Natural Beauty

How to Make Hand Sanitizer: A Homemade Recipe That Works

A homemade hand sanitizer recipe that reaches the alcohol strength the CDC calls for, with the math shown, plus a spray version, how to use it, when soap and water work better, how to scent it with essential oils and how to keep it safe around children.

By Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNS·17-min read

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Evidence-based29 sources citedUpdated October 9, 2026

Published Oct 9, 2026Last updated Oct 9, 2026Editorial policyMedical review policyFact-checking policy

Homemade hand sanitizer at a glance

To make hand sanitizer that works, stir 3 parts 99% isopropyl alcohol into 1 part pure aloe vera gel: the finished mix is about 74% alcohol, above the CDC's bar of at least 60% ethyl alcohol or 70% isopropyl alcohol.1 2

The recipe: ¾ cup of 99% isopropyl alcohol plus ¼ cup of aloe vera gel makes 1 cup; with 91% alcohol, use 4 parts to 1
Use it when you can't get to a sink, and rub it over every surface of your hands until they're dry, about 20 seconds3
Wash with soap and water instead when your hands are dirty or greasy, or when a stomach bug is going around3
Scent it with 10 to 20 drops of essential oil per cup, well under the 2% everyday dilution in my oils guide4
Keep it labeled, capped and out of children's reach, away from heat and flame, and never make it with methanol5 1

Hand sanitizer is one of the simplest things you can make at home: two ingredients, a bowl and a bottle. The alcohol kills germs, and aloe vera gel softens it on your skin. Whether a homemade batch is strong enough comes down to measuring: the finished bottle has to reach the alcohol level the CDC and FDA call for, and too much aloe drops it below the CDC's minimum.1 6

Hand washing with soap and water is still the first choice whenever there's a sink nearby, and sanitizer covers the times there isn't: in the car, at the park, before a meal on the road.3 The recipe below clears the CDC's bar with room to spare, and the math is here so you can check any batch yourself.

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How do you make hand sanitizer at home?

Quick answer

Stir together ¾ cup of 99% isopropyl alcohol and ¼ cup of pure aloe vera gel, then bottle it: the mix comes out at about 74% alcohol.1 2 That clears the CDC's 70% bar for isopropyl alcohol with room to spare and sits close to the World Health Organization's own isopropyl hand rub formula, which is 75% alcohol.7

Making your own means you know every ingredient in the bottle. All you need is 99% isopropyl alcohol from the pharmacy, a pure aloe vera gel, a measuring cup, a glass bowl and a clean bottle with a pump or flip-top cap.

Recipe

Total5 minutes

Yield1 cup (8 fluid ounces)

Ingredients

¾ cup 99% isopropyl alcohol
¼ cup pure aloe vera gel
10 to 20 drops lavender or tea tree essential oil, for scent (optional)

Instructions

Measure the alcohol and the aloe vera gel in level measuring cups. The ratio is what makes the sanitizer work, so don't eyeball it.
Pour both into a clean glass bowl and stir with a spoon or whisk until the gel is evenly mixed in.
Add the essential oil, if you're using it, and stir again.
Use a funnel to pour the mix into a clean pump or flip-top bottle, cap it tightly and label it Hand sanitizer: do not drink.

Expect a thinner texture than a store-bought gel. Keep the bottle capped between uses and make small batches.

Stir by hand rather than in a blender. Alcohol is flammable and evaporates quickly, so the less you warm and whip it, the more of its strength stays in the bottle.8 5 For the same reason, keep the cap on between uses.

Three swaps keep the strength where it needs to be:

91% isopropyl alcohol: use 4 parts alcohol to 1 part aloe, such as 1 cup of alcohol to ¼ cup of gel, for about 73%.
Grain alcohol: use 190-proof (95%) grain alcohol at the same 3-to-1 ratio, for about 71%.
A spray: use distilled water in place of the aloe, with the recipe below.

Recipe

Total5 minutes

Yield1 cup (8 fluid ounces)

Ingredients

¾ cup 99% isopropyl alcohol
¼ cup distilled water
¼ teaspoon vegetable glycerin (optional, for softer hands)
10 to 20 drops lavender or tea tree essential oil, for scent (optional)

Instructions

Measure the alcohol and water in level measuring cups and pour them into a clean glass bowl or measuring cup.
Stir in the glycerin and essential oil, if you're using them.
Funnel the mix into a clean spray bottle, cap it tightly and label it Hand sanitizer: do not drink.
To use it, spray enough to wet both hands, then rub until they're dry.

