I am not very good at touching anything in places where
there are high volumes of people, grocery store baskets, hand rails, crosswalk
buttons and most of all door handles. I am like a contortionist when it comes
to using a public door handle, feet, elbows, they all come into play as I try
to work my way around them.
This winter has been particularly mild where I live in
Georgia and spring is in the air, we are however still in cold and flu season,
so keeping your hands clean is as important as ever. Hand sanitizers and wipes
are a very popular way keep those germs at bay…or are they?
Hand Sanitizers
Formulas for hand sanitizers are very basic and so are the
ingredients that go in to them. Most hand sanitizers are simply alcohol
thickened to a gelatin with color and fragrance added to make them more
appealing to the consumer. Some formulas contain a moisturizing agent, which
can help a little but in truth are not effective. They are there to rebalance
what the alcohol is doing and no the alcohol is not what you would order from
your local pub, it is generally ethanol or isopropanol. Some of the better
formulas contain vitamins and extracts, the amounts are so small I think that
they are ineffective and are there for the “show” factor.
So how do they work? When you work them in to your hand ‘most’
of the living bacteria are killed, the alcohol bursts the cell wall and the
organelles leak out. If you notice advertisements for hand soap they will say “kills
99% of germs” have you wondered what that 1% is doing? That one percent’s spore
is immune to alcohol and is a trouble maker that encourages
its buddies to unite and that is when the bacteria starts its cycle all over
again as soon as you touch something else.
Do they work?
Yes, they work like the label claims they will, although
there testing is done in a lab and not in human conditions on human skin. Soap
and hot water is more effective because it removes all the microbes present.
Another added bonus are non-microbial chemicals are removed and that’s a good
thing because they can make you equally as sick. I see people obsessed with the
pump bottle sanitizers, overuse generally results in drying out the skin and creating
very small cracks, a haven for bacteria to nestle.
Bottom Line
Hand sanitizers are a good option in a pinch or when that nasty public water
closet is inevitably out of soap! However, you can't beat good old-fashioned
soap and water in the battle to fight disease-causing germs.
Homemade Hand Sanitizer
recipe
- 1/4 c. aloe Vera gel (as pure as you can get)
- 3/4 c. rubbing alcohol (at least 91%)
- 1/8 c. vegetable glycerin (optional) (if omitted, use an extra 1/8 c. aloe Vera gel)
- 10 drops essential oil
Pour everything into your food processor or blender and let
it go on high for a minute or two. Bottle and use as you would any hand
sanitizer. Keeps for 6 months or more.
Why use glycerin? I added glycerin to mix to add extra softening.
Note: I have
played around with this recipe quite a bit over the years, adding more glycerin
will make your hands feel sticky. You do not have to use glycerin however.
Here’s a list of antibacterial and/or antiviral essential
oils and how they can affect your mood/nerves with their fragrant action:
- Cinnamon: Reduces drowsiness, enhances concentration, may decrease headache pain – one of the most antiseptic essential oils out there.
- Lavender: Relaxes, rejuvenates, relieves headaches and migraine pains; a good choice if you’re going to use it on kids (over the age of 2), as it induces calmness
- Lemon: Rejuvenates, helps ease depression and sadness, energizes
- Peppermint: Calms frazzled nerves, energizes, improves mental clarity
- Tea Tree: Maybe not the best-smelling option, but it’s VERY antiseptic and antibacterial – use this if you care less about the smell and more about nuking the germs – but tea tree oil does promote calmness and mental alertness
- Rosemary: Extremely effective in helping with information retention, alertness, and memory
- Geranium: Milder, but the most floral of the bunch: Lifts moods, eases PMS, promotes relaxation (one of my personal favorites when I formulate).
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