Formulation and evaluation of herbal aftershave gel

Abstract

Aftershave gels are cosmetic products that may often contain alcohol which is an antiseptic agent to prevent infection of cuts, as well as to act as an astringent to reduce skin irritation. However, alcohol-based aftershave gels may be prone to cause burns or irritations. The main aim of the present study is to formulate and evaluate aftershave gel with reduced alcohol content using Hemigraphis colorata extract. The Hemigraphis colorata plant possesses wound healing and anti-inflammatory actions. Ethanol was used as solvent for the extraction in our present study.  The gel formulation F0 was made according to the conventional formula having 50% alcohol content. The second formulation F1 was the one that contains three fourth of the alcohol of the above formulation. The final gel F2 was the one with three-fourths of the quantity of alcohol mentioned in the conventional formula and having Hemigraphis colorata extract in the concentration 50mg/ml. Gels were evaluated for pH, viscosity, and anti-bacterial properties. From the studies conducted it was concluded that the formulation used Hemigraphis colorata extracts showed better antimicrobial activity than the conventional “alcohol-only” formulation. So, from the study it can be concluded that plant would be a promising candidate to be used in an aftershave preparation, provided it exhibits astringent activity also.