Keep the glycerin small. It helps your skin tolerate alcohol, but in tests on volunteers' hands, a World Health Organization-style surgical rub made with glycerin scored about 30% lower than a standard reference rub three hours later, while a rub made with a different moisturizer kept pace.9 And in tests on 24 volunteers' hands against Europe's surgical hand-rub standard, the World Health Organization's formulas passed only after researchers raised the alcohol and cut the glycerin from 1.45% to 0.5%.10 A ¼ teaspoon in a cup is about 0.5%.

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Why does the alcohol percentage matter?

Quick answer

Alcohol kills germs best as a mix with water, between 60% and 90% alcohol, so the finished bottle has to land inside that range.8 The CDC's bar for hand sanitizer is at least 60% ethyl alcohol or 70% isopropyl alcohol,1 and the FDA's rules for store-bought sanitizers list ethyl alcohol at 60% to 95% and isopropyl alcohol at 70% to 91.3%.6

Aloe vera gel is about 99.5% water,2 so it adds moisture to the recipe and no alcohol. Every spoonful of gel thins the alcohol you started with. The math is simple: multiply the strength of the alcohol you bought by the share of the bottle it fills. Three parts 99% alcohol in four parts total is 99 × ¾ = 74.25%, or about 74%.

The alcohol you buy	Alcohol to aloe	Finished strength	Clears the CDC's bar?
99% isopropyl	3 to 1	74.3%	Yes
91% isopropyl	4 to 1	72.8%	Yes
190-proof (95%) grain alcohol	3 to 1	71.3%	Yes
91% isopropyl	3 to 1	68.3%	No, just under 70%
99% isopropyl	2 to 1	66.0%	No
91% isopropyl	2 to 1	60.7%	No
70% rubbing alcohol	3 to 1	52.5%	No
80-proof (40%) vodka	3 to 1	30.0%	No

Finished strength = the alcohol's strength × its share of the mix. The CDC's bar is at least 60% for ethyl (grain) alcohol and 70% for isopropyl alcohol.1

A few drops of essential oil barely move the number. Twenty drops is about a milliliter, and adding them to a cup of the 3-to-1 recipe takes it from 74.3% to about 73.9%.

Two shortcuts leave a batch too weak. A 2-to-1 mix of 91% alcohol and aloe works out to 60.7%, under the 70% bar for isopropyl alcohol. And standard 70% rubbing alcohol starts right at the bar, so anything you add pulls it under.

More alcohol isn't always better, either. Undiluted alcohol is a weaker germ killer than alcohol mixed with water, because water helps it break down the proteins germs depend on.8 That's why the recipe starts with 99% alcohol and lets the water in the aloe bring it down to about 74%.

How does hand sanitizer kill germs?

Alcohol kills germs by unraveling, or denaturing, their proteins, and it works fastest on viruses wrapped in a fatty outer coat.8 11 It has to stay wet on your skin long enough to do that, which is why you keep rubbing until your hands are dry.3

Here's what happens on your hands while you rub, step by step:

1Alcohol meets water

Alcohol kills germs mainly by denaturing their proteins, and it works best mixed with water, at 60% to 90% alcohol. Undiluted alcohol kills germs less well.8

2It breaks down coated viruses

Ethanol at 60% to 80% inactivates viruses wrapped in a fatty envelope, and isopropyl alcohol is fully active against them too.8

3It needs time while wet

Cover every surface of your hands and rub until they're dry, about 20 seconds.3 Using enough keeps your skin wet long enough for the alcohol to work.12

4Grime and mucus shield germs

Dirt, grease and wet mucus slow the alcohol down.3 13

5It evaporates, and the aloe stays

Alcohol evaporates quickly, and in patch tests it lowered the skin's moisture without changing its barrier.8 14 The aloe in the recipe is there to put that moisture back.15

Viruses without that fatty coat are tougher. Murine norovirus, the lab stand-in for the human stomach virus, usually took ethanol between 70% and 90% to inactivate within 30 seconds, and some viruses, such as hepatitis A, resist even 80% ethanol.11 Isopropyl alcohol, the base of the main recipe, isn't active against the enteroviruses that lack that coat,8 and ethanol covers a broader range of viruses than isopropyl alcohol does.11 If you'd like that broader range, use the grain-alcohol version.

How do you use hand sanitizer the right way?

