DIY bay rum aftershave

I just bought my bay leaf EO (Pimenta Racemosa), neem oil and glycerin.  I have cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, cloves an orange and a lemon coming sometime on Friday from whole foods.

I already have vodka and witch hazel....I'll run to the liquor store this weekend to grab a different bottle of rum..

Isn’t neem oil the same as tea tree oil?  I’d go easy with that note. I don’t mind it but it can be over powering. I have a half bottle left of Chatillon Lux Tea Tree Roberant and Shawn has mixed in some citrus, lemon I think snd it’s great but that tea tree scent would clash with bay rum I think.

You're probably right. I cancelled that from the order.

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This is the Bay Rum recipe that I have been wanting to try, although, now that I've compared it to Andrew's I think I might go with that one.  Not sure.  Maybe do both, alcohol and low/no alcohol.  Also thinking some lime might be good.  


Jamaican Rum Bay Homemade aftershave

What do you need:

2 cups Witch Hazel extract
2 tablespoons Jamaican Rum
⅓ teaspoon Bay essential oil (+/- 32 drops - Pimenta racemosa)
Orange zest (from one orange, organic preferably)
1 Cinnamon stick
4 Cloves
4 whole Allspice

How to do it:

First grate the orange peel until you have enough zest. Then break and crush the cinnamon stick. Put the zest and the rest in a bowl and add the rum

Put everything in a sealable jar, add the witch hazel and after that the Bay essential oil

Close the jar tightly and shake well to mix and distribute the ingredients and then store it. For the next 4 to 6 weeks you have to shake it well every day

When it is done, pour the mixture through a strainer to take out the herbs and spices and you’re left with your very own private homemade aftershave

It is best to store it in dark colored bottles to keep the light from affecting your creation

Tip: if you have sensitive skin add half a teaspoon of Aloe Vera and/ or half a teaspoon of Glycerin

I put together my DIY bay rum tonight...

final ingredients:
7oz 190 proof alcohol (emerald springs)
7oz thayers witch hazel with aloe vera
6oz cruzan aged dark rum
1.25oz glycerin
1oz vitamin e (I don't have this yet, but it'll get added on Friday when it arrives)
30-35 drops of bay leaf EO
1tbsp fresh orange zest
3/4 - 1tbsp fresh lemon zest
1/2tsp fresh lime zest
1tbsp allspice berries, loosely crushed
1tsp cloves, loosely crushed
1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half

I'll let this steep for 4-6 weeks in my cool, dry basement and give it a shake daily. right now it looks like pineapple juice. I'm hoping it'll darken up some as it ages. we ended up zesting a little more lemon than I wanted to use so hopefully it doesn't overpower the spicy notes of the other ingredients too much.

enjoy!

Following this thread!

Looks good andrewjs18 ! Did you taste it? It looks like it would be good over ice with a little paper umbrella 

Looks good andrewjs18 ! Did you taste it? It looks like it would be good over ice with a little paper umbrella 

No but it definitely smells boozy, lol.

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I'm going to make a 2nd batch this weekend, I think, and keep the recipe relatively the same except back the rum down to 5oz and then drop the lemon and orange zest, bump up the lime zest to maybe 1tsp or 1tbsp and add in some crushed black peppercorns.

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got the new vitamin e oil on Thursday so I added in the ounce that I mentioned in my recipe a few posts prior. I gave the aftershave a shake and a sniff tonight. I can definitely smell the rum, bay EO and citrus.

day 2 visual:


day 3 visual:

I ended up doing a 2nd batch yesterday that had less citrus and more spice to it, also a little less rum.  batch #2 recipe:

7oz 190 proof alcohol
7oz witch hazel with aloe
5oz cruzan aged dark rum
1.25oz glycerin
1oz vitamin e oil
30-35 drops of bay EO
1tbps of lime zest
1tbsp allspice berries, loosely crushed
1tsp cloves, loosely crushed
1tsp rainbow peppercorns, loosely crushed
1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half

day 1 visual:

Following
Looking better Andrew