We are living in unprecedented times and during unprecedented times may call for unprecedented measures. Who would have thought that hand sanitizer would cost $9.99 or more for a bottle. I didn't.

The World Health Organization has provided some guidelines on how to make your own hand sanitizer. The recipe is pretty easy however the recipe make a liter of hand sanitizer. If you are making this just for yourself that might be a tad bit too much to keep on hand.

The other challenge may be in finding one key ingredient, isopropyl alcohol. It literally is not available on any store shelves. Even if you do find it, the proof needs to be at least 70 % or above. The alternate to isopropyl alcohol would be ethanol alcohol which you can find at your local liquor store. It needs to be at least 75 proof. A brand such as Everclear would be sufficient. Do not use vodka. It does not have the right proof percentage.

Hand sanitizer is consider to be a drug and is regulated by the FDA. The reason being it's considered an anti-bacterial. Do not make this for resale. All drugs manufactured in the USA have to be approved by the FDA.

The key ingredients are alcohol, hydrogen peroxide and glycerin. Distilled water is used to finish off the remainder of the litre bottle.

So what do these ingredients do? The alcohol is the active ingredient. The hydrogen peroxide helps to eliminate any spores. It is not an active ingredient for hand sanitation. The glycerin is a humectant which is water soluble. It helps the sanitizer from being so drying. It is strongly recommended not to add any other ingredients as it may reduce the efficacy of the sanitizer.

Recipe for about 8 ounces of liquid hand sanitizer.

ethanol alcohol at least 75% - 200 ml
hydrogen peroxide 3% - 10 ml
glycerol 98% - 3 ml
distilled water - 27 ml

Mix the ingredients together and pour into a spray bottle. We know using hand sanitizer is no match for soap. But in moments when you may not have access to wash your hands with soap hand sanitizer is good second choice.

You can review the full instructions outlined by the World Health Organization here.

The term hypoallergenic is used in marketing primarily for cosmetics. There is a misconception to what the term actually means compared to its perceived definition.

For the consumer when they hear this term they believe that it will not cause an adverse allergic reaction. For those who have sensitive skin this may be a term they look for when shopping for non irritating skincare. 

The problem is that this is not a guarantee. The definition of hypoallergenic is that it is "relatively unlikely to cause an allergic reaction." What the manufacturer is trying to say when they use this term is to make the consumer aware that the product was formulated with ingredients that causes fewer allergic reactions. 

It would be extremely hard to make products that are 100% allergy free. Our body chemistry changes especially as we age and go through hormonal imbalances. What once was non-allergen may now be.

At the end of the day, this term is more of a marketing term. If yo have sensitive skin be sure to read the ingredients listing to make sure you are not allergic to any of the ingredients listed regardless is they are "relatively unlikely" to cause an adverse reaction.

Washing your hands with soap for twenty seconds is the best way to rid them of germs including bacteria and viruses as outlined by the Center for Disease Control. With all the recent hand washing because of Coronavirus it is leaving our hands super duper dry.

There is a good reason behind it. It all boils down to some chemistry. Soap is alkaline. This means it has a pH above seven when added to water. Water has a natural pH of seven.

Our skin is naturally acidic. It has a pH below 7. It should be somewhere between 5.5 - 6.

Moisturizers are acidic with a pH range of 4.5 - 6.5. This is why you use a moisturizer to help your skin lock in moisture and to help your skin provide a barrier of skin protection. 

In order to clean the skin soap has to be alkaline. Our skin quickly changes back to its acidic pH because the alkaline state is very temporary. But add excessive hand washing with soap and our skin begins to feel extra dry.

With the extra hand washing you will need to help your skin out with extra moisturizing. Using a moisturizer like lotion is a one two punch. It contains both water to hydrate the skin and oils to moisturize and lock in the hydration. A moisturizer containing plant based oils is better for your skin than those containing mineral oils including petroleum jelly. So be sure to label read as petroleum based oils counter act and actually aid in drying the skin.

The Covid-19 virus is actually a weak cell that is made with a fatty outer shell. Globally, hand washing with soap has shown that it slowed down the death rate of communicable diseases in communities in which they don't have access to soap. There are agencies, such as Clean the World, that have made it their mission to re-purpose used hotel soaps and send them to countries that need access to soap. 

Soap by it’s nature has a dual attraction. One end of the molecule is attracted to water but not oil. The other end is attracted to oil and not water. This makes soap an emulsifier. An emulsifier allows something that doesn't normally bond together to combine. Such as oil and water, they just don't mix. This attraction is what make soap so special.

When you wash you hand you wet them and then rub with the soap. The soap creates a lather as you begin to agitate it with the friction of your hands rubbing together. This friction for at least 20 seconds allows the soap to bond to the dirt attached to the oils on your skin containing germs which may include bacteria and viruses.

Our skin has creases and crevices for germs to hide. Washing your hands for 20 seconds allows the soap time to penetrate those areas.

The soaps breaks though the fatty shell of the virus with the fatty loving end of the soap molecule. Once it has broken the shell it can pull the water end inside the cell and neutralizes it.  The cell can't sustain itself, collapses and disintegrates.

Since Covid-19 is a highly communicable disease washing you hands is the best defense against contracting it and sharing it. 

So do as your mother told, "Wash Your Hands."