Natural hand sanitisers - do they actually work?

Dindi Naturals
100% natural and palm oil free skincare + body products
Whether you're grabbing a quick lunch on a break from work, or have a household of sick kiddos to contend with, we're often DESPERATE to give our hands a good wash and protect ourselves from the plethora of germs that we come into contact with only a daily basis, but don't always have access to the necessary warm water and soap to make it happen.
If you're a parent of small kids or just working the 9-5, you'll know that there just isn't time to be sick! Back to school is always the perfect time to pass around those pesky colds and flu's, not to mention the current very scary risk of this new strain of Coronavirus. We all want to do our best to stay fit and healthy and keep our families fit and healthy too for the long term!
I was lucky enough to be brought up the eldest child of a professor of microbiology, who stopped my obsessive thumb sucking at age 9 by shoving my offending thumb in a petri dish and for 2 weeks showing me the forests of bacteria that grew from there. This experience was so gross that I never ever sucked my thumb again, but just think about how many times we all inadvertently bite our nails, use our hands to eat that croissant or use our finger to apply lip balm to our lips. The amount of germs and bacteria that live on our hands and the hands of our kids is enough to put you off chowing down on that morning croissant!

Those handy tubes of lurid green or yellow '100% bacteria killing!' commercial hand sanitisers look like they'd be the answer to all our problems, but just opening them up you get a quick idea of just how many chemicals must be in that tiny bottle.
Have you heard of Triclosan? Triclosan is quite a common antibacterial and anti-fungal agent which is often found in hand sanitisers. This ingredient is currently being investigated for it's links to abnormal endocrine (hormone) and thyroid signaling, weakening of immune systems, developmental and reproductive toxicity and uncontrollable cell growth (aka. CANCER).
Aside from the longer term health concerns in using products with harsh chemicals, dyes and fragrances, they can also just leave your skin feeling dry, crackled and smelling like toilet cleaner!
Not all natural hand sanitisers are created equal. When it comes to determining the most effective natural hand sanitiser, 60% alcohol content is the recommended minimum. Many don't use alcohol at all though scientific studies have shown that the higher the alcohol content, the more effective hand sanitisers are at combating germs, bacteria, and helping people stave off that pesky cold and flu.
In fact the U.S. Center for Disease Controls and Prevention's officially recommends hand sanitisers comprising of at least 60 percent alcohol as an effective tool for neutralising germs when soap and water are not available. Numerous studies have verified the CDC’s conclusion, including a 2010 BMC Infectious Disease review that found office workers who used an alcohol-based hand sanitiser five times each work day were two-thirds less likely to get sick than workers who continued to just wash their hands.
We've created our 100% natural hand sanitiser range using a minimum of 62% organic sugarcane alcohol, and included antibacterial and antimicrobial essential oils to leave your skin smelling and feeling wonderful! These handy 50ml travel sized come in 2 scent options, lavender + lemon tea tree and are completely safe and gentle to use through out your day on the whole family! We've made them small enough that you can even pop one in your flight carry on ...
Leave a comment