As store shelves keep getting cleared out due to coronavirus fears, some people are taking sanitizing concerns into their own hands. What are the best DIY hand sanitizer options, and what do the experts want you to know about these homemade recipes? In general, you’ll want to save that bottle of Absolut for your drinks, not your cleaning products.

When making your own, “your sanitizer must be at least 70% alcohol to be effective,” dermatologist Peterson Pierre, M.D., of the Pierre Skin Care Institute tells Romper. Honestly, making the stuff on your own can be a bit tricky. “Though it might be tempting, as hand sanitizer has become unavailable in many stores and pharmacies as consumers rushed in to stock up, it’s not as easy to make an effective hand sanitizer as it sounds,” Dr. Gabriella Baki, Ph.D., Pharm.D., assistant professor of pharmaceutics at the University of Toledo, tells Romper. Not all DIY sanitizer recipes are equally effective at killing off microbes.

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It seems to depend on who you ask. Cleaning expert and national spokesperson for the American Cleaning Institute, Brian Sansoni, says that the idea that homemade sanitizers can effectively protect against illness is “highly suspect.” He continues, “The producers who make these products follow formulas. If you’re at home, nothing guarantees that you’ll get the product formulation just right.” Dermatologist Peterson Pierre, MD agrees, saying, “If you have a choice, you are better off buying sanitizer from a store because they’ve been made in large volumes, they’re reliable companies, they’ve been doing this for a long time, they have the right formula, and it’s consistent.”

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Generally, a third washing is okay, but only if you’ve “just come from a sporting event where you sweat a lot, or if you’re wearing a lot of makeup [ahead of going to the gym] and would prefer not to deal with that while working out,” says Dr. Peterson Pierre, MD, a dermatologist in Thousand Oaks, California.

Apparently, overwashing your face is a thing — but your skin will likely let you know if you’re doing this via breakouts, dryness or irritation.

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The coronavirus scare has many people on edge, but overreacting and not doing simple things is your biggest enemy according to Dr. Peterson Pierre, M.D. of the Pierre Skin Care Institute in Thousand Oaks, California.

Our forums have a lot of chatter about this virus making the news. He shared exclusive wellness tips and advice for our readers who may have concerns about shortages and staying well.

The CDC even used a popular TV series, The Walking Dead, as advice to people to observe habits to ward off any exposure.

“Everyone is panicked about the current coronavirus scare. Most people who get infected will recover without any medical intervention. Many will be affected but have no symptoms. A minority, typically the elderly and those with other medical conditions, may become very sick and a certain number will die, similar to what happens with the regular flu that we face every year.”

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Whether internal or topical, Pierre said that medications can be another sneaky culprit behind your skin care woes. Certain medications, he explained, can cause irritation to your skin, making it important to talk to your doctor (or dermatologist) if this is of concern.

“Certain medications can stimulate oil production and acne, while others can cause rashes and red, dry, irritated skin,” he said. “This may require an adjustment to those medications, and certainly a change in the products you use.”

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