Quick answer

Put enough in the palm of one hand to wet both hands, then rub it over every surface, including between your fingers and the backs of your hands, until they're dry, about 20 seconds.3 5 Don't rinse or wipe it off before it dries.3

Use more than you think you need. In tests on volunteers' hands, run by researchers at a sanitizer maker, a foam, a liquid and a gel each met the European standard for hand rubs at 3 milliliters, a little over half a teaspoon. All three fell short at the smaller amounts that rubbed dry within 30 seconds, and the more product people used, the longer it took to dry.12 The amounts that passed took more than 30 seconds to rub dry, so keep rubbing until your hands are fully dry, even if that takes longer than 20 seconds.

Dispense a generous amount into the palm of one hand, enough to wet both hands.3
Rub it over your palms, the backs of your hands and between your fingers, so every surface stays wet.5
Keep rubbing until your hands are dry, about 20 seconds, without rinsing or wiping.3

Keep a small bottle in your bag or car for the times you can't reach a sink, such as before you eat on the road or after pushing a shopping cart.

Questions about your homemade batch?

Ask Dr. Axe AI. Answers are grounded in this library, with sources shown.

What does hand sanitizer do for your health?

Quick answer

Clean hands mean fewer respiratory infections: in a Cochrane review of 9 trials with 52,105 people, hand-hygiene programs cut the number of people who got a respiratory illness by 14%.16 Trials of sanitizer in child care and at home also found fewer infections in toddlers and fewer stomach bugs passed around families.17 18

Where the research stands

The trials below tested hand-hygiene programs and ready-made alcohol sanitizers.16 17 18 The recipe on this page is built to reach the alcohol strength the CDC calls for.1

Fewer colds and respiratory infections

Moderate evidenceHuman studyCochrane review · 9 trials, 52,105 people

Hand-hygiene programs, built on washing, sanitizer or both, cut the number of people who came down with a respiratory illness by 14%, from about 380 in every 1,000 people to 327, in a Cochrane review that rated this evidence moderate certainty.16 The same review found little or no difference for lab-confirmed flu.16

Study takeaway: clean-hands programs meant fewer people with colds and other respiratory illness.

Fewer infections and antibiotics for toddlers

Moderate evidenceHuman studyCluster randomized trial · 911 children in 24 child care centers

In child care centers in Almería, Spain, children up to age 3 whose centers and families used hand sanitizer along with hand-hygiene lessons for 8 months had 23% fewer respiratory infections and 31% fewer antibiotic prescriptions than children in centers that kept their usual hand-washing routine, and they missed fewer days.17 The sanitizer group also had fewer infections than a group that got the same lessons and washed with soap and water. The families and staff knew which program they were in.17

Study takeaway: sanitizer plus hand-hygiene lessons meant fewer infections and fewer antibiotics for toddlers.

Fewer stomach bugs passed around the family

Emerging evidenceHuman studyCluster randomized trial · 292 families

Families with a young child in child care who got a supply of alcohol sanitizer and hand-hygiene tips every two weeks for 5 months had a 59% lower rate of stomach illness spreading from one family member to another than families who got nutrition materials, while respiratory illness spread at about the same rate in both groups.18

Study takeaway: a sanitizer supply at home cut the spread of stomach bugs within families.

Gentler on hands than frequent washing

Emerging evidenceHuman studyRandomized trial · 32 nurses, each tried both

Thirty-two hospital nurses spent 2 weeks with an alcohol hand gel and 2 weeks washing with the hospital's plain soap and water. Their own irritation-and-dryness scores eased slightly with the gel, from 2.72 to 2.0, and more than doubled with soap, from 2.0 to 4.8, and the water content of their skin held steady with the gel (24.8 to 25.7) while it fell with soap (25.9 to 20.5).19

Study takeaway: two weeks of alcohol gel left nurses' hands less irritated than two weeks of soap and water.

Fast action against coated viruses

Preclinical evidenceIn vitro (lab)Review of 49 lab studies and 17 hand studies

In a review of lab and hand tests, 80% ethanol inactivated all 21 enveloped viruses tested within 30 seconds,11 the group of viruses wrapped in a fatty coat.

Study takeaway: in lab tests, 80% ethanol inactivated every coated virus tested within 30 seconds.

When are soap and water the better choice?

