTS CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. MAY BE HARMFUL IF ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN. MAY CAUSE IRRITATION TO SKIN.

We darn near bathe in this stuff and slather it all over the delicate skin of our children. . . I figured there had to be a better and safer way to protect myself and family. So here it is. I created a recipe for an all natural hand sanitizer with ingredients that have been proven effective against even MRSA.

      What Ya Need:
•  2/3 cup witch hazel (I prefer alcohol free, however even the traditional version only contains 14% alcohol which is much less than the content of store bought sanitizers)
•  1/3 cup aloe vera gel
•  60 - 80 drops ( ~ 4.5ml) organic orange essential oil. (keep in mind citrus essential oils can increase sun sensitivity to skin. Personally, I choose orange's "risk"over alcohol's. . . especially since natural orange essential oil was shown to be effective against MRSA with no damage to the skin!)
•  bowl and spoon
•  funnel
•  recycled liquid soap or hand sanitizer bottle (a dark bottle is most desirable as essential oils react to light)

     Directions:
Simply mix the ingredients together and then use the funnel to pour them into the bottle. Screw the pump back on the bottle and you are ready to go! Just make sure you shake before using as essential oils are hydrophobic.