Thread: Aftershave shock

I ran out of aftershave last week, and the only place to
buy just about anything here on this little island is at the
Chinese shop. So, off I went.

All they had on offer was something called "Men's
Choice Aqua Blue". From the shape of the bottle,
it looked like a Mennon knock-off. But, that's all they
had, so I bought it. (206ml, about USD$2)

After my next shave, I splashed some on, and jeez oh
dear! It burned like hell! What's in this stuff?!

The label is in Chinese, Indonesian, Spanish, and
(fortunately) English. Here's the ingredient list:

"Water, alcohol SD 40, propylene glycol, FD&C color
#1, fragrance"

I'm OK with the water and the color, but it must be
about 90% denatured alcohol (so no one will drink it,
I presume), but isn't propylene glycol the stuff they
use to de-ice airplane wings?

And, as far as I'm concerned, the fragrance should be
named "Gawdawful #1". Or maybe "Eau de Pimp".

I don't think that this one will appear on gssixgun's
Bay Rum Parade!

That doesn't sound nice at all. My first thought was, 'well why didn't he go to walgreens?' But then I noticed you were in Tonga. Sounds like online might be your best bet for aftershave as I can not recommend a good local place for you...heck, I had to use google maps to find out where Tonga was

No, the stuff used to de-ice wings is ETHYLENE glycol. Propylene glycol is a widely used humectant/moisturizer in skin care products. There are folks who don't care for it, but it's in almost every skin care product out there. Studies have not supported an claims that it is harmful, that I know of.

Sounds like the alcohol base is the thing that burned up your face.When you order some AS get the non-alcohol

It's probably really expensive to ship there so you can try this if you want.

Homemade Lemon-Lime Aftershave:
1)Buy a mickey of Lemon Gin (Gibley's) and drink half
2)Shred the zest of 4 limes and stuff it in the bottle.
3)Fill half of the remaining space with witch hazel
4)Fill the last half with glycerin
5)Let sit in a dark place for a month, shake once a week.
6)Strain through cheesecloth or a pair of clean pantyhose.
7)Pour back into Gin Bottle.

If you hate it as an Aftershave you can probably, and I accent probably, drink it but I accept no liability. This is a variation on the Bay Rum recipe which I can post as well if your interested BTW. I'd be very interested to hear any other recipes members have.

i also am very interested in hearing other recipes..

however.. the above recipe seems a bit heavy on the glycerin.. is that amount normal??

Yes, 25% glycerin might be high and make it kind of slimy. 10-15% is probably normal but you'd need to increase one of the other ingredients. I was also thinking some Tonic Water would be interesting in it as the quinine is a good ingredient. So perhaps replace half the glycerine with tonic water.

Originally Posted by AfterShaver

Yes, 25% glycerin might be high and make it kind of slimy. 10-15% is probably normal but you'd need to increase one of the other ingredients. I was also thinking some Tonic Water would be interesting in it as the quinine is a good ingredient. So perhaps replace half the glycerine with tonic water.

i had never heard of quinine being used as a shave ingredient.. i like the idea and i think some further research should be made.. a new thread perhaps?

I thought of it because of Pinaud Eau De Quinine which is a hair tonic, but also used as an aftershave. Plus it's tropical, anti-inflammatory, and goes well with gin.

One more thing you might want to try instead of the usual AS is simple Witch Hazel Tonic, and/or pure (~96%) Aloe Vera.
I use both frequently. Both don´t have any (lasting) fragrance,
and work wonders. Especially Aloe does the trick for moisturizing and soothening your skin.
And the best part of it, if you happen to have a pharmacy, or drugstore nearby, they either carry these items, or will be able to get these soon.