This super simple and remarkably effective Magic All-Over Aftershave was inspired by a post I read on Reddit. Somebody had posted, desperate for ideas for helping with her chronic razor burn and ingrown hairs from shaving her bikini area. It sounded like her skin seriously hated all kinds of hair removal, and she was at her wits end. Somebody suggested a product I’d never heard of before—Tend Skin. They swore by it. A dozen other people chimed in to say it was a lifesaver. I checked out the ingredients and it was a prime DIY candidate. Bam.
The original is mostly rubbing alcohol, butylene glycol, and acetysalicylic acid (aspirin!), plus some glycerin and silicone. I thought I could improve on that—and for a fraction of the cost! I used mostly rubbing alcohol and a bit of water (though you could also use aloe vera juice or witch hazel), with some added aspirin and glycerin. I also decided to boost the healing and soothing properties of the aftershave with some added allantoin and vitamin E oil.
This whole thing comes together in a flash and works like a charm. It’s amazing. The alcohol disinfects, and the aspirin helps with swelling, and since it’s acidic, it also helps counter ingrown hairs with a bit of chemical exfoliation. Allantoin helps soothe irritated skin, and vitamin E oil helps boost healing. If you have aloe juice or witch hazel on hand you can use those instead of water for added soothing (aloe) or astringent properties (witch hazel).
Really all you’ve got to do is smash up the aspirin in a mortar and pestle, pop everything in a bottle, cap, and shake to combine. To use it, just douse a cotton ball in it and swipe it over any areas that need a bit of post-hair-removal love. Repeat as needed—I’ve found once a day for a few days afterwards works really well. I’ve also found this stuff works really well on acne. BAM. (And you’re welcome 😉 )
Magic All-Over Aftershave
90mL| 6 tbsp 99% isopropyl alcohol
30mL | 2 tbsp water, aloe vera juice, or witch hazel
or 120mL | 1/2 cup 70% isopropyl alcohol6 (325mg) aspirin tablets
5g | 0.17oz vegetable glycerin
1/4 tsp allantoin powder (optional)
1g | 0.03oz vitamin E oilUsing a mortar and pestle, crush the aspirin tablets to a fine dust.
Measure the alcohol and water into a glass bottle. Add the aspirin, glycerin, allantoin, and vitamin E oil. Cap the bottle tightly and shake to combine.
To use, wet a cotton ball with the toner and swab it over your skin post-hair-removal. You’ll need to swish the liquid around before use to get the aspirin bits to jump back into suspension (mine didn’t dissolve fully). Repeat as needed—I find using this daily for the first few days after waxing is hugely helpful.
Thanks to the high alcohol content this project doesn’t need a preservative, and the vitamin E oil dissolves into the alcohol so we don’t need an emulsifier.
Could you use frankincense for healing and wintergreen eo instead of the aspirin? Not sure if the amounts?
Thank you!
Can’t wait for your book 🙂
3 drops wintergreen essential oil equals approximately 1 aspirin, however for this recipe you would need 18 drops. At this concentration, you will probably feel burning from the essential oil.
Honestly, I probably wouldn’t, but you are more than welcome to try if you want—I’d be interested to hear how it works out. Health Canada stipulates wintergreen not be used at concentrations higher than 1%, so keep that in mind.
I’m concerned about using aspirin for a resale product. Would white willow bark infused witch hazel be a viable substitute? You used this in one of your facial toners and it works very well. TIA!
Honestly, I’d be more concerned that you are selling stuff but still asking me questions about products you are attaching your name (and liability) to. I’m not trying to be a jerk, but seriously—this is your butt on the line. If somebody sues, they’re suing you. You need to be able to answer these questions yourself about products you are bringing to market. You should also be testing everything you’re selling very thoroughly—don’t take my word for it!
Aspirin is derived from a compound found in white willow bark, but that’s sort of like using a cocoa pod instead of chocolate in a brownie recipe—there’s quite a few steps in between that make chocolate very different from a cocoa pod off the tree.
