{"id":59965,"date":"2026-03-16T07:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T13:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humblebeeandme.com\/?p=59965"},"modified":"2026-03-15T16:50:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T22:50:38","slug":"banish-ingrown-hairs-with-my-diy-version-of-tend-skin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humblebeeandme.com\/banish-ingrown-hairs-with-my-diy-version-of-tend-skin\/","title":{"rendered":"Banish ingrown hairs with my DIY version of Tend Skin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ingrown hairs are my nemesis<\/em>. They\u2019re painful, unsightly, and unfortunately my body is a big fan of growing hairs the wrong way. I suffered for years until a Reddit thread turned me onto a product called Tend Skin\u2026 which worked, but at over $20 CAD a bottle, it added up fast. So, I formulated my own version. I\u2019ve been using this DIY almost daily for nearly 2 years\u2014it works even better than the original, and for a fraction of the cost!<\/p>\n

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Want to watch this project instead of read it?<\/h3>\n

Watch Now<\/a><\/p>\n

The ingredients in Tend Skin are:<\/p>\n

Isopropyl Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Acetylsalicylic Acid, Cyclomethicone, Glycerin, Diglycerin, Polysorbate 80<\/em><\/p>\n

Isopropyl alcohol (aka rubbing alcohol) disinfects the skin to prevent infections and ensures the product dries quickly. Butylene glycol, glycerin, and diglycerin are all humectants, helping ensure the product isn’t too drying. Acetylsalicylic Acid (more commonly known as Aspirin) has great anti-inflammatory properties and acts as a mild chemical exfoliant to help free ingrown hairs so they can become outgrown hairs instead. And lastly, cyclomethicone (solubilized with polysorbate 80) helps keep the product from feeling sticky on the skin.<\/p>\n

For my version, I wanted to keep the efficacy, but lower the irritation potential and seriously amp up skin soothing.<\/p>\n

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The first ingredient I modified was the isopropyl alcohol (IPA), swapping it for high-strength ethanol and using less than Tend Skin did. Now, I know alcohol in skincare has a bad reputation. I did try alternatives, but quickly found alcohol is essential<\/em> to get the red bump fighting powers we want, and I don\u2019t find this formulation to be drying or irritating.<\/p>\n

Isopropyl alcohol is the standard “first aid” alcohol for disinfecting wounds, but but this 2017 study showed isopropyl alcohol (or isopropanol) is much harder on the skin than ethanol.<\/a> So, switching the ethanol is an easy way to make the formulation easier on the skin. I used perfumery alcohol in the video (you can get it from many DIY suppliers), but you could also use high proof food-grade ethanol like Everclear or rectified Polish spirits\u2014just make sure it is at least 95% ethanol. If you\u2019re in a pinch you can use 99% isopropyl alcohol instead, but keep in mind it is more irritating.<\/p>\n

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I also traded some of the alcohol for soothing aloe vera juice and astringent witch hazel distillate. This does lower the disinfecting properties of the solution, but I’ve tested it a\u00a0ton<\/em> and it definitely still works beautifully. It’s also still more than enough alcohol to make the formulation self preserving!<\/p>\n

The other key ingredient in Tend Skin is acetylsalicylic acid. The alcohol is easy enough to get, but pure acetylsalicylic Acid\u2026 far less so. Of course Aspirin is easy to buy, but it isn\u2019t just<\/em> Acetylsalicylic Acid; the tablets contain fillers and binding ingredients like corn starch, cellulose, lactose monohydrate, FD&C dyes, and triacetin.<\/p>\n

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So, how to DIY something when you can\u2019t get one of the key ingredients? In this case, the clue is in the name! Acetylsalicylic Acid is made from salicylic acid and acetic anhydride, so you can sort of think of salicylic acid as one of Aspirin\u2019s parents. They aren\u2019t the same, but they do share some key, similar traits: they\u2019re both chemical exfoliants with anti inflammatory properties! Pure salicylic acid is readily available from DIY suppliers, so I tried it out and found it works beautifully.<\/p>\n

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Because salicylic acid is quite acidic, this formulation needs something to pull the pH up into a skin-safe range. I experimented with a few options and settled on sodium lactate because it’s both a humectant (so it helps keep the product from being too drying) and because it works beautifully to pull the pH up. I tried 5%, 10%, and 15%, and chose 5%. The higher percentages still worked, but they slowed the drying time of the product quite a lot and were a bit tackier.<\/p>\n

I used a 60% sodium lactate solution\u2014that’s what most liquid sodium lactate products are. If your sodium lactate is a dry powder, you’ll need 3% of that and an additional 2% distilled water. For a 400g batch (that’s what I make in the video), that’s 12g sodium lactate and an additional 8g distilled water.<\/p>\n

If you don’t have a way to check the pH of the product to ensure it’s in a good-for-the-skin place, I recommend increasing the sodium lactate to 10%, decreasing the water to make room for it. This will give you more of a margin of error, as just 5% can result in a pH that’s a bit too low.<\/p>\n

