i believe i saw a post somewhere in the forum in which someone said you can dissolve aspirin in alcohol to use as an alternative to tendskin.
can that person or anyone else tell me if they’ve used this and how well it works and what the proportion of aspirin to alcohol is? also if it’s just rubbing alcohol or something else?
thanks!
You just start with plain rubbing alcohol and drop in plain aspirin until the aspirin will no longer dissolve anymore. Then you can add water to the mix to make it weaker to your liking.
Just make sure you apply it with cotton swabs, because if you get it on your fingers, it will dissolve the skin off your fingertips.
thanks a lot! i’m gonna try this soon (with latex gloves!) and i’ll report back after a few applications just in case anyone is interested.
The aspirin and isopropyl alcohol solution you speak of may help, but Tend put some other ingredients in there for a reason. They work best together. It is true that aspirin is the main active ingredient. However, do some investigating into the function of each and you will find they help in some way. Isopropyl alcohol disinfects as well as acts as a solvent for acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). Water is an unnecessary - even unwanted - ingredient, but comes as an impurity in the isopropyl alcohol. The straight alcohol would work best, but also costs more and stings more when applied. Water actually reacts with the acetylsalicylic acid breaking it down to less useful salicylic acid over a period of several weeks. Incidentally, this chemical breakdown is why there is an expiration date printed on every bottle of Tend Skin. Propylene Glycol helps active ingredient(s) penetrate the skin. It is also a humectant, a substance that promotes the retention of water. In addition to letting the aspirin soak deep into your skin, it keeps your skin soft, moist, and pliable. These conditions deter additional ingrown hair growth. The aspirin itself does not burn the skin away as I have seen others speculate elsewhere on this forum. It is not a strong enough acid. It is an anti-inflammatory. It reduces redness and swelling at the sites of irritating ingrown hairs. It also helps with acne and other skin irritations. Cyclomethicone is used in a wide variety of cosmetic applications such as antiperspirants, deodorants, lotions, creams, hair sprays, bath oils, makeup and nail polish. Cyclomethicone is a clear, odorless silicone. It leaves a silky-smooth feel on the skin. Aside from water, it is the most dispesible ingredient. Glycerin is present in all natural lipids (fats) whether animal or vegetable. Glycerin shores up the skin’s natural protection by filling in the area known as the intercellular matrix and by attracting just the right amount of water to maintain the skin’s water balance. There is also research indicating that the presence of glycerin in the intercellular layer helps other skin lipids do their jobs better. Bottom line, glycerin softens your skin as well as acts as a solvent for the aspirin. When I make my own Tend Skin, I use Isopropyl alcohol, aspirin, Propylene glycol, and glycerin. Water is unwanted and already in the isopropyl alcohol I get from the drug store, and cyclomethicone is mostly for getting a smooth silky feeling finish. Since store bought aspirin is not pure acetylsalicylic acid, it would be best to get it pure from a chemistry supplier. However, I’ve found it too expensive. http://www.sciencelab.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PVAR&Product_Code=SLA1738 It is about $100 for 500g of pure acetylsalicylic acid. Whereas at the drugstore a bottle of 100 pills of 325mg strength runs $2-$3. Most of the fillers in store bought aspirin will settle out of solution anyhow. The propylene glycol, cyclomethicone, and glycerin can be purchased at the chemisrystore.com. http://www.chemistrystore.com/glycerin.htm
http://www.chemistrystore.com/propylene_glycol.htm
http://www.chemistrystore.com/cyclomethicone.htm
For $70 you can buy enough supplies to make about 5 gallons of Tend Skin. The exact ratios is a carefully guarded secret. However, they are listed in order of greatest to least concentration (by mass) right on the label. “Ingredients: Isopropyl Alcohol, Water, Propylene Glycol, Acetylsalicylic Acid, Cyclomethicone, Glycerin.” Hope this helps…
So at what ratio do you mix the ingredients?
Great post, BTW!
It is all in the patent (#6703009). In the most preferred solution,
Isopropyl Alcohol 70%
Water (Reverse Osmosis) (just use 70% alcohol from the drug store)
Propylene Glycol 10% by volume
Acetylsalicylic Acid 15% by weight
Glycerin 2% by volume
Cyclomethicone (obviously less than 2%)
However this does not match the ordering of ingredients in the product. It is more likely, Tendskin used the “more preferred” solution, possibly due to the cost of Acetylsalicylic Acid, or the problems keeping it dissolved it that high concentration:
Isopropyl Alcohol 70%
Water (Reverse Osmosis) (just use 70% alcohol from the drug store)
Propylene Glycol 10-15% by volume
Acetylsalicylic Acid 10% by weight
Glycerin 4-5% by volume
Cyclomethicone (obviously less than 4%)
by the way, this is a really high concentration of Acetylsalicylic Acid. it would take about 150 extra strength (325mg) aspirin for this concentration. Just buy it in crystalline form from http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/
Thanks for that great post!
It should be pointed out as well that pure glycerin is available at any health food store, and at many supermarkets. It is used as a soap.
I tried to buy some last year and had a heck of a time finding it. (I was using it as a smoke additive for theater effects). Right Aid was the only pharmacy that stocked it.
Is this a good gylcerin product?
http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100311&navAction=jump&navCount=0&skuid=sku3155255&id=prod3156422
Yes, that Walgreens product would work.
Hi, could you make a recipe by any chance for this?? thanks
If you wanted to make a big bottle (16oz) of home made (most preferred) tend skin you would need
12oz of 70% isopropyl alcohol
60g of acetylslicylic acid
40g of glycol
8g of glycerin
4-8g of cyclomethicone
these are approximate figures.
if you bought 500g of acetylslicylic acid you could just about make 9 large bottles at a cost of around $50. (that would cost $450 if you bought it from tend skin)
ps these are not concentrations that can be achieved by using over the counter aspirin. you would need around 180 asprin… they are mostly binders which will not all dissolve in your 12 oz of alcohol
I seem to recall that when using aspirin tablets, the instructions were to put as many as 200 tablets in the alcohol, let them dissolve, and then pour off the top liquid carefully, so as to not disturb the filler materials that would have settled to the bottom of the mixture.
This is great thread. Sure is helpful… thanx… 
I have a question about the Acetylsalicylic Acid. I’ve been looking on the chemistry supply stores and just don’t want to spend $40+ on it.
I did a search for “aspirin powder” and found a bunch of powdered aspirin at vet stores. It’s sold in 1lb packages for about $10. My question is whether or not this powdered aspirin has fillers or if it is pure. The description sure makes it sound pure, in which case this could save a bunch of $$. Thx in advance for any assistance.
http://www.jeffersequine.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=1&pf_id=16542
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=2e87c44e-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5
I just drop 18 of CVS uncoated aspirin (tablets) with 70% alcohol and 8 of them with witch hazel and mix them together.
Then I just shake them until they are dissolved. I don’t mess the powder.
And it works GREAT for me!
This stuff looks like it is the real deal at drug grades. go ahead and use it.
I just pack a 3oz or 100ml bottle of witch hazel with around 18 aspirin and let them dissolve they stop when the solution is saturated I believe witch hazel is up to 70% ethanol(alcahol) anyway so I just skip the alcahol as I find it too drying and add around 1 teaspoon glycerine.
Works great as a liquid exfoliant on the whole body.