Also, if you are selling products made from recipes I develop, I’d really appreciate you becoming a Patron if you aren’t already 🙂 Running this blog costs a lot of money, and if you are profiting off my creations, it would be really decent of you if you’d share 🙂
If you read my comment again, I did not state that ‘I’ intend to produce this product for resale, but others might. I tend to err on the side of safety and, myself, would hesitate making or using a product that contained aspirin. I was impressed with your use of willow bark in the facial toner. I neither make nor do I sell that product either. You are very correct to say it is my butt on the line. I’m not trying to be a jerk either, but I do object to your use of “aspirin” in any product.
Correction: I made the willow toner for my daughter, but will not sell it to the public.
I apologize for the incorrect assumption. Nothing I publish is intended for resale—it’s for at home DIYing—so when readers ask about resale, it’s almost always because they’re thinking about doing it. This blog is not supposed to be a source for people to acquire recipes to start their own business, much like cooking blogs aren’t supposed to be the sort of thing somebody starts a restaurant or bakery from. I do not share recipes that have been tested for retail purposes. I do not represent them as such. I’m not developing them with resale in mind. But readers do ask, and you are the first to ever ask as a sort of “somebody might ever”—when they ask it is with an intent to sell, and that scares me on their behalf. You could go through a huge portion of my website and express concern over people selling stuff made from the recipes, and you wouldn’t be wrong at all. I’d never sell most of my lotions because I love including bug food like herbs and aloe and honey, and broad spectrum preservatives aren’t infallible. I’d also be worried about that toner you like—it’s loaded with delicious things for bacteria to devour. There is a very strong inclination with this hobby to try to turn it into a business within months of getting started, and the more research I do… the more the notion of selling anything to the public terrifies me.
And I am genuinely curious—why do you object to aspirin/acetylsalicylic acid in topical use? From my research it’s a carefully produced, safe medicine (except for kids) that’s been in use for decades.
Wow. I am usually not a forum troll, but you, Candace, are being really rude. Marie maintains a blog of her own recipes, she has a right to use whatever ingredients she wants. They are her recipes. I make her recipes all of the time, and am really grateful to her. Marie is very creative and she’s constantly inspiring me to make her recipes my own. She does not have to post her original recipes, she could just leave them in her own brain. That’s where I store mine. I do try to “give back” by reviewing her content and filling in my substitutions, and if I feel I had a brilliant idea that she can use, I shoot her an email. This may do more harm than good, since she’s never used my recipes and they are clogging her inbox as we speak.
I do not, ever, take credit for her work or criticize her use of ingredients. The way I think of it, she is an artist, this is her form of expression. Hopefully you aren’t trolling the modern art museum and criticizing their use of barbed wire. If you don’t like it, don’t comment.
By the way, your original comment very much implied that you are going to sell this. “I am concerned that about using aspirin in a resale product.” You may have meant “I am concerned that some of your readers may use aspirin in a resale product, could you please make it very clear that you do not intend to resell this?”
Marie and Kate, the last thing I wanted was to be rude, and I don’t think I was. I am primarily a soaper who adds a few body products to her line because people expect them. I err heavily on the side of safety and the FDA requirements. But, I have seen some horrendous preparations being offered to followers online, and I have heard outrageous promises by some when selling their home made preparations. I cringe at this, and walk away. I refuse to put myself in the position where I offer something harmful and take the chance of being sued. I also carry insurance, but it pays to have a lot of common sense also. So, yes, Kate, my concern was with some that may use aspirin in a resale product. I will not be doing this – period. Marie, I have followed you for about 4 years now. I love the way your mind works, I love the eo combinations you come up with, and I love your style. I’ve wracked my brain to think if I’ve ever sold anything that started with your formulas, and I don’t think I have. I’ve made a few things and end up sharing with my daughters and a few close friends. I love experimenting and giving the products away. Now, I have to say that I don’t appreciate being made to feel like the village idiot by either of you because I asked a simple question. I rarely post anywhere for just this reason.