Quick answer

Whenever you can get to a sink: the CDC calls washing with soap and water the best way to get rid of germs in most situations.3 Soap and water lift germs off your skin and rinse them away, while sanitizer kills certain germs where they sit.3

Reach for soap and water first in these situations:

Your hands are visibly dirty or greasy, such as after gardening, playing outdoors, fishing or camping.3
You may have touched chemicals, such as pesticides, or heavy metals like lead, which sanitizer may not remove.3
A stomach bug is going around. Washing works better than sanitizer against norovirus, Cryptosporidium and C. difficile.3
You've coughed or sneezed into your hands, since wet mucus shields viruses from alcohol.13

A fingertip test shows how washing works. Researchers put human norovirus on the finger pads of 10 adult volunteers and measured how much of the virus's genetic material each method removed, on a log scale where each full point means 90% removed.20 Washing with liquid soap and water removed 0.94, a plain water rinse 0.75 and a 62% ethanol sanitizer 0.14, close to the 0.20 seen with no treatment. The soap in the test was an antibacterial one, but a plain water rinse did nearly as well, so the rinsing is what carried the virus away. The test counted the virus's genetic material rather than live virus, so it shows what came off the hands, not what was killed.20

Norovirus on fingertips: soap and water removed the most

Source: Liu et al. · Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2010 [20]Higher is better. Each full point means 90% of the virus copies came off. The test measured what came off the hands, not what was killed in place.

Mucus is the other reason to wash. In a study with 10 volunteers, flu virus in saline on the fingers was inactivated within 30 seconds of rubbing with an ethanol disinfectant, but flu virus in wet mucus from flu patients was still active after 120 seconds and took up to 240 seconds.13 Once the mucus had dried completely, the rub worked within 30 seconds, and washing worked quickly either way. If you've coughed or sneezed into your hands, head for the sink.

Flu virus in wet mucus took up to 240 seconds of rubbing to inactivate, against 30 in saline

Source: Hirose et al. · mSphere, 2019 [13]Both are upper limits: inactivated within 30 seconds in saline and within 240 seconds in wet mucus. Lower is better.

Rinsing your hands in water is an old practice. The law of Moses, given long before anyone had seen a germ, tied clean hands to rinsing them: "And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even" (Leviticus 15:11).21

For washing, plain soap is all you need. On my show, I've told people to stay away from antibacterial products and to just use regular castile soap instead.22 The FDA has moved the same way: it removed triclosan and 18 other antibacterial ingredients from consumer hand soaps and body washes as of 2017, and it ruled 28 ingredients, triclosan among them, ineligible for consumer hand sanitizers as of 2020.23 6 If you'd like to make your own, start with this homemade hand soap.

Save sanitizer for the moments that call for it, such as before you eat away from home, and skip it the rest of the day. Your skin and gut carry whole communities of microbes, your microbiome, and they're part of a healthy body.24

You want to have a certain level of exposure to bacteria. That's why you want your kids to play in the dirt and get dirty.Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNSFrom How to Heal Your Gut in 30 Days, The Dr. Josh Axe Show (2025), at 19:59

It's the idea behind my book Eat Dirt: regular time outdoors around soil and its microbes, especially in childhood, helps the immune system learn tolerance.25

Which essential oils can you add, and how much?

Quick answer

Add 10 to 20 drops of lavender oil or tea tree oil per cup, about 0.2% to 0.4%, well under the 2% my oils guide gives for everyday use on the body.4 The oil is there for scent; the alcohol does the germ-killing.6

Essential oils make a homemade bottle pleasant to use, and a few drops are all it takes. My rule for essential oils on the skin, from my field guide Top 50 Healing Herbs & Essential Oils, is 2% for everyday use on the body, about 2 drops per teaspoon of carrier oil, and 0.5% to 1% for the face, sensitive skin and older adults.4 In a cup of sanitizer, 10 to 20 drops works out to roughly 0.2% to 0.4%, below even the range for the face and sensitive skin.

Used well, essential oils are powerful; used carelessly, they can burn skin or cause reactions.Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNSWritten in Top 50 Healing Herbs & Essential Oils (2026), p. 39

Lavender. Lavender oil gives the sanitizer a soft, floral scent.
Tea tree. Tea tree oil gives it a fresh, medicinal scent. Its main compound, terpinen-4-ol, breaks down the outer walls of bacteria and fungi, and my oils guide also warns never to swallow it.4
Citrus. For a citrus scent, choose a bergapten-free lemon essential oil, since cold-pressed lemon, lime, grapefruit and bergamot oils can burn skin in sunlight.4
Patch test first. Put a little of the scented sanitizer on your inner forearm and wait 24 hours; redness or itching means skip that oil.4

Buy tea tree oil in small bottles and keep it tightly capped. Tea tree oil that has oxidized with age irritates skin,4 and in a review of 2,320 people patch-tested at an Australian skin clinic over 4.5 years, 41 (1.8%) reacted to oxidized tea tree oil.26 For babies and toddlers under 2, make their batch unscented, since the guide's skin-dilution chart gives no amount below age 2.4

Oils have a bigger job around the house. At home, my wife, Chelsea, and I keep a spray bottle of lemon oil, tea tree oil and white distilled vinegar for the shower, the tub and the kitchen.22 For a recipe, see this tea tree and lemon household cleaner, and see essential oil safety for storage and dilution guidance on every oil.

