Converting Aftershave to Cologne

[mr.donlong]

Good Evening Men,

I'll bet someone, somewhere, has thought about this and possible has been successful. Is it possible to convert aftershave into cologne? I have been seeking Old Spice Fresh Scent cologne to no avail. I know there are some eBay sellers right now but I'd rather not pay that price. If I only knew back in the early 1990's that my wife would never settle for another fragrance.

Any thoughts and ideas would be appreciated!

DL

 

[michiganlover]

I am sure someone with far more experience than I will weigh in, but this would seem to be a difficult proposition. You need to find a way to concentrate the fragrance oils in the cologne (by reducing the alcohol content) while at the same time not losing the fragrance itself.

The two methods that come to mind to accomplish this (letting the effects of evaporation do their magic, and boiling it down), won't work as you will lose the fragrance to the process as well.

I am intrigued to hear about a method that actually works.

 

[Quintar]

not any way to do it without expensive equipment. you can go the other way really easy, make a cologne into an aftershave. But you can't just boil down an aftershave to make it more concentrated or something like that...

 

[KarlMaldensNose]

It would far cheaper and easier to go on a sampler/decant binge to find something else your wife likes on you. C'mon, Old Spice Fresh Scent?! There's gotta be something else out there. And I'm not ragging on OSFS; it's the only Old Spice I'd wear myself. I'm just saying, there is actually a lot of good stuff out there. So much more than you can even conceive of until you actually break down and become a full fledged frag head.

 

[jrocker]

they sell it on the old spice website

http://www.oldspice.com/products/product/66/old-spice-cologne-fresh/

 

[john parker]

You can "convert" cologne to an aftershave by adding a dash of water to it on your hand before applying to your face. Alternatively, just use the aftershave as a cologne. I regularly did that with the "old" Old Spice. And do it still with D.R. Harris Sandalwood Aftershave.

 

[jrocker]

You can "convert" cologne to an aftershave by adding a dash of water to it on your hand before applying to your face. Alternatively, just use the aftershave as a cologne. I regularly did that with the "old" Old Spice. And do it still with D.R. Harris Sandalwood Aftershave.

I'm no expert but I have heard cologne has more oils to help retain scent longer?

 

[michiganlover]

I'm no expert but I have heard cologne has more oils to help retain scent longer?

Yes, as defined by the industry, aftershave has the least amount of fragrance compounds, and is thus fairly short lived (sometimes an hour or less). Cologne is more concentrated, and thus lasts longer.

However this isn't always the case, some products like D.R. Harris Sandalwood Aftershave can last for four hours +.

Apparently the distinction between aftershave, and cologne isn't always rigorously ascribed too.

 

[john parker]

And with less of the percentage of fragrance in aftershave, you would have to apply it more frequently than cologne/edt/perfume to maintain the aroma.

 

[Wendy]

It would far cheaper and easier to go on a sampler/decant binge to find something else your wife likes on you. C'mon, Old Spice Fresh Scent?! There's gotta be something else out there. And I'm not ragging on OSFS; it's the only Old Spice I'd wear myself. I'm just saying, there is actually a lot of good stuff out there. So much more than you can even conceive of until you actually break down and become a full fledged frag head.

In his defense, how many men wear what their women like? And why? He is doing this to benefit he and his wife. Coming from a women's point of view. : ) Go for what she likes.

 

[T-Dog]

I would heat it in a flask on a bunsen burner or something similar. Don't let it boil. The alcohol should burn-off at a lower temperature than the rest. Measure the specific gravity until it changes by about 1/3rd. That should roughly equal the concentration you are after.

 

[Renato1]

By "Cologne" I assume you mean Eau De Toilette strength, as numerous aftershave splashes can be used as is, since they're already at around the weaker Eau De Cologne strength.

Anyhow, you can get more strength out of aftershave splashes. Put some aftershave in an atomiser. Carefully spray onto yourself under clothes. Wait about a minute, and then spray again exactly over where you had previously sprayed.

This make the scent stronger and longer lasting, and works for most good strength aftershave splashes. With weaker ones, I suppose three sprays may work, but I haven't tried it. With extra weak ones (Drakkar Noir comes to mind) don't bother. On the other hand, the strongest aftershave splash is Joop Homme. A single spray will suffice as it easily outlasts most other Cologne/EDT sprays - lasting about two days on me.
Regards,
Renato

 

[BigMike]

Hi John and mr. donlong, I got very interested in this subject after reading your initial posts. It should be possible to increase concentration of the perfume oils in an after-shave (1%-3%) to at least EDT levels (typically around 4%-8%), since perfume oil content could be doubled or trebled by reducing the volume to one-half or two-thirds, respectively. Contrary to what others posted here, oils do not evaporate at nearly the rate of volatile solvents like alcohol so fragrance would not be lost.

After some research, one method I found interesting is that used by cancer-patients and marijuana-enthusiasts in creating oils high in THC and cannabinol. They crush up the herbal matter and soak in solvents like alcohol, pour off the solvent (now containing the desired oils) through a filter and reduce the solvent by heat or evaporation to where nothing but the oils remain.

One big advantage in cologne-reduction is that we would not need to reduce all the solvent (alcohol) down to the oil base. Gentle heat is normally used, in the form of a rice-cooker, light bulb or a 'SmartStill', in order to speed up the process .. but my gut tells me that fragrances could subtly change or be otherwise altered when exposed to such heat. Cold oil extraction methods are simple and likely the best way to go, since they rely on evaporation only.