I’m sorry this seems to have devolved into so many hurt feelings when the general gist of it seems to be: Candace: “I hope nobody sells this”. Marie: “Me too, or any of my recipes, for that matter.” I am certainly not trying to make anybody feel like a “village idiot”.
Thank you! I used to use this all the time – it’s wonderful after shaving or waxing. I am thrilled I can make it now myself. You are awesome, Marie!
Thanks, Andrea! Happy making 🙂
I can’t wait to try this. I also have very bad ingrown hairs. I get them on my knees and arm pits. I have a question about allantoin. I have never heard of it before. I know that you said it was optional but could you tell me more about its benfits?
You can read more about allantoin here 🙂 Basically, it’s healing, soothing, and hydrating!
Woohoo! I just need to pop into the supermarket to get aspirin and I am good to go. More DIYing at the weekend. Thanks so much for another great recipe!
Happy making! 😀
Hi Marie,
I am a long time subscriber to your site. I love your mortar and pestle in the photo, it is so cute 🙂
I love the idea of this after shave, I am thinking of making a version for my hubby, he is finding it hard to find aftershave that is not a cream here in Australia. Thanks for the work that you put into this site it is very much appreciated 🙂
Thanks, Tamara! Happy making 🙂
Would some aspirin brands work better than others? I was thinking some might contain more fillers than others or have a higher percentage of the active ingredient.
I’d look for an uncoated one if you can find it—the coatings are designed to be slow to dissolve/insoluble. Beyond that, I am not a hugely experience aspirin purchaser so I can’t really say 🙂 Happy making!
The only aspirin I can get my hands on is coated. Would that work?
Yup—mine was coated, too 🙂
Lol! I looked for an hour on China’s online stores for uncoated aspirin after I read your post and couldn’t find anything without the coating. Couldn’t find squat for a small quantity. So asked a friend of mine who is Stateside to pick me up a small bottle to try out. Realising he wouldn’t be home to China for a few more weeks, went looking for just some salicylic acid to see if that was possible.
Then I came across a gold mine (and gold is probably cheaper than the items on the page)!!! I found a 30mL bottle of salicylic acid! But it is a liquid. The bottle states 2.5-10% in creams and lotions.
And the gold mine? I also found broccoli oil, BTMS-50, carnuba wax and a ton of other gems! To buy these three ingredients (in tiny amounts too!) I spent almost my whole months fun budget! Holy smokes! To compare, I could buy 30mL of liquid carmine, 5kg of pomace olive oil and 5kg of refined coconut oil and have a wee bit left over for 10mL of orange essential oil. This French stuff ain’t cheap!
I’m addicted to lotion, potions and more…. so of course I’ll go back to this shop and get more rare items to play with. And then today? I visited this page to see what others have said and I read I could have gone with the coated aspirin!
And I agree with Cristie. My posts are just way to dang long. Need to find friends with the same hobby as mine So I can chew their ears off.
You did find friends to share your hobby, Penny. Right here!! Us!
Where did you find the BTMS-50 may I ask? I can find broccoli oil but not the BTMS and frankly, I hate shipping costs. Getting everything in one fell swoop is desirable.
Thanks Cristie! We have a week off for National Day and my list of projects is growing with every post Marie makes! Might be asking many questions!
For where I bought my BTMS-50, I got it from a newerish shop on Taobao. just copy and paste into your browser, and if you’re a new expat and need help walking through the Chinese, let me know and I’ll help you out: 复制这条信息，打开手机淘宝 即可看到【现货Aroma Zone百分百纯天然水杨酸30ml祛痘祛油】￥AALFhKpa￥
Oooooh, SCORE! Pity about the prices though, haha. I have just ordered myself some new fun ingredients, too, I can’t wait until they arrive!
This blog and all of you are my DIY friends 🙂 Not even my mother can feign interest in this stuff for very long haha!
Thank you, Penny! But I’m actually not in China. I’ll know where to look for goodies now if I ever move there
I can imagine Marie’s mothers eyes doing that glazing over thing, like my guys eyes do. I know that glazing over, well.
