Can You Add Essential Oil To Hand Sanitizer?

The release of our Unscented Hand Sanitizer spray has raised many questions about the product, including whether you can add Essential Oils to it. Rather than provide you with a one-word answer, we feel this question deserves a deeper explanation. Read on to get our hot take on adding EOs to Edens Garden’s Hand Sanitizer.

Can You Add Essential Oil To Hand Sanitizer?

Before you go doctoring your Hand Sanitizer with your favorite Essential Oils, there are a few things you should consider.

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Adding Ingredients To Finished Products

For starters, adding essential oils to any finished product is not recommended unless the product is specifically formulated to have additional ingredients added, and our Hand Sanitizer was not formulated to accommodate additional ingredients.

Rather, we followed strict FDA guidelines when formulating our Sanitizer so that we could bring it to market as quickly as possible to help mitigate the worldwide shortage. This also meant that we were unable to add Essential Oils to our formula, though we hope to offer Sanitizers infused with our 100% pure essential oils in the future.

Alcohol As A Solubilizer And Preservative

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High-proof alcohol does a great job of preserving water-based products and solubilizing essential oils. However, without lab testing, you’ll never know just how well your products are preserved and your essential oils solubilized.

Lab testing currently shows that our Hand Sanitizers are safe and effective, though we have not tested how safe and effective they are when Essential Oils or other ingredients are added. And due to the gravity of current viruses and germs circulating, we don’t want you to risk lessening the effectiveness of your hand sanitizer.

Hydrogen Peroxide Is An Oxidizer

Notice the ingredients in our Hand Sanitizer include hydrogen peroxide? Though it contains a very small and safe amount of hydrogen peroxide, this ingredient can oxidize Essential Oils, making it harmful and irritating to the skin. To prevent this, an antioxidant such as Vitamin E oil would need to be added, which would again require testing to ensure the Sanitizer’s efficacy and a deeper understanding of formulation.

Bottom Line

Don’t add essential oils to your Hand Sanitizer unless you plan on testing the resulting formulation in a lab for safety, stability, and efficacy. The same goes for making your own DIY Hand Sanitizer which comes with many of its own problems and concerns.

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If you find that other companies recommend adding essential oils to their Unscented Hand Sanitizer, be your own advocate and mention some of the concerns listed above to ensure they have considered these areas before giving their recommendation.

Can I Make My Own Hand Sanitizer?

In the past couple of years, we’ve seen an increase in people making their own sanitizers. And while it’s possible to make your own sanitizer, it’s also a bit involved and requires special tools and ingredients such as 99 isopropyl alcohol and distilled water, as opposed to aloe vera gel and vodka, which are not suitable ingredients for your homemade sanitizer.

Add Essential Oils To Your Sanitizing Routine

So it’s not recommended that you add Essential Oils to your Hand Sanitizer. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to leave them out of your sanitation routine. Here are a few ways to benefit from your favorite Essential Oil in conjunction with your Sanitizer.

• Moisturize: Sanitizing with an alcohol-based sanitizer can cause the skin to become dry, so follow-up with a nourishing Body Oil or Carrier Oil (with your favorite Essential Oil added, of course). We’re personal fans of Coconut oil mixed with a little Lavender essential oil.
• Stay Protected: Incorporate an immuno-supportive Essential Oil into your routine, such as Immunity, Guardian or Tea Tree oil. These oils are best inhaled using a Diffuser or, for on-the-go use, an Essential Oil Inhaler.
• Wash Up: What’s more effective than sanitizing? Hand washing. Better yet, wash your hands with a natural, essential-oil-infused Bar Soap. Our Fighting Five bar soap, for example, cleanses while offering immune-boosting and skin-nourishing properties.
• Topical Application: While you may not want to add your Essential Oils directly to your Hand Sanitizer, there’s nothing wrong with applying your Oils alongside your Sanitizer. In other words, apply your diluted Essential Oils to your hands, then add a spritz of Hand Sanitizer.

Sources:

1. WHO-recommended Handrub Formulations. https://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/Guide_to_Local_Production.pdf

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