If you’ve tried to buy hand sanitizer at a pharmacy, or even online, you may have found it’s sold out. A spokesperson for CVS says, “This demand may cause temporary shortages at some store locations and we re-supply those stores as quickly as possible.” All of this means recipes for homemade hand sanitizers are spreading online.
Popular recipes making the rounds include a combination of alcohol, essential oils, and aloe vera gel. But Dr. Birnur Aral with the Good Housekeeping Institute says you shouldn’t assume this method is safe and effective, as many of the recipes stray from the FDA’s rules governing the hand sanitizer product category. This rule says that the minimum recommended level for isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) is 70 percent in the final product, or a minimum 60 percent ethyl alcohol. So if a recipe calls for two-thirds cup of rubbing alcohol, the active level would fall short of the recommended 70 percent.
Some recipes include essential oils, but Aral says they’re used in such small amounts that they’re not likely to fight viruses. Plus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says washing your hands with soap and water is still the best way to avoid transmission of disease, including the coronavirus.
If you want to give it a shot, here ya go ...