Today, I make this. Guys are eager. The only fear is the alcohol in it. They’re such babies about sting. Really guys?? My mother used to say, ‘It takes a lot of pain to look this good.’
Morning Christie!
One of the very first books I fell in love with, the young woman gets her ears pierced and passes out. When she wakes her friend told her, “that beauty is pain”. Oh yeah. Men should be forced to wear bras.
I ended up buying some men’s aftershave and decided to compare this to that. On my armpits no less. Stupid idea. Really stupid idea. No, no, no. Think very stupid idea and multiply it. By a bagillion. Marie’s recipe had a wee sting. Like getting acupuncture. The needle goes in, yikes! A split second later? Ahhhhhhh. The aftershave? Was like getting a body part cut off. The sting lasted a little longer, but a week later I am still suffering.
I had some sort of reaction and my arm pit got all gross and inflamed and well it’s just ugly now. Slowly healing.
Although it was all kind of worth it to see some friends reaction to store bought stuff!
ps: some good came from it though! A made a ton of Marie’s baby items to heal it!
Ahh! Oh no! I will admit to a wee gasp and a laugh at your description, but OUCH! I never would’ve guessed the shop bought stuff could hurt so much more… perhaps it is made with gasoline?!
For the record, referencing above conversation, I would never sell any of Marie’s recipes. I make and joyfully give away with love in my heart. That’s what life is all about in my world.
I actually read an article…somewhere, who knows, about lawsuits and selling DIY projects. Scary enough but there have been instances of people suing because a gift caused some sort of skin problem! I won’t stop, it’s my nature to give but I have that warning in the back of my mind. Know your giftee I guess.
Now I’m going to make this. I don’t have shaving issues but my guys do. It’s why one grows a beard and the other goes grufty between dreaded shavings. I have a third but he grows a beard for enjoyment. I love him. But that beard!!
I’m using the aspirin. I have a ton of it.
Wondering now if we can use aspirin in masks?
M
And I think my posts are too darn long.
Thanks, Cristie! I’ve read many online tips suggesting a paste of aspirin and water on zits as a topical treatment, so I think aspirin in a mask would work out great 🙂
This is my first time to chime in—-I was wondering if all that alcohol might be irritating in the bikini area?? The ingredients sound like they should work–especially using aloe instead of water. But that’s still quite a bit of alcohol for that sensitive area.
Hey Bonnie! I don’t find it irritating in the bikini area (and I’ve used it a lot there, though nowhere near the extra sensitive bits!), but it definitely stings on the face. You do need it to be over 60% alcohol to be antibacterial, and this is just a little above that.
This was one of the projects a friend of mine and I made the other day. Neither of us have experienced issues of any kind from the bikini area. My friend proudly shouted that this stuff is like liquid gold and went into explaining why (thank god we live in a small city in China and talk in English). Her husband uses this along his tush where he gets some strangerish acne/boils etc and even in just the few days they have had their bottle have seen changes.
I made this with aloe juice and the alcohol, and I feel a little sting when applied to freshly shaved skin, but nothing too bad. I do find that the day six razor blade makes this after spray sting wicked bad compared to the three day blade.
Very cool! Glad to hear it 🙂 Have you tried giving your razor blade a quick dip in some high proof alcohol after use? I’ve heard it’s evaporating water that really dulls a razor, so a dip in alcohol helps it dry faster and dull slower!
Huh. I’ve always shaken mine dry, then try to wipe it on a towel. A quick alcohol bath…. I’ll give it a go! Anything to extend the life of razors. One razor costs more than a cup of coffee!
You don’t get Dollar Shave Club over there, eh? It’s awesome!
What’s a dollar shave club?
This guy will explain it better than I ever could: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUG9qYTJMsI
There is always salicylic acid available for those that don’t want to use aspirin. I’ll go for the aspirin as I think the greatest danger in the whole process is my razorblade anyway !
Thanks—happy making!
Hi Marie!
Can I sub rubbing alcohol with cheap vodka? The ones that are 40% alcohol volume?
