Thread: Making my first batch of aftershave.

So I've been toying with the idea of making my own aftershave. I found this recipe online.
Homemade Aftershave

I used that as the base for what I made. What I'm making you definitely can't call Bay Rum, but it's along those lines. I didn't have bay rum extract so decided to do my own little spin on the recipe.



I ended up with a lot more than 2 tablespoons of orange zest, so I decided to make 2 jars instead of one. I used some lime zest in addition to the orange, just cause I like the smell. I didn't use "whole allspice" cause I didn't have any. I used powdered instead and I think it'll be fine. I tossed in about 3 bay leaves into each jar too, just because. I added some patchoulli essential oil because I had some and I thought it would smell good with the other scents. A friend donated some rum for me to use for this, it's Cruzan Blackstrap rum. I personally really enjoy dark rums and I thought it would have a more potent rum scent than the white or gold. I didn't end up having enough witch hazel to top off the jars but I figured I could add more later when its steeped for 4-6 weeks. The CVS witch hazel I used said it ws 84% witch hazel and 14% alchohol, which was better than the witch hazel I saw at the grocery store which said it was 14% witch hazel. Instead of using bottled aloe juice I went out to my aloe plant and cut off a stalk and cut it apart and scraped the inside surfaces into the jars. Slimy but definitely organic, hehe.



It already smells good, and the dry herbs havn't even had a chance to release much scent yet. All in all I'm pretty excited about how this went and how it will smell in a month and a half. I was talking to my cousin and he wants me to make him something with juniper (he has a fondness for the scent of gin). That's something to consider, I'm not sure what other notes would compliment juniper.