As I have delved into my fairly new shaving hobby, I've begun to notice something. A lot of Men's shaving products have ingredients which either are known carcinogens/toxic, or suspected to be (or just not very environmentally friendly). So, as I am not able to place reviews yet, I thought I'd start a thread for people to talk up their favorite non-toxic shave products. I'm sitting at a cafe right now so I can't post the ingredients of my current shave product regimen, but I will when I get home. So are there any other non-toxic shaving enthusiasts out there?
Being a vegan, I am trying to stay with vegan friendly products. From what research I have done there seem to be quite a few on the market. Also, I haven't had time to research each product to verify the ingredients, but at least it's a start. I use a synthetic brush (Bluebeard, works great). Here is a list I have compiled so far. I haven't used many of this items on here except for "Kiss my face" & "Burt's Bees" products. After the shave I simply use a light massage of Vitamin E oil. Hope this helps! Vegan Shaving Cream Aveeno Positively Smooth Shaving Cream Nivea For Men Shaving Sensitive Gel Moisture Richer Shaving Gel Noxzema's Shaving for Sensitive Skin & Shaving with Aloe & Lanolin Old Spice Moisturizing shaving cream original 6 – in – 1 Jason Beard and Skin Therapy Shaving Lotion Jason Shaving Lotion Lucky Tiger Organics Shaving Lotion Moisturizing Shaving Cream Moisturizing Shaving Cream by Earth Science Creamy Shave Gel by Nature's Gate Earth Science Azulene Shaving Creme Burt's Bees for Men Proraso green Kiss my face Alba Lavera Balea Shave Cream Vegan After Shave Aftershave for Men by Honeybee Gardens Jason After-Shave Earth Science After Shave Herban Cowboy Carrot and Cucumber aftershave Soaps & creams - Kiss My Face creams, Men-u creams, all Mama Bear soaps, Burt's Bees rum soap, Van Der Hagen 'Taylor of Old Bond Street' synthetic brush which I was told was supposed to feel more like a silvertip Badger brush
Well, I doubt you will find very many toxic shaving enthusiasts around, especially here. I think you will find that applies to both vegans and non-vegans alike. If avoiding toxic substances qualifies one as a non-toxic shaving enthusiast, then count me in. Which shaving products have you found that contain known carcinogenic ingredients? Are there any particular carcinogens widely found is shaving products? I find it surprising that such products are permitted to be sold. My favorite shaving products are: Kell's Original Hemp Blend shaving soap Prairie Creations Tallow and Lanolin shaving soap soap Institut Karite shave soap Tabac shave soap Speick for Men aftershave To the best of my knowledge, these do not contain any toxic ingredients. The Prairie Creations soap is definitely not vegan. I am not sure about the other products.
watch out for anything "parabens"..not only do I have a plant allergy as it is a plant ingredient..but its used to preserve freshness..increase shelf life.. Thats a nice list you posted ST
I kinda steer clear from uranium based soaps and I kinda don't use plutonium aftershave, my skin glows on its own after a shave naturally.:happy102
Call me crazy, but the scent of carrots and cucumbers don't stike me as either western or cowboy....LOL. I'll have to smell this stuff, where would I find it? I'm just sayin' though....that's a funny name for an aftershave, LOL
My daily use brush turned out to be a brush that I reknotted with a 23mm synthetic knot from Golden Nib http://www.thegoldennib.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5_9_45&products_id=164&zenid=e8d8e5f7045e2938d340f709dcb398ee Witch Hazel and an Alum block user as well.. (although I do use TSD soaps and AS)
LOL - Yeah, I thought the same...but I'm just passin' along info. - I don't make up the names for this stuff! Maybe something like "Early Morning Coffee" or "Beef Jerky Surprise" would be more fitting! :happy102 Oh wait - that wouldn't be vegan!
I'm kinda iffy on trying a synthetic brush.....I'm trying to imagine something not doing as good a job (such as it is) as a boar brush ie; moisture retention, lather retention, etc. NOW, I know that boars have a limited ability to do that next to a badger, but a synthetic I think is if anything, good for mixing the lather? I've never tried one, but I'm kinda not feeling the urge to try one anytime soon....How do they perform? I'm already envisioning a boar as the low end of the spectrum, with synthetic as pretty much useless.... Do they perform at least as well as a boar?