Skipping the parts where you prepare and soak the plant material, the method they use is as follows: put all the [after-shave] into a deep plate or some other container with as wide a surface-area as possible. A shallow wide bowl or even one of those giant cocktail glasses with a very wide reservoir might work. Keep it in a tempered and ventilated place so that some of the alcohol will be evaporated increasing the oil concentration of the mixture. You may want to mark the 1/2 and 2/3 volume levels in your dish with a dab of paint or paint pen or some other non- alcohol-soluble marker (on the outside if it's clear) so you will be able to gage when you have achieved the level of strength you want. Reduction by 1/2 should be 2%-6%, and by 2/3 will give you 3%-9%). You can see that 2/3 reduction gives you the oil content of eau-de-toilette that most men's fragrances share.

For the oil in the articles I read, they say it may take ten days (reducing the mixture all the way to get oil only). So, it is possible it may take less time. When enough alcohol is evaporated, pour the extract into the bottle with the dropper. - See more at: http://www.cannabiscure.info/files/cannabis_tincture.htm#sthash.lixVwl9u.dpuf

I'm tempted to try it myself, using some 'Proraso' just to see what happens. Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[MilfordNJGuy]

Although the above method might work to some extent, I think we're forgetting that a cologne (aftershave, eau de toilette and any other fragrance type) is made with top, middle and bottom notes. The tops notes are always the most fleeting and ofter disappear in a matter of minutes, middle notes are more long lasting and the base notes the longest lasting. Any attempt at trying to do this will create a result that is minus the top notes, less so the middle notes and only the base notes will remain thereby changing your original fragrance. Wouldn't it be easier to take ones wife or husband out and spend an afternoon finding a fragrance that will please you both? Just my two cents...

 

[Bhugo]

Can't one just use 2-3 times the volume of aftershave to effectively apply an amount of oils equivalent to an EDT? If the aftershave has the same oils but less of them.......

A lot of people spray on an EDT when they are wearing a shirt and some gets on the fabric. I think that also adds to the longevity of an EDT. When it is on or under fabric it lasts much longer. If you did that with an aftershave it should would work as well, just double the squirts.

I think it would be a losing proposition to separate an aftershave for the purpose of concentrating it.

Regards

 

[Bhugo]

By "Cologne" I assume you mean Eau De Toilette strength, as numerous aftershave splashes can be used as is, since they're already at around the weaker Eau De Cologne strength.

Anyhow, you can get more strength out of aftershave splashes. Put some aftershave in an atomiser. Carefully spray onto yourself under clothes. Wait about a minute, and then spray again exactly over where you had previously sprayed.

This make the scent stronger and longer lasting, and works for most good strength aftershave splashes. With weaker ones, I suppose three sprays may work, but I haven't tried it. With extra weak ones (Drakkar Noir comes to mind) don't bother. On the other hand, the strongest aftershave splash is Joop Homme. A single spray will suffice as it easily outlasts most other Cologne/EDT sprays - lasting about two days on me.
Regards,
Renato

+1
i didn't see this before I posted.

 

[Kris Mawyer]

I am sure someone with far more experience than I will weigh in, but this would seem to be a difficult proposition. You need to find a way to concentrate the fragrance oils in the cologne (by reducing the alcohol content) while at the same time not losing the fragrance itself.

The two methods that come to mind to accomplish this (letting the effects of evaporation do their magic, and boiling it down), won't work as you will lose the fragrance to the process as well.

I am intrigued to hear about a method that actually works.

How to Turn Body Spray Into Solid Perfume: 13 Steps - wikiHow How to Turn Body Spray Into Solid Perfume: 13 Steps - https://www.wikihow.com/Turn-Body-Spray-Into-Solid-Perfume?amp=1

 

[Kris Mawyer]

Good Evening Men,

I'll bet someone, somewhere, has thought about this and possible has been successful. Is it possible to convert aftershave into cologne? I have been seeking Old Spice Fresh Scent cologne to no avail. I know there are some eBay sellers right now but I'd rather not pay that price. If I only knew back in the early 1990's that my wife would never settle for another fragrance.

Any thoughts and ideas would be appreciated!

DL

How to Turn Body Spray Into Solid Perfume: 13 Steps - wikiHow How to Turn Body Spray Into Solid Perfume: 13 Steps - https://www.wikihow.com/Turn-Body-Spray-Into-Solid-Perfume?amp=1

 

[Kris Mawyer]

I guess the wax and petroleum hold onto the fragredients for the most part while the excess water and alcohol simmer out. But probably the "carrier oil cologne" is closest to what we want. I detest the roller ball bottle method but a sane person could just as easily put it into a sprayer bottle. Always save your old cologne bottles which have removable sprayers.

 

[RayClem]

Concentrating the essential oils in an aftershave to produce a cologne is theoretically possible if you had a very sophisticated distillation column. It depends upon the solvents used in the aftershave and the types of essential oils. The problem is that you would have to do the distillation under vacuum as many essential oils would be altered if exposed to heat. Also, most fragrances are normally comprised of oils with varied volatility. These oils are typically categorized as top-notes, middle or heart notes, and base notes. The top notes are the most volatile, so they are the ones you smell immediately upon opening the bottle. Base notes are the ones that linger, sometimes for hours. Due to this complexity, it is unlikely that you would be able to concentrate the aftershave without altering the character of the fragrance. For example, you would be likely to lose some of the top notes as you attempted to remove the solvents (often water and alcohol). You might end up with a more concentrated fragrance, but it might not resemble the fragrance with which you started.