For this one we want at least a 60% alcohol concentration so it’s antibacterial, and I’m afraid there’s no way to get a 60% concentration from a 40% starting point 🙁
Would vodka with 60 % alcohol work? The rubbing alcohol stuff that is available in Sweden have other chemicals mixed in that I don’t want to mess with. Also the 99% is restricted to people with prescriptions and I think customs would make buying from another country difficult.
Yup, if you can find it 🙂 Just eliminate the added water.
Great thank you! 🙂
Wintergreen is not a good substitute for salicylic acid because wintergreen contains methylsalicylate which has completely different characteristics compared to salicylic acid, methylsalicylate has a local anesthetic effect on the skin. Salicylic acid howether penetrates clogged pores and clear them out. And I wouldn’t use aspirin if I wanted the salicylic acid effect, it is better to buy pure salicylic acid and use that instead.
Thanks, C. I really appreciate the breakdown on methylsalicylate vs salicylic acid. For this recipe I did want the ASA effect, not the salicylic acid effect. I’d love to play with pure salicylic acid, but I feel like I’m often limited by not wanting to use ingredients that are too “weird” or inaccessible—if I do, people ask about alternatives anyways haha, so it’s usually best to see if I can make it work with something more common. Thanks for reading!
Hi! I love your blog! One of my top favorites!
I’ve seen tons of online recipes using liquor such as rum, whiskey, (think one person was entertaining scotch) and even absinthe! Still, I don’t know if these recipes are properly balanced. How would you do it?
I was hoping to find recipes comparable to SheaMoisture that I could make for my boyfriend for Christmas (he is thinking of trying more classic shaving styles. Granted SM is a pretty clean company, but I’d like to give him something I made myself ^_^), such as their shaving cream, utility soap, and aftershave. But it seems nobody has thought to diy their products. Rats! lol
Hey Ryan! Thanks for reading 🙂 I must say I’m rather appalled at anybody using Scotch as aftershave, but only because that’s a total waste of Scotch haha! I’m afraid I don’t have anything terribly similar to SM stuff (it looks like their star ingredients are black soap and shea butter?), though I do have oodles of shea butter recipes. You’re welcome to submit a recipe request if you like, but I am planning into March and April at this point, and there’s no guarantee I’ll ever work with your request… so if you’re really keen, I suggest starting to play on your own! Happy making 😀
Right? I thought it was a waste of good liquor, too!
Thanks for the advice! <3
No worries! Happy making, and drink that scotch 😉
hi marie
i just wanted to know if it’s ok to use 50% alcohol
i also have a bottle of vodka that says 40% alcohol 80 proof so which would be better
thank you
The 50% stuff would be best, just eliminate the water and use more alcohol instead (as your alcohol already has quite a lot of water in it).
Bless you Marie! My son has issues with after-shaves, so I’ll have to try this (with aloe juice)for him along with some masculine lotion. I’m planning my goodie baskets to make this weekend for Christmas gifts, can’t do much else during a blizzard so I’ll endure it by having fun!
Happy making! I hope your son love it 🙂
Brilliant! Works great. That mortar and pestle though….lusting after it.
I’m so glad! The mortar & pestle was a gift brought back from somewhere in the USA—it’s nice and heavy and definitely gets the job done!
Hi Marie,
Thank you for all your recipes. I am having so much fun making things for myself and family.
My mum and I love your deodorant. My husband loves your redwood beard balm. Can’t say I love his beard (he is going for the wild man look) but at least it smells good now thanks to you!
When my brother asked for aftershave I was pleasantly surprised to find this recipe. (Is there anything you can’t make?)
I do have a few questions regarding substitutions, hoping you might be able to help?
I have aloe powder and witch hazel herb normally used for making tea.
I was thinking of adding the aloe powder directly. Also, thinking I can make the witch hazel into a 30ml tea and strain before adding as the water component.
My dilemma is working out how much to use of each to achieve a similar effect as your recipe?
Lastly I have white willow bark powder, do you think I could substitute this for the asprin? (mostly because I don’t have asprin in my cupboard.) If so, how much powder should I add?