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For even more skin-soothing goodness I included a small amount of each panthenol (Vitamin B5)<\/a> and allantoin<\/a>. If you don’t have either of these you can replace them with more water, or even a water soluble skin-soothing botanical extract!<\/p>\n

The last ingredient helps keep the product from feeling too sticky on the skin; a PEG’d dimethicone. I’ve used both PEG-12 dimethicone (from CDF Supplies here in Canada (and PEG-8 dimethicone (from Making Cosmetics in the US) and both work beautifully. If you can get a PEG-# dimethicone with a different number there’s a good chance that will work, too\u2014just be sure to read the description to ensure it is liquid and designed to be incorporated into watery formulations. You can also replace this ingredient with more distilled water, but your finished solution will be stickier.<\/p>\n

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Making the product is easy enough; dissolve the salicylic acid in the alcohol in one beaker, and dissolve everything else together in a second. Once both solutions are clear combine them, check the pH to ensure it is at least 3.8, bottle it up, and you’re off to the races!<\/p>\n

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To use, soak a cotton pad and swipe it over irritated skin post-hair-removal, avoiding mucous membranes. I mostly use this on my bikini line, but it also works on underarms, legs, face, neck\u2014anywhere you shave (though for smaller areas like eyebrows I’d use a cotton bud for more precision). Repeat as needed until the irritation calms down. I use it several times a day right after shaving, but my skin is\u00a0extra<\/em> dramatic\u2014you might not need to use it that frequently!<\/p>\n

Want to watch this project instead of read it?<\/h3>\n

Watch Now<\/a><\/p>\n

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Ingrown Hair Solution<\/h2>\n

160g | 40% perfumery alcohol (USA<\/a> \/ Canada<\/a>)
\n8g | 2% salicylic acid (USA<\/a> \/ Canada<\/a> \/ UK<\/a> \/ Germany<\/a> \/ AU<\/a>)<\/p>\n

80g | 20% aloe vera juice (USA<\/a> \/ Canada<\/a>)
\n80g | 20% witch hazel distillate (USA<\/a> \/ Canada<\/a>)
\n33.6g | 8.4% distilled water<\/p>\n

2g | 0.5% panthenol powder (vitamin B5) (USA<\/a> \/ Canada<\/a>)
\n0.4g | 0.1% allantoin (USA<\/a> \/ Canada<\/a>)
\n20g | 5% sodium lactate (USA<\/a> \/ Canada<\/a>)
\n16g | 4% PEG-12 dimethicone<\/a> (Canada) or PEG-8 Dimethicone (USA<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Combine the perfumery alcohol and salicylic acid in a beaker large enough to hold your entire batch. Stir, cover tightly, and leave to dissolve.<\/p>\n

Combine the aloe vera juice, witch hazel distillate, and distilled water in a second beaker and stir.<\/p>\n

Add the panthenol, allantoin, sodium lactate, and PEG’d dimethicone to the aloe vera mixture. Stir, cover, and leave to dissolve.<\/p>\n

Once the mixtures in both beakers are clear with no sediment sitting at the bottom, pour the aloe mixture into the salicylic acid\/alcohol mixture. Stir to combine.<\/p>\n

Now it’s time to test the pH; it should fall around 4 unless you’ve changed something pretty drastically.<\/p>\n

To test and adjust the pH: create a 10% dilution by weighing 2g product and 18g distilled water into a small bowl or beaker and whisk to combine (wondering why we create a dilution to check the pH?<\/a>). Check the pH with your pH meter. Depending on the shape of your bowl\/beaker you may need to tilt it in order to fully submerge the sensor on your pH meter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If the is lower than 3.8 raise it with some additional sodium lactate.<\/p>\n

The performance of salicylic acid is not pH dependent, so unless the pH is above 6 I wouldn’t bother lowering it (a lactic or citric acid solution will do the trick).<\/p>\n

Please read this article from Skin Chakra to learn more about pH adjusting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Package the solution in a bottle with an orifice reducer. I do NOT recommend a mister bottle because inhaling misted alcohol is not nice (I did try it!), but a roller bottle could work.<\/p>\n

To use, soak a cotton pad with the solution and wipe over angry skin post-hair-removal. Repeat as needed until irritation goes down\u2014I use this several times a day directly after shaving, but I do think I\u2019m on the \u201cmy body REALLY REALLY hates this\u201d end of the spectrum, so you may not need to use it as often.<\/p>\n

Shelf Life & Storage<\/h4>\n

Because this formulation contains over 20% ethanol, it is self preserving.<\/a> Cool, eh? I’ve kept bottles of this around for over 18 months without any signs of spoilage.<\/em><\/p>\n

Substitutions<\/h3>\n

As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the formulation, you will get a different final product than I did.<\/em><\/p>\n