Are you making your own hand sanitizer?
/With the daily coronavirus media coverage, anxiety has been rising, and hand sanitizers have been flying off the shelves. They are now very hard to find, and people have started to make their own. This trend comes with a few drawbacks…
1/ First and foremost, remember that the CDC recommends washing your hands over using a hand sanitizer (unless you don't have access to soap and water). Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, many times a day (after using the restroom, before and after eating, before and after preparing food and as soon as you get home from shopping or being in public places).
2/The amount of hand sanitizer you use will also have an impact on its effectiveness. If you leave areas out, the virus could still be lingering. So… How about thoroughly washing your hands instead?
3/ Some of the hand sanitizers out there (if you can still find them in stores or online) use a chemical called “benzalkonium chloride” in place of alcohol as the main active ingredient. This may not be as effective against some types of germs. Also, they may reduce the growth of germs but not kill them entirely. And they may not be as effective against the coronavirus or COVID-19.
4/ If you are making a DIY hand sanitizer, unless you work with the right proportions and the right ingredients, you may have a false sense of protection, and your hand sanitizer may not be effective.
5/ If you are using a mix of rubbing alcohol and aloe vera gel, and use about 2/3 alcohol and 1/3 aloe vera, DO NOT USE 70% isopropyl alcohol. The dilution renders it ineffective against coronavirus. To be safe use 99% isopropyl alcohol. But be aware that with repeated use of alcohol, your hands will eventually get really dry!!! Your skin may even end up cracking and bleeding.
6/ If you want to use 80 proof Vodka instead of isopropyl alcohol, DON’T! The alcohol content is not enough to protect you, especially if you dilute it with other ingredients.
7/ If you can find Aloe Vera at the store, know that most have coloring, additives, gelling agents, water and preservatives.
8/ If you are making DIY hand sanitizer using real, natural Aloe Vera from a plant, you may need to make regular small batches as it will spoil. Plus it is very hard to control exact proportions. And it’s a bit more messy!
So, I hope I didn’t discourage you. I just want to make sure that the information that gets out there is accurate and does not compromise your safety.
Be safe and stay healthy!
If you want to read more on the subject, here are some links to a few articles that inspired this blog:
https://www.nbc-2.com/story/41863915/diy-hand-sanitizer-gel-spray-germs-bacteria-does-it-work
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/why-you-shouldnt-make-your-own-hand-sanitizer
