![Shaving cream](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Shaving_cream.jpg)
Shaving cream or shave cream is a category of cream cosmetics used for
shaving
Shaving is the removal of hair, by using a razor or any other kind of bladed implement, to slice it down—to the level of the skin or otherwise. Shaving is most commonly practiced by men to remove their facial hair and by women to remove the ...
preparation. The purpose of shaving cream is to soften the hair by providing lubrication.
Different types of shaving creams include
aerosol
An aerosol is a suspension (chemistry), suspension of fine solid particles or liquid Drop (liquid), droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be natural or Human impact on the environment, anthropogenic. Examples of natural aerosols are fog o ...
shaving cream (also known as shaving foam), latherless shaving cream (also called brushless shaving cream and non-aerosol shaving cream), and lather shaving cream or lathering shaving cream. The term ''shaving cream'' can also refer to the lather produced with a
shaving brush
A shaving brush or shave brush is a small brush with a handle parallel to the bristles used to make lather from shaving soap or shaving cream and apply it to the face when shaving. Shave brushes are often decorative; antique handles are often mad ...
from
shaving soap
Shaving soap is a hard soap that is used to produce lather with a shaving brush. The lather it produces is used to coat the face during shaving, softening the hair in preparation for shaving.
While shaving soap produces plenty of dense and long- ...
or a lather shaving cream.
Shaving creams commonly consist of an
emulsion
An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Althoug ...
of oils, soaps or
surfactant
Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming ...
s, and water.
[Thomas Clausen et al. "Hair Preparations," Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim (2006). ] In addition to soap, lather shaving creams include a
humectant
A humectant is a hygroscopic (water-absorbing) substance used to keep things moist. They are used in many products, including food, cosmetics, medicines and pesticides. When used as a food additive, a humectant has the effect of keeping moisture ...
for softer consistency and keeping the lather moisturised. Brushless shaving creams, on the other hand, don't contain soap and so don't produce lather. They are an oil-in-water mixture to which humectants, wetting agents, and other ingredients are added. Aerosol shaving creams are basically lather shaving cream in liquid form with propellants, vegetable waxes, and various oils added.
History
![A barber getting ready to shave the face of a seated custome Wellcome V0019707](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/A_barber_getting_ready_to_shave_the_face_of_a_seated_custome_Wellcome_V0019707.jpg)
A rudimentary form of shaving cream was documented in
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
around . This substance combined wood alkali and animal fat and was applied to a beard as a shaving preparation.
Until the early 20th century, bars or sticks of hard
shaving soap
Shaving soap is a hard soap that is used to produce lather with a shaving brush. The lather it produces is used to coat the face during shaving, softening the hair in preparation for shaving.
While shaving soap produces plenty of dense and long- ...
were used. Later, tubes containing compounds of oils and soft soap were sold.
In 1919 Frank Shields, a former MIT professor developed the first shaving cream. The innovative product appeared on the American market under the name
Barbasol
Barbasol is an American brand of shaving cream, aftershave, and disposable razors created by MIT Professor Frank Shields in 1919 in Indianapolis. It is currently owned by Perio, Inc.
Invention
MIT Professor Frank Shields set out to create a ...
and offered men an alternative to using a brush to work soap into lather. When it was first produced, Barbasol was filled and packaged entirely by hand in Indianapolis. The brand still exists and is currently available worldwide.
The first can of pressurized shaving cream was
Rise shaving cream Rise shaving cream, introduced by Carter-Wallace in 1949, was the first to be sold in an aerosol can. In 1963 the Federal Trade Commission charged Carter-Wallace with false advertising when a television commercial
A television advertisement ...
, introduced in 1949.
By the following decade this format attained two-thirds of the American market.
Chlorofluorocarbon
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are fully or partly halogenated hydrocarbons that contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), chlorine (Cl), and fluorine (F), produced as volatile derivatives of methane, ethane, and prop ...
s (CFCs) were used as
propellant
A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or other motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicles, the e ...
s until they were banned in the late 1990s for destroying the
ozone layer
The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the atmosphere, although still small in rela ...
. Gaseous hydrocarbons such as mixtures of
pentane
Pentane is an organic compound with the formula C5H12—that is, an alkane with five carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of three structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, however, pentane means exclusively the ' ...
,
propane
Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used a ...
,
butane
Butane () or ''n''-butane is an alkane with the formula C4H10. Butane is a gas at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Butane is a highly flammable, colorless, easily liquefied gas that quickly vaporizes at room temperature. The name but ...
and
isobutane
Isobutane, also known as ''i''-butane, 2-methylpropane or methylpropane, is a chemical compound with molecular formula HC(CH3)3. It is an isomer of butane. Isobutane is a colourless, odourless gas.
It is the simplest alkane with a tertiary carbon a ...
took their place.
In the 1970s,
shaving gel
Shaving cream or shave cream is a category of cream cosmetics used for shaving preparation. The purpose of shaving cream is to soften the hair by providing lubrication.
Different types of shaving creams include aerosol shaving cream (also kn ...
was developed. In 1993,
The Procter & Gamble Company
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
patented a post-foaming gel composition, which turns the gel into a foam after application to the skin, combining properties of both foams and gels.
Contents
Shaving creams and soaps are available as solids (bars); creams, generally in tubes; or
aerosols
An aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be natural or anthropogenic. Examples of natural aerosols are fog or mist, dust, forest exudates, and geyser steam. Examples of anthrop ...
. All forms may be applied with a
shaving brush
A shaving brush or shave brush is a small brush with a handle parallel to the bristles used to make lather from shaving soap or shaving cream and apply it to the face when shaving. Shave brushes are often decorative; antique handles are often mad ...
.
Shaving creams contain 20–30%
soap
Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...
otassium or triethanolamine (TEA)">triethanolamine.html" ;"title="otassium or triethanolamine">otassium or triethanolamine (TEA) up to about 10% glycerine, emollients, emulsifiers, and foaming agents. Aerosols are diluted creams dispensed from pressurized cans with the aid of hydrocarbon propellants (up to about 10%). The flammability of the hydrocarbons is offset by the large amounts of water in cream formulations.
Beard-softening is due to hair hydration, which also depends on pH. In electric or
dry shaving, swelling of the hairs is not desired, and such preparations use high amounts of
alcohol
Alcohol most commonly refers to:
* Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom
* Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks
Alcohol may also refer to:
Chemicals
* Ethanol, one of sev ...
(50–80%) to dry the skin and stiffen the hairs.
See also
*
Depilatory cream
A chemical depilatory is a cosmetic preparation used to remove hair from the skin. Common active ingredients are salts of thioglycolic acid and thiolactic acids. These compounds break the disulfide bonds in keratin and also hydrolyze the hair so ...
*
Shaving soap
Shaving soap is a hard soap that is used to produce lather with a shaving brush. The lather it produces is used to coat the face during shaving, softening the hair in preparation for shaving.
While shaving soap produces plenty of dense and long- ...
References
Bibliography
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{{Human hair
Personal hygiene products
Shaving implements