What's new
The Shaving Cadre

Welcome to The Shaving Cadre, a forum dedicated to gentlemanly discourse about wet shaving and other topics of common interests. Membership is always free so register today and join in the fun

Shaking Artisinal Aftershaves

Spider

Spider

"The Cadre Constable"
Veteran
Legacy
Concierge
Some aftershaves from Artisans need to be shaken before use. In the case of Ogallala, there are oils floating on the top of the aftershave that need to be mixed up. These are fragrance oils, and I learned the hard way that if you don't shake these up, it will burn your face.

My question is, that some aftershaves like the ones I have from THB and Long Rifle, have little globs of something at the bottom of the bottle that need to be mixed up. What are these globs?

And why is it that these products have globs at the top or bottom in the first place? What are these artisans doing or not doing, that other artisans or commercial makers do to not have these globs?

Having to shake up an aftershave before using is really a pet peeve of mine.
 
I have no idea how to answer your question, but I am following!
 
I've noticed in my Chiseled Face AS's some small red like oil balls in the AS that upon shaking disappear. I figure it's some ingredient that doesn't dissolve much like the Nivea 2 in 1. I've gotten in the habit of just giving all AS's a shake before using to be sure. Just takes a second, no harm, no foul. More may have this then you realize as you can't really see clearly in a lot of the AS's that use darker bottles. Some IIRC even say shake well before use.
 
The only one I really ever had that issue with was Uncle Jon's Gravity. It separated between uses to a clear liquid and a milky liquid but after shaken it blended and was good juice the scent just hit my nose as baby powder.
 
Yep, I'm in the shake anyway camp. Even do that with milk for some reason. Probably left over from grade school days when everyone knew the chocolate milk tasted better if you shook it. But remember, if you shake it more than tw...nah, nevermind.
 
Another shaker here!
I have noticed some need it & some don't. My Fine Accoutrements aftershaves don't, but all my B&M Reserve aftershaves definitely need a good shaking before use. Doesn’t bother me in the least.
 
Some essential oils and fragrance oils are more soluble in ethanol than others. There's only so much of anything that ethanol will keep in solution anyway, so if you are over the limit, some of that oil is going to come out of solution. When you start adding in other ingredients, you'll really start to see the blobs. Citrus oils are really bad about coming out of solution.

Another factor is order of mixing the ingredients. It really does make a difference, which is why when I get emails asking if I can add a bit more fragrance to a bottle of aftershave, I always say no. Adding more to an aftershave that is already mixed, macerated, chilled, and filtered is a great way to get blobs.
 
Joe Hackett said:
Some essential oils and fragrance oils are more soluble in ethanol than others. There's only so much of anything that ethanol will keep in solution anyway, so if you are over the limit, some of that oil is going to come out of solution. When you start adding in other ingredients, you'll really start to see the blobs. Citrus oils are really bad about coming out of solution.

Another factor is order of mixing the ingredients. It really does make a difference, which is why when I get emails asking if I can add a bit more fragrance to a bottle of aftershave, I always say no. Adding more to an aftershave that is already mixed, macerated, chilled, and filtered is a great way to get blobs.
Click to expand...

Good info, thanks!
 
Joe Hackett said:
Some essential oils and fragrance oils are more soluble in ethanol than others. There's only so much of anything that ethanol will keep in solution anyway, so if you are over the limit, some of that oil is going to come out of solution. When you start adding in other ingredients, you'll really start to see the blobs. Citrus oils are really bad about coming out of solution.

Another factor is order of mixing the ingredients. It really does make a difference, which is why when I get emails asking if I can add a bit more fragrance to a bottle of aftershave, I always say no. Adding more to an aftershave that is already mixed, macerated, chilled, and filtered is a great way to get blobs.
Click to expand...

We certainly don't want blobs!

Thanks for the great info!
 
I had a similar problem with SV's 70th Anniversary Aftershave. Come to find out it was a problem with that batch and the SV folks replaced it free of charge. I've not experienced it with any others to date.
 
I check each new bottle I get for settled ingredients, and simply shake the ones that need it. Those little globs are essential ingredients, I assume.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top