Magnolia Hand Sanitizer

As teachers, we are fully aware of how germs lurk in our classrooms, make themselves comfortable on desks, and contaminate little hands.  We also know how these same germs cause sickness, and just how easily they get spread from one person to the next. As the flu and the CoronaVirus run rampant, we are also shocked to find that grocery store shelves are empty in the hand sanitizing department.  How we scold ourselves for failing to stock up earlier in the year as so many teachers do!  

Germs aren’t just prevalent in classrooms.  At the thought of taking our children to Disneyland, we picture those handrails awaiting us in line, full of germs and ugh– possible sickness.  So, we took matters into our own hands (no pun intended), and made our own hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer is only effective when it contains at least 70% alcohol.  Our original thought was to incorporate witch hazel, but when we found out it only contained fourteen percent alcohol, we knew we needed to use something a little more potent.  Therefore, our recipe includes rubbing alcohol, aloe vera gel to create the necessary consistency and soothe the hands, and magnolia for its lovely floral scent. A word on the scent: don’t be deterred from the aroma of this sanitizer. The initial smell of rubbing alcohol dissipates when it dries. Your hands will be left only with the smell of fruity magnolia. We promise.

So, come rain or shine, empty or stocked shelves at the market, we feel confident knowing that our hand sanitizer will keep germs at bay and lend to a richer, healthier life!