It depends on the brand - just like anything else. The Body Shop Brush I had was fairly useless for me. The synthetic I have now out performs my boar and badger brushes. It kind of hybrids the two. It lathers easy, it holds moisture as well as plenty of lather. It performs better than my Semagoue boar brushes and better than my badger reknots. It certainly does better than the CE Best Badger and the VDH boars. But again, it varies by brand - the other synthetic I had was worthless for me.
I checked out the brush you are using; Since I am a noob, I have to ask a noob question. How do you fasten the brush into the handle?
Ditto here, except I had Larry from Whippeddog glue the knot in my Fuller handle. I use mine at least one or twice a week. Very nice knot. I think I will buy some two part epoxy and another of these knots and re-knot a brush for myself. [EDIT] Purchase complete! Ima gonna do it finally!
The knot came from Golden Nib. Here is a link to the knot I used. It is a nylon knot and by hybrid, I meant in regards to performance. The knot has an epoxy plug that the hairs are set in. You either take an old handle and remove the old plug and clean it up or make a new handle with the proper size hole. Not all brushes use the same knot, this knot is designed to fit in a 23mm diameter hole. To glue the hole in, use a 2 part marine epoxy, water proof gorilla glue or something similar. Just be very careful to keep the adhesive in the knot hole and not squeezing up into the brush hairs. I have also made a brush using a badger knot and a boar knot from the same store. I find making your own brush or repairing an old brush, makes the brush have a little more meaning to me.
Whoa, sorry guys, school got in the way of the internets this past week, a lot to catch up on. I got into this because I have a weird allergy to a very specific chemical (propylene glycol) and that is in a LOT of shave stuff (its not something to worry about for most people, just me) so I started reading a lot of labels and was appalled. Vegan shaving, never thought about that! (not being one) Never thought about the animal byproducts found in a lot of shaving products. But, it does seem the shave products with more plant based ingredients tend to be safer. Parabens are a big concern for me and are in many major shave creams and soaps (for example, Proraso). Industry will tell you there has been "no established link" between parabens and cancer, however there have been enough studies showing they act as a carcinogen through hormone disruption to cause concern. Triethanolamine (sometimes labeled TEA) is not as common in shaving products anymore (though pick up a can of Barbasol and you'll find it). It is known to be toxic to aquatic life and an allergen/skin irritant to humans. There was a cancer study done on rats which seemed to indicate it was a carcinogen to females, but there is too little data right now to really establish any sort of link in humans. But still, better safe than sorry, and I already have super sensitive skin, why irritate it more? Then there is PEG-150 Distearate, which isn't really toxic in itself, but it normally is contaminated by Dioxins which ARE toxic. They could easily be removed, but most companies don't do it. I have found you are normally in the clear with old fashioned/boutique shave soaps. For example, with The Shave Den's soaps and creams you're in the clear. I have been switching off between it and Crabtree & Evelyn's Sienna soap. It has some questionable ingredients, but nothing that screams out as dangerous (and it seems to protect my skin the best). I have also found that the worst offenders are not normally the shave soaps themselves, but the post shave products, particularly the lotions (most aftershaves are basically alcohol and fragrance, nothing much there unless you are super sensitive to the fragrance, which most are not). Neutrogena's aftershave is a toxic stew for example. The main thing to look out for in after shave lotions is the sunscreens. Avoid anything with Oxybenzone in it. A lot of evidence shows that this can actually CAUSE skin cancer. As in most things, older is better. Old fashioned sunscreens containing Zinc/zinc oxide, Titanium dioxide, Avobenzone or Mexoryl SX are the better choice. Personally, I use Every Man Jack's Post-shave lotion in combo with a zinc based sunscreen/face lotion I get at Trader Joe's.
wow I always thought Neutragena was pretty good stuff. I'll have to do some label reading of my own. I have Neutragena soaps and shave creams in my collection, but not the aftershave, thank goodness. Thanks for the update.
Neutrogena is hit or miss. Miss more recently. For womens products, Olay is always good. I dont think they have a men's line though