So many friends, family and clients are reporting in with recent stories of their homes being taken over by illness. Tis the season that we see colds, flu-bugs and viral infections on the rise. While hand-washing is the first line of defense, sometimes we don’t always have quick access to a sink. Commercial hand sanitizer is full of a lot of junk and skin-drying.
In that case, here’s an easy DIY hand sanitizer recipe!
4TBS Aloe Vera gel
2 TBS Rubbing Alcohol or Witch Hazel
2 TBS Silver Shield
5-10 drops of Essential Shield oil
Add to a 4 oz bottle of your choice, shake it up & apply!
Making more than 1 small bottle? Easy, just half whatever your aloe vera measurement is for the alcohol/witch hazel and silver shield.
Example: Using 1 cup of aloe vera? Then use 1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol/witch hazel and 1/2 cup of Silver Shield.
Why Silver Shield: Silver Shield offers broad spectrum immune support by providing 100mcg of silver per serving. It features pure silver and uses fine particle-sized colloids for maximum bioavailability. Colloidal silver is known for being antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory. It benefits the human body in many many skins conditions such as psoriasis and eczema as well and is soothing to scrapes and even repairs tissue damage from burns.
Why Essential Shield oil: Nature’s Sunshine Essential Shield oil is a blend of orange, clove, eucalyptus, cinnamon, lavender and several other selected oils, that are well recognized for its ability to kill several forms of bacteria, viruses, and fungi upon contact, thanks to its main antimicrobial & antifungal components
Why Aloe Vera gel: (And we’re not talking that green goopy stuff – invest in a high quality Aloe gel!) This lovely substance has its own special antibacterial and antifungal properties, and it also does double duty as a moisturizer, keeping your hands soft and safe from getting dried out. In this recipe it functions as our carrier substance as well to dilute the essential oils.
Why witch hazel: Witch hazel can work as an antiseptic, and the reason it does so is because it contains alcohol, which disrupts the cell membrane of the bacteria, denatures its proteins, ultimately killing it. While witch hazel does not contain the 70% concentration of alcohol that would be needed to match store-bought hand sanitizers (60%-70% is usually the baseline suggested) the added essential oils are what we rely on to kill a lot of the illness causing germs and bacteria. Witch hazel is also less drying for those with sensitive skin.