Is hand sanitizer bad for your skin?

Quick answer

Alcohol dries the skin's surface, but in patch tests it didn't damage the skin barrier, and it irritated skin less than washing with a detergent.14 The aloe vera gel in the recipe is there to put moisture back.15

In patch tests on 15 volunteers, ethanol and isopropyl alcohol at 60% to 100% caused no significant change in the skin barrier or redness, though skin moisture dropped.14 In wash tests on 15 volunteers, 80% ethanol irritated skin significantly less than washing with a detergent, and alcohol applied after a detergent wash didn't add to the irritation.14

What goes into the bottle with the alcohol matters too. In a 2025 randomized skin-irritation study of 48 volunteers, most ready-made sanitizers irritated skin less than plain 80% ethanol or 70% isopropyl alcohol, though under the test's covered patches, water loss through the skin rose by the third day with every product, and with plain water too.27 That's where aloe vera earns its place. In 20 women, a cream with freeze-dried aloe vera extract raised the water content of the skin's outer layer after one use at the two higher strengths tested and after 2 weeks at all three, compared with the same cream without aloe.15 The Biblio Diet notes that the U.S. Pharmacopoeia listed aloe as a skin protectant in 1820.28

If your hands still feel dry, rub in a moisturizer for dry skin at night, especially if you get dry skin in winter.

Is homemade hand sanitizer safe?

Quick answer

Yes, when you store it and make it with care: keep it labeled, capped and out of children's reach, away from heat and flame, and make it only with ethyl or isopropyl alcohol, never methanol.5 1 Swallowing even a small amount can cause alcohol poisoning in a child.5

Before you make a batch

Children: store it out of reach and let kids use it only with an adult watching.5 Scented sanitizers can appeal to young children,29 so keep scented batches especially secure.
Containers: never use a food or drink container. Use a pump, flip-top or spray bottle labeled Hand sanitizer: do not drink. Eating or drinking sanitizer packaged to look like food or drinks can cause serious injury or death.5
The right alcohol: use only ethyl alcohol (grain alcohol) or isopropyl alcohol, never methanol, also called wood alcohol, or any product that lists it.1 5
Heat and flame: hand sanitizer is flammable, so make it and store it away from heat and flames, and let your hands dry completely before you go near a flame or a hot stove.5
Eyes: keep it away from your eyes; eye irritation is the most commonly reported symptom when children are exposed to sanitizer.29

Among children, most sanitizer exposures reported to poison centers involve little ones swallowing it. U.S. poison centers logged 65,293 exposures to alcohol-based hand sanitizer in children 12 and under from 2011 to 2014, and among children 5 and under, 97% of those exposures were swallowing.29 Most children had no reported symptoms, but alcohol sanitizers were linked to worse outcomes than alcohol-free ones, and rare cases included coma and seizures.29 If a child swallows sanitizer, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 right away,5 and call 911 if the child is very drowsy, has trouble breathing or has a seizure.

Methanol is the reason to buy your alcohol with care. In 2020, 15 adults in Arizona and New Mexico were hospitalized after swallowing hand sanitizer that contained methanol; 4 died, and 3 were left with impaired vision.1 The FDA doesn't accept methanol as an ingredient in hand sanitizer,1 and it keeps a list of hand sanitizers consumers shouldn't use, including some contaminated with potentially toxic types of alcohol.5 For a homemade batch, check the label on any alcohol you buy. You can read more about methanol poisoning and its signs.

The bottom line

Should you make your own hand sanitizer?

Yes, as long as you make it to strength. Three parts 99% isopropyl alcohol to one part aloe vera gel gives you a sanitizer of about 74% alcohol, above the CDC's bar, with nothing in the bottle you can't name. Use it when you can't get to a sink, rub until your hands are dry, and wash with plain soap and water whenever you can, especially when your hands are dirty or a stomach bug is going around.

Scent it with a few drops of lavender or tea tree oil, keep it labeled, capped and out of children's reach, and store it away from heat. Then let clean hands at the right moments and plenty of time outdoors work together to keep your family well.

