Monday, June 28, 2010

Homemade tendskin



Have you heard of an ingrown hair removal product called Tend Skin?  I was almost sold when I found their website (can't trust everything a business say, can we?).  According to the website, it can reduce redness of skins fro waxing, shaving and laser hair removal.  It also prevents new and removes existing razor bumps and ingrown hairs. 

Caution: do NOT use if you are allergic to Aspirin. 
Tend Skin Liquid may be applied with a cotton ball.  Make sure skin is dry prior to application. Rinse hands after use. The product may be rubbed on thus acting as a cleanser. It also acts as an astringent for oily skin. To avoid irritation to the eyes, do not "splash" on when applying to facial area.

Ingredients: Isopropyl Alcohol, Water, Propylene Glycol, Acetylsalicylic Acid (aspirin), Glycerin, Cyclomethicone.
On their website, Tend Skin liquid is selling for USD$20, $35, $50 for 4oz, 8oz and 16oz. 
As I mention in my previous posting on an epilator, I constantly have problems with ingrown hairs.  So if Tend Skin really works, it would be a life saver.  According to reviews from MakeupAlley, a lot of people swear by it and said it was effective.  So....I decided to give it a try.

What about a HOMEMADE VERSION?
I started looking at WHERE I can get the TendSkin liquid in Canada then I found a fairly popular homemade recipe for it.  Now usually we would be suspicious to homemade skincare products but this recipe has even been reviewed on makeupAlley.  Surprising!  I rushed to Zeller and grabbed the 3 main ingredients: aspirin, isopropyl alcohol and pure witch hazel.


I have used the homemade version for a few days.  I want to try this more before I make a review.  Below is the step by step instruction that I found on the net for making this.  Please note I am not responsible for the following recipe.  Please make your own judgment on its safety.   You might want to test this on a small area of your skin first to see if you are allergic to anything. 

Recipe for homemade Tend Skin liquid:
  • 26 uncoated aspirin (aka Acetylsalicylic Acid or ASA)
  • 5.5 oz (165 mL) 70% rubbing alcohol
  • 2.5 oz (75 mL) pure witch hazel
  • A measuring cup/bottle
  • 2 bottles used to shake mixtures
  • 1 8oz (250mL) bottle/container to keep finished product 
Steps
1. Pour 5.5oz of 70% alcohol into one bottle.
2. Drop 18 uncoated aspirins into the alcohol. Cap bottle and shake.  Optional: ground up aspirins into fine powder.
3. Pour 2.5oz of witch hazel into the second bottle.
4. Drop 8 uncoated aspirins into the witch hazel. Cap bottle and shake. Optional: ground up aspirins.
5. Wait awhile (30 minutes to a whole day) for the aspirins to dissolve in the liquids. Shake periodically to help dissolve aspirin and mix.
NOTE: not all of the aspirin pieces will dissolve.  See "Other Questions
" below for details.
6. Now combine both the alcohol and witch hazel mixtures together into one bottle. Make sure you shake it up before you pour them out so you also get the aspirin residue into the new bottle. This last bottle is your Tendskin! 


Use 1-2 a day. Reduce usage if you experience dryness or flaking or irritation. Make sure you shake it well before each use.  

The resulting homemade Tend Skin looks like this.  After filtering, the remaining solution is clear with a little bit of white residues left on the bottom of the bottle.  If you don't filter, there will be a lot more powder left. 



Other Questions? 
A: Where do I find witch hazel? 
Q: At drugstore or pharmacy.  I found a 100mL bottle of pure witch hazel at Zeller's pharmacy section.  Ask the pharmacist! 

A: How much does it cost to make it? 
Q: For less than $10, you can make a huge bottle...as I mentioned, I purchased only the actual ingredients.  As for the bottles, I just used empty toner bottles that I saved. 
  • 500mL Rubbing alcohol cdn $1.5
  • 100mL pure hazel cdn $2.2
  • generic aspirin (example, Truly 100 uncoated 325mg tablets) cdn $4.5
A: How come the aspirins won't completely dissolve? 
Q: The active ingredient, namely ASA, should dissolve easily into alcohol.  According to forum, the aspirin tablets consist of other nonactive ingredients such as starch, calcium phosphate and .  As a result, these were left undissolved in the solution even after you let it sit for awhile.  If you allow the mixture to dissolve overnight, I would suggest decanting only the solution into a new bottle, discarding the powder.  The other more common option is to NOT decant and keep everything.  People actually suggest shaking the mixture before you use it so all those undissolved chunks can also be applied.  

1 comment:

hazelkeech2015 said...

Such a useful information sharing and its helpful for everyone.

- Tend Skin Liquid 4 oz