Thinking about Old Spice AS Ingredients

[Raissermesser]

Old Spice Aftershave has been my go-to for years now. For reasons I won’t rehash here, have been considering alternatives. Usually, though, I find other, locally common, AS have less of a lotion quality. Obviously it’s not the fragrance, so it has to be the other ingredients.

From the back of a bottle of Old Spice AS:

Alcohol, Denatured.
Water.
Propylene Glycol.
Fragrance.
Benzyl Alcohol.
PEG-60 Hydrogenated Caster Oil.

But the MSDS sheet lists the following ingredients:

Alcohol, Denatured.
Water.
Propylene Glycol.
Fragrance.
Benzophene-2.
Violet 2.
Blue 1.
Brown 1.

Denatured alcohol is obviously ethanol. The MSDS sheet puts it from 60% - 100%. It also puts propylene glycol at 3% - 7%. It also lists a color: Blue 1 at less that 0.5%. Huh? This stuff doesn’t look blue to me.

Anyway, ethyl alcohol is supposed to be less drying to the skin than isopropyl, so no surprise there.

Propylene glycol is something I knew was in it, and it’s not to be confused with ethylene glycol. Found that it can be used as a cheaper substitute for glycerin.

Benyzl alcohol is a mystery. Supposedly it can have a mild anesthetic and some disinfectant properties. But could it be related to the fragrance? A check for use in perfumes shows it does have a scent, but it also acts as a preservative and to reduce viscosity. Could it be there to make Old Spice “wetter?”

PEG-60 Hydrogenated Caster Oil is something I suspected is why Old Spice acts more like a lotion than other locally available AS. But what exactly is is supposed to do? Turns out that it may be there to keep ingredients mixed together. So much for my lotion theory.

Why, though, the difference in ingredients between the bottle and the MSDS sheet? Benzophene-2 may be a UV blocker to prevent break-down of the components from light. But it comes in a white bottle. Interesting.

I'm thinking a DIY version, sans fragrance, would have:

Denatured Ethyl Alcohol.
Water.
Glycerine.

Don’t know about anything else. Yes, I know that non-denatured alcohol could be used, but figured 70% or higher ethanol rubbing alcohol would be cheaper than vodka.

Comments?

 

[Badgerstate36]

Theres plenty of Old Spice clones out there if you no longer wish to throw your money at P&G. I know that Meijer sells an OS knockoff that isnt bad.

 

[August West]

Alcohol, Denatured.
Water.
Propylene Glycol.
Fragrance.
Benzyl Alcohol.
PEG-60 Hydrogenated Caster Oil.
Love Gremlins.

 

[Raissermesser]

Theres plenty of Old Spice clones out there if you no longer wish to throw your money at P&G. I know that Meijer sells an OS knockoff that isnt bad.

That's part of it. Price is another. The wrinkle is that I'm sensitive to fragrances. The idea is an AS base that's not 70% denatured ethanol or straight Witch Hazel. Have used the former by accident, and the latter when I couldn't afford OS and occasionally when doing yard work. Of course, with a base you could add fragrance, if desired.

Just plain rubbing ethanol or Witch Hazel is drying. Not all AS are drying, but some of my other favorites seem to be more drying than OS, in that I seem to feel irritation more later in the day.

 

[pdieten]

Adidas Dynamic Pulse (a Coty product) uses castor oil, you should find it on the shelf near the Old Spice for about $5/100ml. In addition to the skin benefits, the castor oil blends with the essential fragrance oils.

But otherwise, yeah, you can make a good DIY aftershave with hi-test alcohol, fragrance, and glycerine. The problem is getting the alcohol. It is mighty difficult in the US to get denatured ethanol that isn't denatured with actual poison. The only easy choice is isopropyl (rubbing alcohol) and that smells unpleasant. If you live in a state where 190 proof neutral grain spirits are sold, it might be cheaper to pay the alcohol tax than paying for shipping a bottle of denatured ethanol. Unless you have access to a chemical supply store....

Anyway, besides that, oil and water do not mix. Oil will mix with alcohol but not water. Unless you can find an emulsifier to add to the mix, I wouldn't recommend any water otherwise you will have a cloudy mix that you'll have to shake every time you use it. Water is second in the list because even pure denatured alcohol has more than a few drops of water in it, which is still more than the amount of oil or glycerin in the bottle.

