Home made splash?

Jack Force

Jack Force

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Looking at the ingredients for the Ogallala stuff I have, I noticed that witch hazel, essential oils and other flavourings plus purified water seem to be the rule. I know others on here make some quality stuff that has alot of effort put in but, say, If you mixed a couple of essentials oils and some distilled cheap witch hazel would it be a decent aftershave splash to tone and slightly scent the skin? If so, what would be the ratio of ingredients i.e couple of mils of oil to so many mils of w/hazel?
 
Hi , I looked at google under the search topic: ' how do you make 'bay rum'? I was surprised at how may sites there were. Even videos of how to do it. I love this Internet stuff!!
 
What you have to bear in mind, is that with products offered for sale (in Europe at any rate) even where all the ingredients are as natural as can be, all of the ingredients - used in the amount used - have been assessed as safe by a cosmetic scientist.
To say that something is just 'witch hazel and essential oils' is not too far removed from saying something is 'just a glass of water and some pills'. Doesn't mean to say any pills in any amount will do.
There are indeed many recipes for all sorts of cosmetic stuff out there; you can watch videos on You Tube where they don't even measure essential oils, they just whack in a slurp.
Some very popular essential oils should be used in no more than .025%; some should not be used at all. And the information on what amounts of what are safe are not easy to find on the internet. I have seen many recipes on the net that certainly wouldn't be passed as safe in the EU.
 
Fair enough Sharon but I don't think Jack is looking to take on Steve (or you) and market one of your scents, he just wants to ask what it takes to make your own one. I'm very interested (it's a good question JF).

So a bottle of witch hazel and ten drops of lime essential oil?

As I say I don't think anyone is looking to do any of our budding chemists out of a living. Just seeking to understand the process for a personal bit of fun.
 
With items such as witch hazel in the US you see it marketed under the generic and standardized to USP UNITED STATE PHARMACOLOGICAL standards. Britain has a similar standard. In the US it would be sold as 'witch hazel usp' a standardize x ml of one brand has the same amount of witch hazel and what ever in it as the next. If one goes with standardized formulations of an ingredient then the amounts final mix will always be the same.
 
When it comes to preparing elixirs to apply to the skin I can't help thinking of D. B. Plummer's wise words concerning taking rats by hand ............... "Doing it is easy enough, however it's apt to be a bit of a beggar learning how !"

JohnnyO. \:dodgy:
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

Yes, its pretty much as Canuck says, just a bit of fun and experimentation. Plus it would be useful for times like today when I'll likely have a shave this evening so I would be useful to use something cheap to tone the skin (with a bit of scent) for sitting round the house. It would save using something I've spent a little bit more on.

Looking at the useful stuff that Sharon has replied with it seems you need to have a good knowledge of what essentials oil react like at different levels and different combinations. I dont want to end up blotchy like I do when me and Mr Chuffy are on one of our sessions!
 
I'm not trying to be at all unduly alarmist. But I wouldn't go making your own bay rum using Bay leaf essential oil, as it is heavily restricted in the EU in terms of the amount that is believed to be safe for use in a leave on product. If memory serves me right, that too may be .025%.
Many mainstream oils - Lavender, Tea Tree, Eucalyptus - will be o.k. at 1% (and probably too strong), but Rose would not qualify as a mainstream oil....and certainly wouldn't save you any money anyway.
 
I spent months researching for my bay rum and I asked lots of questions Got advice from Sharon and Martin (prof b) and alot of members on a soap and toiletry forum

I spent lots on ingredients and did lots of testing on myself and mates family etc

Go easy on essential oils some can burn and sting like mad i know from experience !!!

Don't just guess and throw stuff in ask and research and be safe

But I say go for it and have fun

Steve
 
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