Purple Prairie Botanicals Hand Sanitizer Review

Pros: Non-drying! It's actually more like a lotion than a traditional gel hand sanitizer. I prefer it to many of my other products that are actually marketed and sold as lotions. Frequently I use it in place of lotion even when I don't need to sanitize my hands because it's so moisturizing. In the winter months when I'm constantly washing my hands, it's been an absolute life saver. I enjoy the scent and find it very calming. It's heavy on the tea tree and lavender notes and reminds me of a spa. The ingredients are fantastic, natural, and clean (see ingredient list below and it's EWG rating here).

Cons: If you're not a fan of lavender and tea tree essential oils, the strong scent may be off-putting. Though the scent does fade. I don't know if it kills germs like MRSA, Listeria, e-coli, etc.

I emailed Purple Prairie to inquire if they had found any research to support the effectiveness of their ingredients for germ-killing and received this reply:

"We use the current research available on witch hazel, tea tree, lavender and lemon essential oils. We have not done any studies on the actual product itself, only on the ingredients.
Thank you for your business!"

What I most appreciate about their response is that they were honest, prompt, and did not try to oversell the efficacy of their product. So would I trust it if I was working in a hospital? No. But for everyday use, I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It's a lovely NON-DRYING formula, which is fantastic for dry cold winter months/flu season. I'd much rather use a gentle all-natural formula than the industrial strength stuff that dries out my skin.

I might consider adding thyme essential oil as I've heard there is research supporting thyme oil as an effective agent to kill MRSA. It also happens to be an active ingredient in Clean Well's antibacterial soap, hand sanitizer, and hand sanitizing wipes. I've used Clean Well's hand sanitizer as well, but it's not moisturizing and has a liquid/watery consistency. The fact that Purple Prairie's hand sanitizer doubles as a lotion and hand sanitizer is a WIN WIN in my book.

Purple Prairie also offers lots of other fantastic clean products (check their brand out on EWG). Look for future reviews on some of their soaps, massage oil, lotions, and sunscreen products in the future.

Order Purple Prairie's hand sanitizer here.


Ingredients include: hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) extract, organic helianthus annuus (sunflower) oil, cetearyl alcohol, citrus limonum (lemon) oil, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil, melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil, polysorbate and rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract.