Healthy Living
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer
user
- by FitSugar, on Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:02pm PDT
Everyone around me is sick
lately, and it has me
washing my hands in overdrive,
but if I'm not near a sink I use
hand sanitizer. The problem
is that those little bottles start to add up financially, and I
feel bad throwing out so many plastic containers. Recently, my
friend shared her recipe for homemade sanitizer with me and
I've been a convert ever since.
What's cool is that the basic ingredients are things I
already keep in my medicine cabinet: aloe vera gel and rubbing
alcohol. You can make as little or as much as you want, but always
use a ratio of six parts alcohol to four parts aloe vera gel for it
to be effective. If you're a big germaphobe like I am you can
also add tea tree oil — nature's
antiseptic — to the mixture. I put about five drops into every
half-cup of sanitizer I make. I also add lavender oil to the mix to
kill the medicinal smell. From there, just add your mixture to a
small bottle that you can always keep with you.
I still think that washing your hands trumps
sanitizer, but this recipe is a great alternative to the
store-bought stuff.
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Related: purell, health, hand washing, hand sanitizer, flu, colds
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Posted by JenniferW Fri Oct 16, 2009 12:00pm PDT
sorry, but this article is pointless, you have to buy all those ingredients just to make it!! You might as well buy the bottle for 2.00 at a drug store and avoid the hassle & mess to make it yourself.duh.
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Posted by Kristina Mon Oct 19, 2009 6:55am PDT
try the dollar store one med. bottle for $1
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Posted by lauren Mon Oct 19, 2009 6:55am PDT
disagree to a point, as most ppl already have at least the alcohol as a main staple in the medicine cabinet. These items can be purchased at a Dollar" stores. This article seems to be geared to those who wanted another option to cut cost on buying santitizers by "DIY". Writer did point out to making as "little" or as "much" as you want. this option is not going to be a good fit for everybody..
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Posted by Unhappy Mon Oct 19, 2009 8:11am PDT
this is perfect for me because i have terrible allergies & the store bought ones make me sick. Plus, i have all of the ingredients at home.
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Posted by vixenvena Mon Oct 19, 2009 12:30pm PDT
I just douse my hands in lighter fluid and light a match. Wooosh! All those germs are gone instantly!
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Posted by kvirrueta Mon Oct 19, 2009 12:45pm PDT
I think you have a great idea. Most people already have these ingredients at home and wouldn't think of putting them to good use for hand sanitizing. Thanks for the neat idea!
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Posted by Donna Mon Oct 19, 2009 6:19pm PDT
I really like it because I have 3 bottles of aloe that I have no use for. It will give me a chance to use it up. good idea Thanks
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Posted by Maria Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:31am PDT
This is a great idea! Hand sanitizer usage is certainly very important in lieu of hand washing, but have you ever looked on the ingredients of most hand sanitizers? Sure - alcohol is needed to sanitize. Ingredients vary from bottle to bottle but I'm reading Tocopheryl acetate? benzophene-4? Isopropyl myristate? not to mention blue dye. I'm not one of those 100% all the time organic, natural proponents...and maybe they're OK - but why expose yourself? Yuck- those chemicals are on my hands before eating a meal.
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Posted by CarolB Sat Oct 31, 2009 4:43pm PDT
I totally agree with the article and with Maria's post. Not only are the chemicals hazardous to your health and that of young children, they are detrimental to the environment, not to mention all the plastic bottles that get thrown away.
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