In an earlier post, I explained why I threw out my Gillette shaving cream. I also mentioned that I’ve been making my own bay rum aftershave for the past several years. So I thought you might like to know how to make bay rum aftershave. After all, you can’t get any more local than making your own shave lotion!
Making your own aftershave is really economical. For the price of a bottle of vodka and a bottle of rum — plus an orange and some everyday spices — you can make a liter or more of aftershave. That’s enough to keep you going for months. And compare the cost of making your own to the cost of buying commercially made aftershave.
My recipe for how to make bay rum aftershave isn’t original. I found it on the internet, but have adjusted it a bit.
Recipe for How to Make Bay Rum Aftershave
The ingredients for how to make bay rum aftershave are:
- 1/2 cup of vodka
- 2T of rum
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4t of whole allspice
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 bottle with a screw-on lid
- Cheesecloth
The instructions for how to make bay rum after shave are:
- Pour the vodka and the rum into the bottle.
- Add the orange zest and the spices to the liquid.
- Screw on the bottle lid and store the bottle in a cool, dark place for at least two weeks.
- When the time is up, pour the liquid from the bottle through a strainer into a container to catch the large pieces of waste.
- Pour the strained liquid through several layers of cheesecloth to catch the smaller pieces of waste.
- Pour the aftershave into an aftershave bottle
- Enjoy the aftershave.
Whenever I make a batch of aftershave, I either double or triple the recipe. And I store it for longer than two weeks. I think letting everything steep longer makes the scent stronger.
Also, just compare the ingredients you use to those of commercial aftershaves. Old Spice Original uses the following:
- Denatured alcohol
- Water
- Fragrance
- Benzyl alcohol
- Propylene Glycol
Personally, I feel better using natural ingredients such as orange peel and bay leaves.
Making Aftershaves with Different Scents
Once you know how to make bay rum aftershave, you can alter the base recipe to make other kinds of scents. For example, instead of using orange zest, you could use the zest of a lime or lemon. Lately I’ve been wondering what the aftershave would be like if I added apples. Or maybe even the spices for making apple pie. But perhaps having a face that smelled like an apple pie might be going a bit too far!
If any of you try making the bay rum aftershave, please leave a comment to let us know how you made out. And if any of you have been making your own aftershave, perhaps you could share your recipe with us.
See also:
[...] How to Make Bay Rum Aftershave [...]
Maybe you’ll put Old Spice out of business! That recipe is really interesting! Wish I had a hubby, so he could try it!
Yum – I’d love for you to smell like apple pie!
Hi, I’m interested in making after shave for my husband. Are the bay leaves you use the kind I can purchase at a grocery store? I’ve read that they grow only at the coast. Is there something else I can substitute that’s available in Colorado in the winter?
Any help would be appreciated.
Becky
Hi, Becky.
I use regular bay leaves — the kind you buy at the grocery store. I never knew there was a special kind to use. I think the ones from the grocery store work just fine.
Let me know how they work for you.
Hi Dan great posts here, Im going to start making my own bay rum as I cant get the good stuff anymore. Thanks for the recipe.
Pierre
Hi Dan,
Thanks for the recipe, I am going to try it straight away. One question, excuse the ignorance, but, is it white or dark rum you use.
Cheers
Rod
Hi, Rod. I’m glad you’re going to try the recipe. Actually, I use either light or dark rum. I think the dark rum gives the after shave more body, though.
Please let me know what you think about the recipe after you try it.
Don’t use bay leaves found at the grocery store. Use Bay Rum tree leaves (Pimenta racemosa) found at health food stores. Dark rum as suggested works well. Witch hazel can replace the vodka. There is a bay rum concentrate of leaves and rum on eBay: http://stores.ebay.com/bluewaterproductions
Hi, Steve.
The difference between aftershave and cologne is this: After shave is for applying to your face after you shave. Shaving opens the pores of your skin by pulling at your whiskers — especially if you use a dull razor. Frequent shaving also can dry out your skin. The aftershave helps heal your skin and prevent it from drying out.
Cologne, on the other hand, is simply perfume for men. It supposedly makes you smell good.
I don’t know what you’d use to create the old English Leather Lime, except for the lime. I got my aftershave recipe from the internet. Perhaps there’s a recipe for English Leather Lime out there, too. It’s worth a search. Sorry I can’t be more help.
– Dan
Hi Dan, Thanks for the info. I guess I’ll now have a distillery, as well as my bicycle repairs, going on in my apartment room now. I’ll probably be thrown out. Ha, Ha.
Hi Dan, I have seen some recipes on other sites that say they use vinegar as well as water in their mens fragrance making. I thought to myself, who the hell wants to smell like vinegar. what do you think?
Also, what strength of vodka do you use?
Also, what is meant by the term “straight vodka”?
Thank you in advance for your help.
Steve.
Hi, Steve. I agree with you about not wanting to smell like vinegar. Perhaps, though, the vinegar might combine with the other ingredients to produce an interesting smell.
As for the “straight vodka,” it simply the vodka’s undiluted. Nothing, such as water, is added to it. For my aftershave, I use whatever strength comes in the bottle I happen to buy. What I’m using now is 80 proof.
If you try making aftershave with vinegar, let me know how it turns out.
Hi Dan,
I was reading the ingrediants listed on the label of an aftershave that I have, and it lists (SD Alcohol 40). What is this? Is it similar to vodka, or maybe vodka is better, I don’t know. Also, how do you change or create color for an aftershave? For example, most lime scents that I’ve seen are light green in color, and most spice scents are light brown, etc. Thank you.
Steve.
Hi, Steve.
You’re not asking too many questions. I don’t really know the answer to your question, but if you omitted the rum and increased the amount of bay leaves, you really couldn’t call the after shave “bay rum.” I’d think you would have a different scent, though. You might want to try it out and see what happens. Let me know if you do.