Ethylhexylglycerin, butane, isobutane, laureth-23, dimethicone. Do these sound like substances you would like to put on your face? All these and more than ten other equally creepy-sounding substances can be found in several conventional shaving foams. When reading the product description, we recognized at least 3 substances from the list. Water, butane and isobutane. Butane and isobutane are in the shaving foam as a propellant so that your shaving foam puffs up well from the bottle. Both of these are flammable and highly flammable. In fact, the jar even says 4.4 p-% is combustibles. I don't know why anyone would voluntarily put these on their face.
There was one brave person in the office who decided to try shaving foam after a long time, because all of us here use more traditional methods from our own selection. The atmosphere of his daring experiment is recorded below.
"Today, when I was in the shower, I decided to reminisce about the old days and try that horror again. After showering, I oiled my face with pre-shave and I spread the foam from the jar to my hand and from my hand to my face. Easy. My first reaction was the smell. The product description says "perfume". I don't know what perfume was put in that foam, but it didn't smell good, at least to the undersigned's nose. I have never smelled a good-smelling foam in my life, unlike shaving soaps, with which shaving has been very interesting and pleasant just because of the variety of scents.
I used to drive Derby blade and a traditional, single-edged razor . I noticed how the blade does not move on my skin as pleasantly and easily as when using soap. After driving, I put it on witch hazel aftershave and I started to study the driving result. The result was nowhere near as accurate as I'm used to when using soaps. There were very long hairs left on the chin and neck. I'm hoping the witch hazel water will prevent the skin irritation that this foam is sure to cause.
The end result was disappointing. My skin is dry and my beard is still partly long."
Why is shaving foam bad?
There are three toxic substances in shaving creams that should be avoided. Most of them are, or at least are claimed to be, carcinogenic. Perfume , which I mentioned earlier, is a very broad concept. Some perfumes are known to be neurotoxins and cause cancer. Many of the perfumes are untested together and separately.
Triethanolamine is a substance obtained by combining two poisons and putting it in a consumer product. From Wikipedia: "Triethanolamine is used as an additive in cement to improve the casting properties of cement and as an auxiliary during grinding, as a rust inhibitor to remove acidic gases such as hydrogen sulfide from flue gases, in rust inhibitors, as a surface-active agent in detergents and soaps and shampoos, as a moisturizer in cosmetics, as a dispersant in dyes, and as a starting material and solvent for organic chemistry syntheses."
Phthalates can disrupt the functioning of hormones, which can disturb important balances in the immune system and the brain. Some phthalates are classified as dangerous for reproduction. In recent years, several soft plastic toys have been withdrawn from the market in Finland due to harmfully high phthalate concentrations.
"After this experiment, I decided to completely get rid of my shaving cream. I see no reason to voluntarily expose myself to these toxins on a daily basis.”
Fortunately, we at Shave Club have a better and more effective alternative to shaving creams: Traditional shaving soap and shaving cream . Natural soap against the skin of your face is much more pleasant and safer than shaving cream. You need a mop, soap and a mug. That's it.
No matter where you are or who you are, I encourage you to ditch the foam and try a natural method. Keep in mind that the perfect lather takes some learning. Let the extra effort be a reminder to yourself that you have chosen quality, health, and are standing up to a failing system.