 

[Mr. Bonney]

Polysorbate 40 is one such emulsifier. I use polysorbate 80 as a facial cleanser, but I've heard PS 40 is better for aftershaves.

 

[Bhugo]

You can get perfumers alcohol reasonably. I believe it can be had with emulsifiers.

 

[Raissermesser]

Adidas Dynamic Pulse (a Coty product) uses castor oil, you should find it on the shelf near the Old Spice for about $5/100ml. In addition to the skin benefits, the castor oil blends with the essential fragrance oils.

But otherwise, yeah, you can make a good DIY aftershave with hi-test alcohol, fragrance, and glycerine. The problem is getting the alcohol. It is mighty difficult in the US to get denatured ethanol that isn't denatured with actual poison. The only easy choice is isopropyl (rubbing alcohol) and that smells unpleasant. If you live in a state where 190 proof neutral grain spirits are sold, it might be cheaper to pay the alcohol tax than paying for shipping a bottle of denatured ethanol. Unless you have access to a chemical supply store....

Anyway, besides that, oil and water do not mix. Oil will mix with alcohol but not water. Unless you can find an emulsifier to add to the mix, I wouldn't recommend any water otherwise you will have a cloudy mix that you'll have to shake every time you use it. Water is second in the list because even pure denatured alcohol has more than a few drops of water in it, which is still more than the amount of oil or glycerin in the bottle.

Have never seen Adidas Dynamic Pulse here. This is the first I've heard of it.

In the US, you can get 70% ethanol rubbing alcohol. It's denatured, but designed for skin application. All denatured alcohol is going to have some kind of poison in it, but in the US there's a Special Denatured class that doesn't use methanol, the most common denaturing agent. I suspect that ethanol for a rubbing alcohol would fall in the Special Denatured class, but that's not the same as reading the specific MSDS or SDS sheet. For ethanol rubbing alcohol here, you also have to be careful that it doesn't include something like wintergreen. Perfumer's alcohol is in the Special Denatured class, but it looks like it runs about the same as vodka.

I'd rather not go the vodka route, if possible, and by the MSDS sheet for OS, it would have to be in the 120 - 140 proof range. Not being a drinker, I've never walked into a package shop to buy anything, and don't know what's available locally.

 

[Villalobos]

I think Stetson and Gillette cool wave have castor oil. Also I have a box that Avon spicy came in that listed ingredients and menthol is included.

 

[pdieten]

Have never seen Adidas Dynamic Pulse here. This is the first I've heard of it.

I don't know where you shop but the chains by me always have it in the shaving section with the other cheap aftershaves. Gray and black box.

In the US, you can get 70% ethanol rubbing alcohol. It's denatured, but designed for skin application. All denatured alcohol is going to have some kind of poison in it, but in the US there's a Special Denatured class that doesn't use methanol, the most common denaturing agent. I suspect that ethanol for a rubbing alcohol would fall in the Special Denatured class, but that's not the same as reading the specific MSDS or SDS sheet. For ethanol rubbing alcohol here, you also have to be careful that it doesn't include something like wintergreen. Perfumer's alcohol is in the Special Denatured class, but it looks like it runs about the same as vodka.

I don't recall ever seeing 70% ethanol rubbing alcohol, it's always isopropanol. Ethanol sold in hardware stores is denatured with enough methanol to make it a bad choice for skin application IMO, so that won't do either.

Vodka is usually 40%. Everclear is 95%. But Everclear or similar can't be had everywhere.

 

[Raissermesser]

Have never seen Aidas Dynamic Pulse here, or other places I've shopped for such in the US. Granted I haven't been over the entire country, no more than maybe a third, and frequent the discount stores. Have seen rubbing ethanol on occasion, though isopropyl predominates. Have seen it in pharmacies, and off and on in Walmart. It came up once with a friend and a doctor's recommendation.

I don't think it's denatured with something called 40B, though. That seems to be the denaturing agent in alcohol for perfumes.

 

[Badgerstate36]

That's part of it. Price is another. The wrinkle is that I'm sensitive to fragrances. The idea is an AS base that's not 70% denatured ethanol or straight Witch Hazel. Have used the former by accident, and the latter when I couldn't afford OS and occasionally when doing yard work. Of course, with a base you could add fragrance, if desired.

Just plain rubbing ethanol or Witch Hazel is drying. Not all AS are drying, but some of my other favorites seem to be more drying than OS, in that I seem to feel irritation more later in the day.

PAA Cold Spices is another good one, its a bit pricey though.