The best way to protect yourself from getting sick is washing your hands with regular soap and water. Natural soap and water help to remove the bad bacteria from your body while still allowing the good bacteria to thrive and protect you. Anti-bacterial soaps and regular hand sanitizers kill or remove both good and bad bacteria. This leaves your body left with less protection and more susceptible to getting sick.

Click here for my regular DIY Natural Soap recipe and my Natural Foam Soap recipe.

If you do not have access to regular soap and water and need to clean your hands asap, hand sanitizer is the way to go.

How to make Natural Hand Sanitizer Gel

This recipe makes about 6 fluid ounces (enough to fill 2 of these silicone squirt bottles).

Scroll down for a recipe safe for Children age 2-15 and Pregnant/Nursing Mamas.

This recipe follows CDC guidelines for effective hand sanitizer that contains more than 60% alcohol. Read more here and here.

Add 1/4 cup of aloe vera gel and 1/4 tsp of Vitamin E oil to a glass or ceramic bowl and mix together. I’m not talking about that green Aloe gunk, I mean the real aloe vera gel.

Next, add 20-30 drops of essential oils into the mixture. Choose which essential oils you would like to include. Many essential oils on this list are are anti-bacterial and antiviral. I recommend the following:

• Thieves EO Blend (Young Living) a mix of clove, cinnamon bark, rosemary, lemon, and eucalyptus.
• Oregano EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy) I only use 1-2 drops as it is very potent.
• Tea Tree EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy)
• Rosemary EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy)
• Eucalyptus EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy) 
• Pine EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy)
• Thyme EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy)
• Fir Needle EO (Plant Therapy)
• RC EO Blend (Young Living): This is a blend of eucalyptus, myrtle, spruce, peppermint, pine, lavender, marjoram, and cypress.
• Germ Fighter (Plant Therapy): This is a blend of lemon, clove, eucalyptus, cinnamon and rosemary.

{I use and recommend Young Living Essential Oils and Plant Therapy Essential Oils because they are 100% pure quality essential oils. There are other reputable essential oil companies to purchase from. Your local drug store’s cheap essential oil can give you a rash and not have the same positive effects because most only contain about 10% of the pure oil and the rest is filled with synthetics. Do your research and find a company you feel comfortable purchasing from.}

Finally, mix in either 1/2 cup of witch hazel OR 1/2 cup of high proof vodka (ex. Everclear). Witch hazel makes for a gentler solution, while alcohol is stronger and can dry hands.

If your recipe is too runny, you can add 1/4 teaspoon at a time of vegetable glycerine until desired consistency is reached. It also helps to moisturize hands from the drying alcohol!

Use a funnel to fill some squirt bottles and you are good to go! It may help to shake the container before using.

Apply a small amount to hands and rub in until dry.

How to make Natural Hand Sanitizer Gel for Children (age 2-15) or Pregnant/Nursing Mamas

This recipe makes about 6 fluid ounces (enough to fill 2 of these silicone squirt bottles).

Add 1/4 cup of aloe vera gel and 1/4 tsp of Vitamin E oil to a glass or ceramic bowl and mix together.

Next, add 10-20 drops of essential oils into the mixture. Choose which essential oils you would like to include. Many essential oils on this list are are anti-bacterial and antiviral. I recommend the following:

• Sniffle Stopper EO Blend (Plant Therapy): This is a children’s blend of fir needle, rosalina, spruce, cypress, spearmint, and cedarwood.
• Tea Tree EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy)
• Pine EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy)
• Thyme EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy)
• Fir Needle EO (Plant Therapy)
• Germ Destroyer (Plant Therapy): This is a children’s blend of spruce, marjoram, lavender, rosalina, and lemon.

{I use and recommend Young Living Essential Oils and Plant Therapy Essential Oils because they are 100% pure quality essential oils. There are other reputable essential oil companies to purchase from. Your local drug store’s cheap essential oil can give you a rash and not have the same positive effects because most only contain about 10% of the pure oil and the rest is filled with synthetics. Do your research and find a company you feel comfortable purchasing from.}

Finally, mix in either 1/2 cup of witch hazel OR 1/2 cup of high proof vodka (ex. Everclear). Witch hazel makes for a gentler solution, while alcohol is stronger and can dry hands.

If your recipe is too runny, you can add 1/4 teaspoon at a time of vegetable glycerine until desired consistency is reached. It also helps to moisturize hands from the drying alcohol!

Use a funnel to fill some squirt bottles and you are good to go! It may help to shake the container before using.

Apply a small amount to hands and rub in until dry.

Happy Hand-Sanitizing 🙂

How are you protecting yourself from illness? Do you regularly use hand sanitizer or do you have good access to soap and water?