Making my own Aftershave

[FaceScraper]

Hi so my normal post shave routine involves the following;

1. Cold rinse
2. Alum Bar
3. Cold rinse
4. Thayers Alc Free unscented witch hazel
5. Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm
6. My fav EDT

However, there are days when i dont have the time for the full routine (or when on vacation and dont want to take so much stuff with me) and just want to use an aftershave, some balm and then go. WIth this in mind im thinking of making my own AF using Thayers Alc Free unscented witch hazel, vodka and some of my fav EDT.
My question is what is a good formula. I want some burn but not too much. Just enough to provide the antiseptic properties i need (to take the place of the Alum bar). I love my EDT so want to use that scent. I also like how Thayers feels on my skin.

This is what im thinking of doing.

1 part EDT (7.5ml)
1 part vodka (7.5ml)
2 parts Thayers (15ml)

Total is 30ml (1oz) (for testing purposes in a small 30ml glass atomiser bottle)

This should give me an alcohol content of at least 10% just from the dilution of the vodka. The EDT will help to increase the %. I want to use as much of the thayers as possible since its so great for my skin.

Note: im not really into off the shelf aftershaves since i want to complement my current EDT.

Thanks

 

[Luc]

Is the EDT separating from the mix? at 10% alcohol, I would expect something that's probably cloudy and would separate at one stage. Can you post a picture of the mix after you mixed it and maybe a few days without touching it?

 

[FaceScraper]

I havent tried it yet although i did mix some EDT with thayers (no vodka) and the result was definitely cloudy. No big deal since all i have to do is shake it before use. In fact i used the Thayers/EDT mix this morning and it was great.

I put them in brown glass bottles so the mixture doesnt look bad from the outside. you can tell its cloudy but not evil looking.

I want to add some vodka to it which will help slightly with the cloudness (maybe) but more importantly will give me some antiseptic properties to my mix.

 

[Luc]

You would need a higher alcohol content to get rid of the cloudy-ness or a stabiliser to prevent the oil from the EDT to separate from the water (contained in the WH and alcohol). But that's of course, if you want a clear mixture. Otherwise, as you said, mixing the bottle right before you use it should do the trick.

 

[FaceScraper]

Thanks Luc

I dont particularly mind a cloudy solution, since i dont really like alcohol burn and would prefer to keep the alc content to the barest minimum needed to provide the antiseptic properties. Its no big deal for me to give the bottle a few shakes before use.

I cant seem to find Everclear here in NYC otherwise that would double the Alc content per volume compared to vodka.