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Shaving cream & gel

Although electric razors have become popular in recent years, many people still prefer to shave manually. This, of course, requires shaving cream and a razor. A wide variety of soaps, creams and oils are available to facilitate the shaving process and lessen the discomfort and trauma to the skin experienced by the razor's actions. Shaving creams are the preparation of choice for facilitating the act of shaving and lessen the arbrasion, irritation, and localized trauma which, to a greater or lesser extent, is associated with hair removal by shaving. Shaving cream is commonly a lather-forming, soap-based formulation further modified for application with a shaving brush or as a soap-based and/or detergent foam from an aerosol dispenser. Lathering shaving creams are generally concentrated dispersions of alkali metal soaps in glycerol and water. These shaving creams normally contain between about 30 and 50% soap and either potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, or a combination of the two to saponify the fatty acids. As with other types of shaving creams, the formulation of a lathering shaving cream may include lubricants, fragrances, preservatives, foam stabilizers, humectants and the like. Brushless or non-lathering shaving creams are basically oil-water emulsions. These shaving creams have a lower pH than conventional lathering shaving creams and therefore, typically cause less irritation during and after shaving. Lower pH results from the absence of potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide. Lubricants, fragrances preservatives, humectants and other materials commonly used in a shaving cream mixture can also be present in this type of shaving cream. Post-foaming shaving gels, also known as "self-foaming" or just "foaming" shaving gels, have become popular because of their unique characteristics: in use, the product is dispensed from a container in a gel form substantially free from foam, and is transformed into a foam when rubbed onto the skin. The the post-foaming gel or gel-foam shaving cream is basically an aqueous dispersion. With this type of shaving cream, lather is typically formed in situ on the surface of the skin. The lathering effect is believed to result from the vaporization of low-boiling point aliphatic hydrocarbons.

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