DIY Homemade Hand Sanitiser

So, hand sanitiser.

Do you use any? Do you use it on your kids?

I remember always having a little green bottle of it stashed in my nappy bag when my eldest was a baby. And it was certainly handy if you had to change a nappy and there was nowhere to wash your hands. Yuck!!

I never felt quite comfortable with it though, which is why it really was for emergency use only.

It seems that was a good thing because it doesn't take much research to see that hand sanitiser has some very questionable ingredients.

One of those ingredients is triclosan.

Triclosan is a chemical used for its antibacterial and antifungal properties in products like soap, toothpaste and hand sanitiser. Have a read of this article on Nourished Life for more info about triclosan and why we should avoid it.

Bottom line, it's no more effective than washing your hands with plain old soap and water PLUS it has some potential serious health implications. The FDA in America has banned triclosan from being used in antibacterial soap products (read here) but there has been no similar move here in Australia unfortunately.

Last term my 8 year old came home with a note saying all children in the class were required to bring in a bottle of hand sanitiser to use in the classroom. Because apparently it takes too long for everyone to wash their hands at the sink that is literally next to their door.

I checked with his teacher and unfortunately our homemade one wasn't going to be acceptable because it's in a glass bottle (and you never keep essential oils in plastic). There is a great guide to natural hand sanitiser here on Nourished Life (I went with the Squeakie for Mr 8 to take to school).

Bottom line - it is best wash your hands with soap and water rather than anything marketed as 'antibacterial', and on those occasions where you can't, choose a natural hand sanitiser without triclosan. My stance on all these types of products is to go as natural as possible.

If you would prefer to make your own hand sanitiser (and given the price of the natural ones you can purchase, you might want to consider it!) this is the recipe I've been making since January.

It has some powerful ingredients, feels nice on your skin, no nasties and it smells amazing.

I use doTERRA's On Guard essential oil blend in this because the ingredients are exactly what I'm looking for. It is a blend of clove, cinnamon, wild orange, eucalyptus and rosemary essential oils which together are protective against environmental threats and have cleansing and purifying properties.

The aloe vera gel is moisturising and the witch hazel has astringent, antioxidant and soothing properties perfect for your skin.

Homemade Hand Sanitiser

3 tsp aloe vera gel
1 tsp witch hazel
20 drops On Guard essential oil

Place all ingredients into a 60ml glass bottle* with a spray top. Top up with filtered water and shake before use.

I keep this bottle in a zip lock bag in my handbag so it's with us whenever we're out and about.

When the kids jump back in the car after school, daycare, playing at the park or doing the shopping I give their hands a spray with this and I have to say, we seem to have avoided most of the bugs going around this year.

On Guard is one of our most used essential oils. We have a roller bottle made up with On Guard and Frankincense which we get on our bodies everyday and if anyone has the sniffles or the start of a cough it goes in the diffuser to cleanse the air and support healthy immune function.

Love, love, LOVE our On Guard.

If you haven't yet introduced doTERRA essential oils into your home click on over here to read more.

So are you up for making your own hand sanitiser?

* I get all my glass bottles from au.aromatools.com (there are some available on ebay but people have had issues with quality and breakages so I don't recommend those)

How to clean your home with essential oils

I have a request.

Stop cleaning your house with toxic chemicals that are 

bad for the environment and bad for your health!

One of the biggest culprits for poor health is fragrance - those fake smells that are found in practically every cleaning and personal care product on the shelves.

I shared on Facebook recently a new book that highlights just how damaging fragrances can be to our health. Author Kate Grenville stated that more than 1/3 of the population reported negative health effects like asthma, allergies and headaches from exposure to fragrance.

Just think about that for a second.

Every day people are exposing themselves to chemicals that are causing them actual physical harm.

Are you one of them?

I've had a low-tox home for more than 15 years now but before that I was oblivious, even though looking back I was constantly experiencing headaches, fatigue and respiratory problems without making the connection.

I used perfume, deodorant sprays, washed my clothes in fragranced washing powder and had a different stinky cleaning product for dishes, benches, floors, toilets ... you name it.

When you add in all all the toxins in my shampoo and conditioner, make up, paints, insect sprays and the chemicals off-gassed from furniture, carpets and curtains, it was total chemical overload.

And that was just in my own home, when we're out in public you can add in everyone else's personal care products, commercial cleaning products, scented candles and air fresheners to deal with.

No wonder I began to suffer the effects of multiple chemical sensitivity in 2002 and ended up having to quit work.

The problem is so pervasive now that fragrance is "the new second-hand smoke" says one blog post which you can read in full here.

"The emerging awareness of this very “volatile” situation reveals problems much more pervasive and dangerous than tobacco smoke.2 Even washing clothes in detergents and fabric softeners containing fragrances releases toxic chemicals onto the skin and into the air all day long.  At night, sleeping in pajamas and on sheets washed in the same toxic materials has the same effect.  Because of this, people are awash in fragrances 24 hours each day."

This is horrifying to me and reading things like this makes me even more committed to not bringing any chemicals into our home.

While I've used low-tox personal care products for over 15 years now, it's really only over the past 8 years, since having our first child, that I've been slowly replacing ALL of our store-bought cleaning products with homemade alternatives. Even the so-called 'green' ones.

I now make my own laundry powder, dishwashing powder, all-purpose spray, insect repellant, mould cleaner, toilet and shower cleaner and window/glass spray.

It's made a big difference not only to the air quality within our home but also to our hip pocket.

Buying these natural cleaning supplies and making my own products is FAR cheaper than buying commercial products.

These are my top natural cleaning supplies:

• Bicarb soda (also known as baking soda)
• Salt
• White vinegar
• Citric acid
• Washing soda
• Castille soap (liquid and bars)
• Pure essential oils

Most of these can be found in the supermarket and the rest can be bought cheaply online. In fact, buying in bulk online is what I do and recommend as the cheapest option.

For example, you can buy a 75g container of citric acid at the supermarket for $2.48, which works out at $33.10 per kg. I bought a 10kg bucket of citric acid on eBay for $66 or just $6.60 per kg. Much more affordable don't you think?

My last 10kg bucket by the way, was bought in September 2015 and still going strong.

My favourite essential oils for cleaning:

•  Lemon
• Orange
• Tea Tree
• Oregano
• Clove
• OnGuard

When you add in the power of pure essential oils, these basic cleaning products are potent and effective and an equal match for anything you can buy at the supermarket.

And bonus, the house smells AMAZING!

So if you're someone who likes to have a fresh smelling house, you will love using essential oils in this way.

To help you get started making your own natural cleaning products with essential oils, I've done up a handy cheat sheet with all my favourite recipes - laundry powder, dishwashing powder and rinse aid, mould cleaner, window/glass cleaner, all purpose spray and cream cleaners (like a Jif alternative).

These are all tried and tested and the recipes I personally make and use at home, with doTERRA certified pure therapeutic grade essential oils. You can read more here about why I only use this brand and the benefits I've been experiencing.

Just click below to grab your copy!

If you aren't using oils yet but would like to know more, please get in touch. Message me at susanking.doterra @ gmail.com to find out how you get your oils for 25% off retail and shipped straight to your door.

Do you make your own cleaning products?

Susan x