Many people like to keep hand sanitizer nearby to use when soap and water are not readily available. Sanitizers are often touted as a way not only to clean hands that are lightly soiled, but also as a method to kill germs. You can make an excellent homemade hand sanitizer by combining the antibacterial effects of tea tree oil with the moisturizing effects of vitamin E and the cleaning power of mild, Castile soap.
Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree, or melaleuca, oil is a natural disinfectant with antibacterial properties. Aborigines in Australia and New Zealand have used it for thousands of years externally and internally for its medicinal benefits. Tea tree oil is a highly effective agent for use in the treatment of fungus and viruses, as well as bacteria. Not only is tea tree oil excellent for killing infectious organisms, but it's healing properties also might help relieve conditions such as acne, blisters, sunburn, athlete's foot, insect bites, rashes, and other wounds and irritations of the skin.
Vitamin E Oil
Vitamin E oil has long been used to help moisturize and soften the skin, as well as remove wrinkles and blemishes. It is also known to help increase circulation in the small capillaries in the skin. Using vitamin E oil in homemade hand sanitizer helps protect your skin and keep it from drying out. Along with vitamin E's ability to soften and protect skin comes the added benefit of its being absorbed by the skin into the body's deeper skin cells and the bloodstream, providing helpful antioxidant effects, notes the Linus Pauling Institute.
Castile Soap
Castile soap is an olive oil-based soap made in a similar fashion to the early soaps from the Castile region in Spain. The soap is very pure, being made from boiled olive oil rather than animal tallow. It is made by adding brine to the boiled ingredients -- which makes the soap float to the surface of the pot -- allowing the lye and other impurities to separate out and sink to the bottom. The result is a refined, white, pure soap that is usually hypoallergenic and very mild on the skin. Castile soap has great cleaning power and comes in both solid blocks and liquid soap.
Hand Sanitizer
Make a homemade hand sanitizer by combining a few drops of tea tree essential oil in a small spray bottle with distilled water. Puncture a gel capsule of vitamin E oil and squeeze it into the mixture. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of liquid Castile soap and shake gently. You can use this homemade hand sanitizer wherever you would use a similar commercial product, and it contains no alcohol or other chemicals to dry your skin out. The homemade version is considered safe for children and adults.
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