In the event of a pandemic, people are more aware of good hygiene and health-conscious to stay from infection. This causes the price of health sanitizer to skyrocket and event out of stock. Actually, making a hand sanitizer is not too difficult. We could make it at home by mixing alcohol with either propylene glycol, glycerine, or aloe vera gel. But, how to be sure that our homemade hand sanitizer works.
Purpose of hand sanitizer
The purpose of hand sanitizer is to protect your skin from germs or bacteria and viruses. But are they really be able to kill them? There are different thoughts on whether it can completely protect you from the virus. According to a medical expert, washing your hand with water properly is sufficient to remove germs and viruses out of your hand. But we couldn’t wash our hands with water in the doorstep of the mall or store. That is why hand sanitizer comes in handy. We could use it everywhere without creating any mess.
Hand sanitizer ingredients
The effectiveness of hand sanitizer depends on its contents. That why we need to read the label when buying it! The main ingredient of hand sanitizer is alcohol. It is recommended to have more than 60% of alcohol in your hand sanitizer since alcohol able to inhibit the bacteria and virus growth on your palm. If the amount of alcohol is less, it becomes less effective.
Besides alcohol, another compound that able to kill microorganisms or bacteria and viruses is formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, and hydrogen peroxide. You might realize these compounds at low concentrations in some of the hand sanitizers in the store. Because these ingredients work perfectly. Those who are looking for alcohol-free hand sanitizer, these ingredients are the best option. They work as well as alcohol events in low quantities.
Add-on ingredients
Additionally, there are glycerine, propylene glycerol, or aloe vera gel in your hand sanitizer for lubrication purposes. Without them, the alcohol will dry quickly and you would not have enough time to spread the liquid all over your hand. If you prefer non-petroleum based products, go for a hand sanitizer that containing glycerine and aloe vera gel.
Also, we can add essential oils or fragrances in the hand sanitizer to give a pleasant odor and smell. Usually, they sell this at a higher price. But the original purpose of hand sanitizer is to protect you from bacteria and viruses, without these ingredients you should be fine.