Hand Sanitizer Ingredients

Hand Sanitizer Ingredients

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) has been recommending the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers in hospital settings since the early 2000s. The alcohol contained within hand sanitizers, when rubbed on the surface of your skin is effective in killing 99.9% of dangerous germs on the skin. Here are some tips on how to ensure the hand sanitizer you are looking to purchase will be effective in killing common germs.

The type of alcohol used in most hand sanitizers, including Purell and Germ-X is ethyl alcohol. Ethyl alcohol is the active ingredient in most hand sanitizers. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recommends a concentration of 60% to 95% alcohol in your hand sanitizing product.

However, there are also non-alcohol based hand sanitizers which can be effective in killing germs. For instance, a popular brand of hand sanitizer called Soapopular uses Benzalkonium Chloride (aka BAC) and has still been proven effective in killing 99.9% of germs.

There are also several other non-active ingredients in hand sanitizer, the second most concentrated ingredient is water. Most hand sanitizers also have a form of moisturizer in their sanitizer such as Vitamin E or Aloe, this is to help leave the skin soft after applying. Fragrances and dyes are among some of the other inactive ingredients.