Thread: Homemade aftershave

Nancy took me to an Aveda salon where we made me a cologne. You get to choose from a bunch of essential oils to create a smell your significant other loves and you can tolerate. It's called Pure Fume or something like that. They want to add a bunch of alcohol to it but I just get the oil and add the alcohol at home. They do not seem to care one way or the other.

On to the aftershave...

I add four dried Calendula blossoms to 4 oz of Jojoba Oil and let that steep for a couple of weeks.

Then I strain 2 oz of that into an 8 oz glass spray bottle and add 4 oz of local grain alcohol and a few drops of the Pure Fume and voila, aftershave that invigorates, heals, soothes and lubes and makes Nancy go Ooohh.

Shake well before each use.

Calendula from Wikipedia :
Plant pharmacological studies have suggested that Calendula extracts have anti-viral, anti-genotoxic and anti-inflammatory properties.[4] Calendula in suspension or in tincture is used topically to treat acne, reducing inflammation, controlling bleeding and soothing irritated tissue.

Jojoba Oil from Vitaminstuff.com:

Jojoba (Simmodsia chinensis [Latin]) is a perennial woody shrub grown primarily in the desert regions of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Native Americans have long used jojoba oil to help heal sores and wounds. Today, jojoba oil is still most commonly used for cosmetic purposes, particularly for the maintenance of healthy skin.

Local Grain Alcohol from Wikipedia:

The pot still is made of copper or stainless steel, and a water filled barrel with a copper tubing coil for a condenser, is the traditional type of still, being popular with early moonshine producers due to its simplicity and ease of construction.

Fun fun! I make my own stuff myself, nice to see others do the same. I was not aware that you could go and have them made for you at salons tho, would save a lot of trial and error. The 4 flowers, can you still smell them in the final product or?

The flowers have no scent, they are added for their medicinal properties.

I've tried making my own aftershave a couple of months ago but the faint scent didn't last very long at all.I used witch hazel and essential oils Musk,Lavender and Bergamot but no alcohol.Is that where I'm going wrong?

You did not specify what your problem was, but I'm assuming you wanted the scent to last longer so I'll chime in on that assumption.
Aftershaves, splashed and perfumes are all basically the same, scent wise: some scent oils and a carrier of sorts (both alcohol or oil are commonky used, and witch hazel works as a carrier as well). The scent is delievered from the oils and are not affected much by what ever carrier you select.

Scent oils are very different. They have very different appearances, and are often very hard to compare. Some are thick and dark, some are thin and pale. They contain scents, and depending on the oil and the scent, the scents will evaporate over time. Some evaporates very fast, within minutes. Bergamot is an example of an oil that does not last very long. (we're talking minutes, not hours). Lavender is the same, it does not last for long. In perfume making these are called Top Notes.

If you want to make your own blend and want it to last, you should try to use some of the so called Base Notes. They last for several hours, perhaps even days or months (!) Examples of such scents are sandalwood, cedarwood, frankinsence, oakmoss, patchouli or vetiver. There are many more as well. Sandalwood also work as a fixative, that means that not only does it last long after the more volatile scents have disappeared, it will also slow down the evaporation of the top notes. For this reason my own bay rum contains some sandalwood,

I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with scents, using ideas from some of the really old mixtures, like bay rum, florida water, kölnishes wasser (the original cologne) and ideas based on old tales - sandalwood and spice, for instance, mentioned in 1001 nights

Str8fencer,
you got it exactly.Thanks for the info.I can't remember seeing oils separated into top or base notes on websites that sell them but that could be my lack of memory.I quite like Sandalwood and Oakmoss so I might just give it another go.

Here is a link to an info page about oils and classifications. I'm not sure if these are sellers, I just did a quick google and I never bought from them - but they do have nice info on all the oils.

List of essential “fragrance notes” - which includes Top, Middle and Base notes.

A word of warning: When you find an oil you want to try, make sure it is suited for perfume use. Many of the oil sellers are catering to the aromatheraphy market and some oils are not safe for skin application. And all these oils do need to be diluted before use.