

Over the past few weeks I have been mentioning shaving products that create a cooling sensation (HERE and HERE and HERE). The common ingredient in all these products is menthol. If you want to read up on just what menthol is and does, HERE is Wikipedia’s entry. So, if you want to get a cooling sensation from a product that normally doesn’t have any, why not add some menthol yourself?

Menthol Crystals



The classic way to do this is to use menthol crystals. They are available from a number of sources (HERE is a small container I found on Amazon) and might even be available locally if you have a “natural” or “organic” business in town. Menthol crystals are (of course) solid at room temperature but can be dissolved in alcohol or some types of oils. Sometimes they’re not even disolved but simply added to a balm as-is (or perhaps crushed a bit more).

TSD “M-Bomb”



Another product worth mentioning is The Shave Den’s “M-Bomb” liquid menthol additive. One or two drops (trust me, that will be plenty) in a shaving lather will give it an icy blast.

I should note that if you add menthol with either of these products, it will likely change the scent profile of whatever you’re adding it to. So if you add some to a product whose scent you enjoy, you may be in for a surprise.