If not, I can get 300mg dissolvable asprin (which you normally add to water). Is this the same as uncoated asprin tablets?
As a side note, I live in Australia. I read you are visiting down under soon. I hope you have a great time! Hopefully this summer heat treats you kindly.
I’m sure you probably have your trip all planned out. However, if you see this message in time, and if you happen to get ‘stuck’ on the Gold Coast, or there is anything I can do to help you out in anyway please let me know!
Thanks again,
Take care,
Natalie
Hey!
Making your own water-based herbal infusions is not recommended as it creates a base to the recipe that is very hard to preserve. This does have a lot of alcohol in it, so that may counter the preservative challenges. However, it is also worth pointing out that infusing plant matter is not the same thing as aloe juice or witch hazel distillate. Think of apple juice vs. an herbal apple infusion—same plant origin, extremely different end products. You can also see how asking “how much apple tea should I use to replace apple juice?” is a very hard question to give a decent answer for.
While white willow bark and aspirin do share a common ancestor, so to speak, they are not the same thing and the active chemical is not the same.
Given the high alcohol content you do have a bit more leeway with preservation concerns, so you can try your alternatives, but they are all quite different from the original ingredients so I can’t give much more advice than that. Happy making!
Hello I was wondering if it mattered if your magic all over aftershave was kept in a plastic or glass bottle?
Nope!
Thank you!
Is the Vitamin E oil essential? If so, what can I substitute it with?
It isn’t essential; you can replace it with more water (panthenol would also be a good choice, if you have it).
Wow. Will definitely try soon. One quick question about the use of aspirin…will Advil or Motrin work? I don’t really have aspirin right now! Thank you so much for all that you do for us, Marie!
No—those are completely different chemical compounds. They are both Ibuprofen, and we need acetysalicylic acid.
So I was reading this in The Beauty Brains, and she raises some valid points. Aspirin is largely fillers, with only a small amount being active ingredient. It would take a lot of it to duplicate what Tend Skin does, since the active ingredient makes up 15% of the formula. She goes on to list the other ingredients in Tend Skin:
Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Diglycerin – polyols that help deliver the aspirin and provide good skin feel.
Cyclomethicone – spreading agent
Polysorbate 80 – coupling agent
Without these, the aspirin would just settle to the bottom of the bottle between uses. Not the end of the world I know, to have to shake before each use, but I think a better DIY version could be made. You can find that article here: https://tinyurl.com/y5a3kqjz
It would be awesome to see you tackle this again before Father’s Day 2020. I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s something I think I could allow my 8 yr old granddaughter to help me make (wearing proper safety gear) as a present for her dad and Grandpa. In the meantime, I’m going to take a stab at it myself but I know from experience your versions are better 😉
Absolutely! This is definitely a formula that could very much use a “bee-bettering”. I’ll need to keep an eye out for a more concentrated version of the active ingredient and come at it from a less Pinteresty mindset 🙂 Thank you for the link!
In addition, aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid, whereas I think Tend Skin uses true salicylic acid. And according to this link, there’s only about 10% active ingredient per tablet in a average tablet of aspirin. That’s a LOT of filler ingredients! (https://www.bayer.com/en/aspirin.aspx)
Also, I haven’t had luck yet sourcing salicylic acid, but LotionCrafter has White Willow Concentrate Extract which they say they standardize to 10% salicylic acid. It’s something to keep in mind, at least here in the States. It may not be cost effective for you.
https://lotioncrafter.com/products/willow-bark-extract?_pos=2&_sid=4c235250b&_ss=r
Thank you!
Hi Marie, I like the idea of your aftershave but as I’ve got eczema I try to avoid using alcohol based products on my face. So my question is could I swop out the alcohol and water and try a mix of witch hazel and aloe vera juice instead ? And lastly if I swop alcohol out will I need to add a preservative I’m guessing I may have to depending upon the witch hazel I use ? Thanks in advance for your advice !!
You’ll be in re-dev territory there—it should work, but you will need to do your own experiments, and yes, you’ll need a preservative regardless of how much witch hazel you use 🙂 Happy making!