The Best Travel Hand Sanitizer

Buying Guide

Whenever you travel, you’ll likely come across times when you lack convenient access to a sink where you can wash your hands. Travel hand sanitizer can help you out in these situations since it can kill common germs on your hands and doesn’t require any rinsing. You’ll especially find it useful after you’ve had contact with frequently touched surfaces and before you eat meals and snacks.

While everyday hand sanitizer usually comes in larger sizes such as four or eight ounces, travel hand sanitizer bottles usually contain just one or two ounces. The small and lightweight bottles allow for convenient carrying whether you’re attaching a bottle to a keychain or stuffing it in your bag. Travel-sized bottles also help prevent issues with size restrictions that you can experience when traveling by plane.

You’ll encounter travel hand sanitizer in foam, gel and spray forms that can all effectively sanitize your hands. Sprays dry faster but can have a stronger smell and make it harder to tell if you’ve covered your hands thoroughly enough. While gels and foams have a longer drying time, it’s easier to smear them around on your hands, and the smell may not be as strong. In addition, you’ll usually find that gels and foams have a more economical cost than sprays.

Before you opt for any travel hand sanitizer, check the ingredients carefully to ensure you get effectiveness and avoid harmful substances. You’ll want to look for a product with a 60% or higher alcohol concentration to properly sanitize your hands. Steer clear of formulas that mention methanol as an ingredient since there are dangers associated with it. You might opt for products that contain certain scents to help mask some of the alcohol smell or feature aloe to help with dry skin.

When shopping around, you’ll often find packs containing multiple bottles of travel hand sanitizer. This option comes in handy since you can put a bottle in different places such as in your purse, carry-on luggage, car, hotel room, fanny pack or backpack. You can even save some for use at home. However, you’ll want to carefully consider the quantity so that you don’t buy so much you can’t use it all before the sanitizer expires.

• To make it more convenient to carry and access your travel hand sanitizer, consider opting for a holder that has a loop you can connect to your bag or a keychain. These accessories fit small bottles of liquid sanitizer and come in many styles and themes. You can also make your own if you’re crafty.
• You’ll get the most benefits from your travel hand sanitizer if you learn to use it properly. After you squeeze or spray the sanitizer on to your hands, rub them together and make sure the sanitizer reaches all areas of your hands. Continue doing this until everything is dry – avoid the temptation to wipe some sanitizer off during the process. You’ll usually spend around 20 seconds for this.
• Check the expiration date on your travel hand sanitizer and toss it once the date passes. Also, make sure you avoid storing it somewhere very hot or in the sun – such as in a closed car in the summer. You don’t want to risk using something that has lost its effectiveness.
• While using hand sanitizer is beneficial, you should still use water and soap to clean your hands if you can. This especially applies if you have visible grime or something toxic on your hands. You should take around 20 seconds to thoroughly clean your lathered-up hands before you rinse and dry them off.
• Hand sanitizer is toxic if swallowed, so avoid letting children use it unattended. Also, be aware that you can experience eye issues from the ingredients, so keep the sanitizer away from your eyes.
• You can always have a large bottle at home and refill your travel hand sanitizer bottles whenever needed.