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Homemade hand sanitizer: frequently asked questions

Can you make hand sanitizer with 70% rubbing alcohol?

No: 70% rubbing alcohol already sits right at the CDC's 70% bar for isopropyl alcohol, so adding aloe or anything else pulls it under, and 3 parts 70% alcohol to 1 part aloe comes out at 52.5%.1 Use 99% isopropyl alcohol at 3 parts to 1, or 91% at 4 parts to 1.

Can you use vodka to make hand sanitizer?

No: 80-proof vodka is 40% alcohol, already below the CDC's 60% minimum before you add anything, and 3 parts vodka to 1 part aloe comes out at 30%.3 For a grain-alcohol version, use 190-proof (95%) grain alcohol at 3 parts to 1, which lands at about 71%.

What's the most natural hand sanitizer you can make?

Grain alcohol and aloe vera gel: 3 parts 190-proof (95%) grain alcohol to 1 part pure aloe vera gel comes out at about 71% alcohol, above the CDC's 60% minimum for ethyl alcohol, with a few drops of lavender or tea tree oil if you like.1 2 Ethanol, the alcohol in grain alcohol, also covers a broader range of viruses than isopropyl alcohol does.11

How do you make hand sanitizer spray without aloe vera?

Mix ¾ cup of 99% isopropyl alcohol with ¼ cup of distilled water in a clean spray bottle; it comes out at about 74% alcohol, the same strength as the aloe recipe.1 Spray enough to wet both hands and rub until they're dry, about 20 seconds.3

Do essential oils make hand sanitizer work better?

No, they're there for scent: the alcohol does the germ-killing, and essential oils aren't among the active ingredients allowed in consumer hand sanitizers under the FDA's rules.6 Ten to 20 drops per cup, about 0.2% to 0.4%, is plenty.4

How long does homemade hand sanitizer last?

There's no set shelf life for a homemade batch, and alcohol evaporates quickly, so keep it tightly capped and make small batches.8 Remake any batch that has been left uncapped.

Is homemade hand sanitizer safe for kids?

Yes, with an adult in charge: children should use hand sanitizer only with adult supervision, and it should be stored out of their reach, because swallowing even a small amount can cause alcohol poisoning in a child.5 For babies and toddlers under 2, make the batch unscented: my oils guide gives skin amounts only from age 2.4

Does hand sanitizer kill norovirus?

Not reliably, so wash with soap and water when a stomach bug is going around: the CDC says washing works better than sanitizer against norovirus.3 In a fingertip test, soap and water rinsed off far more norovirus genetic material than a 62% ethanol sanitizer, 0.94 against 0.14 on a log scale.20

Is hand sanitizer bad for your skin?

It's gentler than frequent washing: in a randomized trial in which 32 nurses each tried both routines for 2 weeks, an alcohol hand gel left their hands less irritated and dry than soap and water.19 Alcohol does lower skin moisture, which is why the recipe includes aloe vera gel.14 15

Does homemade hand sanitizer work as well as store-bought?

It can, when it reaches the same strength: the 3-to-1 recipe with 99% isopropyl alcohol comes out at about 74%, inside the FDA's 70% to 91.3% range for isopropyl alcohol and close to the World Health Organization's 75% formula.6 7 Measure carefully, because a weak mix is the main way a homemade batch falls short.

Freshness & method note

October 9, 2026 — Rewrote the page in full. The previous recipe used 2/3 cup of 91% isopropyl alcohol to 1/3 cup of aloe vera gel, which works out to about 60.7% alcohol, under the 70% the CDC gives for isopropyl alcohol. This version uses 3 parts 99% isopropyl alcohol to 1 part aloe vera gel, about 74%, shows the math for other alcohols, and adds a spray version. It replaces the blender with stirring by hand, corrects the directions to rubbing until your hands are dry (about 20 seconds) without rinsing, removes the vitamin E oil and the unsourced claims about how long viruses last on surfaces, triclosan and tea tree oil, sets essential oils at scent strength with Dr. Axe's dilution rule, and adds how alcohol works, what the research shows, when soap and water work better, skin care, and a safety section on children, methanol and flammability, with 29 references.

2021 — Previous version published.

References

Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNS

Doctor of Natural Medicine · Founder, DrAxe.com

Dr. Axe is a certified doctor of natural medicine, clinical nutritionist, and multiple New York Times bestselling author. He has spent 20+ years in clinical practice helping people heal at the root cause and founded one of the most-visited natural-health platforms in the world.

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This article is for educational purposes. See our medical disclaimer.