The world’s in a difficult place right now. Having access to essentials during this time is even more important. Hand sanitizer is quickly becoming one of the world’s most essential resources in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Hand Sanitizer Shortage
In The Caribbean, there is a serious lack of supply. And it happened fast. Seemingly overnight the shelves dried up.
It has also been noted from the World Health Organisation (WHO) that there is a serious lack of supply all around the world.
Access to Alcohol
As a distillery, even though we are a very small, boutique, we have accesses to high strength ethanol (95%).
WHO recommends using an alcohol-based handrub for routine hand antisepsis in most clinical situations. It has also declared that while research on the subject is limited, 60% alcohol (ethanol) should be suitable to kill bacteria on the skin.
Therefore, we decided to redirect our efforts on an as needed basis.
Alcohol and Aloe Vera
We decided to make 70% alcohol sanitiser, to be well above the minimum limit.
What does alcohol mean for your skin?
The impacts of this strength alcohol on your skin differ from person to person. In general, alcohol can dry out the skin. In severe cases, it can cause irritation and skin cracking.
Aloe Vera a natural moisturizer
Aloe Vera is a natural moisturizer. “It contains antioxidants, enzymes, Vitamins A and C, and it is highly anti-inflammatory. It can help treat burns, acne and dry skin.”
Access to a local supply of Aloe Vera
Luckily for us, we had a local supplier with Aloe Vera plants. So, we started harvesting them straight away. Trust me, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
You’ve gotta get down and cut the leaves (often getting spiked), then peel each leaf, blend it to make it useable and then mix and blend into the alcohol.
We trialed a couple of different percentages to see how much would be effective without being to lumpy/sticky and worked out our “recipe”.
Donation to the Elderly
It had already been a few days since the noticeable lack of sanitizer on shelves before we started our production. So, we thought it’d be best to give it out to those really in need first.
The biggest story on COVID-19 was that elderly folk were most at risk. So, we gave what we had to the local home for the elderly.
Island in Lockdown
With our island in lockdown, we’ve ceased production for the moment. We will continue to make more on an as-needed-basis.
Personally, we are hoping that this timeframe will not be for long and the whole virus epidemic will be under control so that we can all go back to our normal lives.
In the meantime, stay safe out there.
Gin enthusiast and Caribbean Dreamer.
