Is aloe vera a suitable ingredient for do-it-yourself (DIY) alcohol hand santizer? It is a natural bio-based material, something nice that you might want put on your skin anyway. However, there are reasons to question the wisdom of using it in DIY sanitizer formulas. Multiple studies have shown that the alcohol content of a hand sanitizer must be between 60% and 95%. Below 60%, there is not enough alcohol, and above 95%, there is not enough water. You need both alcohol (60%+) and water (5%+) for the formulation to break down the proteins that make up bacteria and viruses.
If you look at a commercially produced hand sanitizer gel, you can see that it is entirely smooth and consistent. The alcohol and water are evenly mixed throughout. Aloe vera, by contrast, has little bits and blobs dispersed in it. If those blobs have high affinity for water but not alcohol, they could cause the two active ingredients to unevenly distributed.
When I tried making hand sanitizer with aloe vera, I did not get a uniform gel. Overnight, clear liquid separated out and floated on top of the gel. If you are using a 60% alcohol formula, you might have 100% alcohol floating on top and less than 60% alcohol-infused gel at the bottom. Neither part would be effective as hand sanitizer.
The only way to know for sure whether an aloe vera formulation works is to test it in the laboratory. I haven't seen the results of any such investigations. To be on the safe side, I've decided to follow the World Health Organization formula. To quote from their documentation:
"No data are available to assess the suitability of adding gelling agents to WHO-recommended liquid formulations, but this could increase potentially both production difficulties and costs, and may compromise antimicrobial efficacy."
For instructions on making your own small batch of this formulation, see the YouTube video
or the web page
The WHO formulation results in a liquidy, non-gel consistency. This is more conveniently dispensed with a spray bottle rather than a pump container. Be sure to check the direction of the spray, and beware of splashing, to prevent getting sanitizer in the eyes.
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