Fooling Around With Menthol Crystals

Fooling Around With Menthol Crystals

The little plastic container shown above is from a 1 ounce sampler that I got from The Shave Den. Mmmm... samples! For my first experiment, I put the two crystals into the little plastic bottle and then filled it with Figaro aftershave. Menthol crystals, depending on their molecular structure, will melt anywhere from 31°C to 45°C. All I had to do was run the bottle under hot water and shake it. It took about two minutes to dissolve the crystals.

As you can see, one of the crystals was quite large, but as they say... "ya gotta go big or go home"!! To say that the finished product was strong would be a gross understatement. It's was well beyond any sane limits. (Don't forget that Figaro already contains a respectable amount of menthol.) I splashed on a liberal amount and waited for the freeze. Within a minute or two my face was absolutely freezing and my fingers felt numb! These crystals seem to produce a fairly intense vapor so I had tears welling up in my eyes for about 5 minutes. Whew!!

The next morning when I inspected my little bottle of menthol insanity, I noticed that it had gone a bit foggy. I am assuming that there was so much menthol in that little container that it had started to recrystallize! I decided to pour the 1 ounce bottle back into my original bottle of Figaro. Now it feels just right. I get a massive blast of menthol with no irritation and not to many tears. Interestingly, my concoction has less sting than the Osage Rub.

For creams, I will still use my TSD M-Bomb as it is very convenient and the glycerin helps improve the lather. But for aftershaves and witch hazel, it will be fun to play around with these crystals. Gotta run as I am needed in the laboratory!



Chills, Lyndon

 

I mentholed a bottle of witch hazel and overdid it to where I can't use it. Still have a couple of tablespoons left to try again.

 

That is an insane amount Lyndon. I am over here laughing as I know that feeling of the menthol vapor burning.

 

Thanks for the update Lyndon, I can imagine how cold the overpowered menthol would have been, I usually get such experience during the winter when walking outside

I will be ordering some soon

 

Lyndon, if I can find an extra Diana Sport balsam in the house I swear I'll send to you right away. You'd be able to use it without any problem!

 

Thanks Jeff, that is very kind! I have been reading a bit about how menthol works. I see that menthol can generate a cooling sensation by stimulating the cold receptor nerve endings in the human body. In my case, I think:

1. I may have less of these cold receptors nerve endings than the average person, and/or
2. My cold receptors nerve endings are less reactive to the menthol molecule.

When compared with other people, I think I may get less of a reaction to menthol and the effect does not last as long. For example, it is rare for me to be able to feel the cooling effect hours later in the day. Usually, the effect is mostly gone after about an hour. However, sometimes if I wet my face I can feel a small menthol effect start again. Pure menthol doesn't seem to bother my skin too much. So I seem to be able to tolerate the stronger menthol products as long as they don't contain high levels of other irritants such as perfume or alcohol. Actually, I think the order of skin sensitivity for me is: (1) certain perfumes; (2) alcohol; and (3) menthol. I actually rubbed a pure dry crystal on my face to test for skin irritation and there was no inflammation or redness.

I grew up in Alberta, Canada and when I was young I used to be a newspaper delivery boy. In the years that I delivered newspapers, I do not remember one single time where my mom or dad drove me around in the car. I spent many a cold early evening walking my route. I grew up near Edmonton where the winter temperatures could go as low as -45° C. I am thinking that growing up with such cold weather has decreased my sensitivity to cold. After 22 years in Hong Kong I am a bit more sensitive to the cold that I used to be but think I can still tolerate the cold better than average person. Not sure how I rate on the Canadian scale though, LOL! Another interesting thing is my fingers are much more sensitive than my face. Sure, when I pile on the menthol my face does get pretty darn cold but my fingers are absolutely freezing!!

I am glad I live in a warmer country now but I still love the face freeze of menthol! It is especially nice during the hot humid weather of a Hong Kong summer.

Cheers, Lyndon

 

Here is some technical information on menthol. Turns out that while there are eight forms of natural menthol, manufactured menthol is essentially made in just one form. Thousands of tons of menthol are produced every year! There are many uses for menthol. Did you know that it can be used to help alleviate motion sickness? It has also been used as a pesticide.

Natural menthol has 8 possible forms. The following diagram is from the Wikipedia entry for Menthol.

Natural menthol exists as one pure stereoisomer, nearly always the (1R,2S,5R) form (bottom left corner of the diagram below). The eight possible stereoisomers are:​

​

Manufactured menthol has just one form (two stereoisomers that are the same but mirror opposites). From Wikipedia:

Menthol is manufactured as a single enantiomer (94% ee) on the scale of 3,000 tons per year by Takasago International Corporation.[7] The process involves an asymmetric synthesis developed by a team led by Ryōji Noyori, who won the 2001 Nobel Prize for Chemistry in recognition of his work on this process:​

Wow, 3,000 tons from just one company! I am afraid that as wet shavers, we make up a tiny percentage of the demand for menthol. The good news is that there should never be any shortage of menthol. Here is the Wikipedia list of other uses:

• In nonprescription products for short-term relief of minor sore throat and minor mouth or throat irritation
  • Examples: lip balms and cough medicines
• As an antipruritic to reduce itching
• As a topical analgesic, it is used to relieve minor aches and pains, such as muscle cramps, sprains, headaches and similar conditions, alone or combined with chemicals such as camphor, eucalyptus oil or capsaicin. In Europe, it tends to appear as a gel or a cream, while in the US, patches and body sleeves are very frequently used.
  • Examples: Tiger Balm, or IcyHot patches or knee/elbow sleeves
• In decongestants for chest and sinuses (cream, patch or nose inhaler)
  • Examples: Vicks Vaporub, Mentholatum, vapoRem
• In certain medications used to treat sunburns, as it provides a cooling sensation (then often associated with aloe)
• As an additive in certain cigarette brands, for flavor, to reduce the throat and sinus irritation caused by smoking
• Commonly used in oral hygiene products and bad-breath remedies, such as mouthwash, toothpaste, mouth and tongue-spray, and more generally as a food flavor agent; e.g., in chewing gum, candy
• In a soda to be mixed with water it is used to obtain a very low alcohol drink or pure (brand Ricqlès which contains 80% alcohol in France); the alcohol is also used to alleviate nausea, in particular motion sickness, by pouring a few drops on a lump of sugar.
• As a pesticide against tracheal mites of honey bees
• In perfumery, menthol is used to prepare menthyl esters to emphasize floral notes (especially rose).
• In first aid products such as "mineral ice" to produce a cooling effect as a substitute for real ice in the absence of water or electricity (pouch, body patch/sleeve or cream)
• In various patches ranging from fever-reducing patches applied to children's foreheads to "foot patches" to relieve numerous ailments (the latter being much more frequent and elaborate in Asia, especially Japan: some varieties use "functional protrusions", or small bumps to massage ones feet as well as soothing them and cooling them down)
• In some beauty products such as hair conditioners, based on natural ingredients (e.g. St. Ives)
• As an antispasmodic and smooth muscle relaxant in upper gastrointestinal endoscopy[9]

Hope you found some of the above interesting or useful.

Cheers, Lyndon

 

I have been wanting to play with menthol for a while... I know we can get M-bomb from the TSD store.. But where can I buy the crystals?

I use witch hazel often and it would be cool to spike it. ( pun intended )

 

The crystals are available from the shave den store
http://www.theshavedenshop.com/index.php?_a=product&product_id=287

 

My Nivea Post Shave Balm Gets A Big Freeze

When I was adding menthol crystals to my Figaro aftershave I first attempted to weigh them on my kitchen scale. Turns out the kitchen scale was useless. One gram of menthol crystals is a lot of menthol crystals! The amount you see in the photo at the beginning of this thread was less than a gram as it didn't even register on the scale. This time I thought I would show the crystals as a small pile measured in cm. I've had my Nivea for a while and the bottle was just over half full. I thought the Nivea would be an excellent candidate for the addition of menthol. It is a "sensitive" post shave balm so there is no alcohol or dyes, and from what I can tell, very little fragrance.

This time I put the crystals directly into my bottle of Nivea. Then I placed it in a sink full of hot water to melt the crystals. Every few minutes I gave the bottle a shake to help dissolve the crystals. After that I cooled the balm back to room temperature using cold water.

I used my new freezing Nivea after today's shave and I was really pleased. At first I thought "Hmm.... could have used a bit more menthol"! But as I started to massage the balm into my skin it got colder... and colder and COLDER! It took maybe 30 seconds to one minute before the full effect of the menthol was felt. With something like the mighty Osage Rub it just hits you with the proverbial drop-kick to the face. The Nivea does the same thing but it's like being drop-kicked in ultra slow motion! A very nice sensation indeed. I think I could still add more menthol but I will use my new "Ultra Cool" Nivea a few more times before deciding if I need to make it stronger.

Cheers, Lyndon

 

So for that half full bottle of Nivea, how much did you put? That pile pictured?

 

Yes, I used all of the crystals in the photo. I guess it is about the same size as a quarter. It was strong but not crazy strong.

 

The menthol crystals shown above were bought from a Korean vendor on eBay. I got 60 grams (2.0 oz) for $9.99 with free shipping. There are quite a few vendors on eBay. You can buy nearly 10 kilos (20 lbs) for just under $900.00, LOL!

 

I had a bad experience with the crystals myself. I added some to Proraso Splash and I had the trouble with it trying to re-crystalize, separate, etc. I also found after a couple uses that they started to bother my skin. I think next time I attempt to spike up some AS I will use the M Bomb.

 

Creating A Frozen Witch

Okay, I thought I would like to try adding some menthol to my Thayer's Witch Hazel. In the photo below, you can see that I used about a level teaspoon of menthol crystals. I didn't add anything else, the only two products were witch hazel and menthol crystals. After adding the crystals, I placed the bottle in hot water in the bathroom sink in order to fully dissolve the crystals.



You can see that the previously clear witch hazel has now become white in color. Based on the amount of crystals I added to my Nivea ASB, I am quite certain this witch hazel will have a potent freezing effect. I will be giving it a try tomorrow morning so I will report back then.

Cheers, Lyndon

 

Wow.... That's a heap of crystals for a bottle that size.. Brrrrrrrrrrrr

Can I go back to the ASBalm again.. You didn't add anything else to the balm? Just crystals? Then the warm/cool cycle.

Can you confirm?

I have a nearly full bottle of Proraso ASBalm that I want to spike, but I don't want to ruin it...

How about glycerine..have you experimented with that at all? Looking for a way to spike up a lather... Drops in the bowl or something.

Thanks.

 

You can always make a sampler for a small quantity like 20ml. I am currently experimenting with my AS n menthol in that way

 

That's correct. All I did was add the crystals. Hot water in the sink is enough to melt the crystals. I really love the effect of the Nivea with menthol. The menthol effect is slow to develop but it just keeps on going until your face is numb! It's a very unique sensation. For a more expensive ASB like Proraso you may want to create just a small amount in an old plastic sample bottle (if you have one). Or, you could add a smaller amount of crystals and check the result.

So far I haven't played around with adding glycerin yet.

Cheers, Lyndon

 

LOL! Yes, you may be right!! But I think the honor should really go to the King of Menthol.... Jeff (crackstar).

Cheers, Lyndon