Natural shaving foam lotion – for men and women

Shaving foam or shaving cream is used by men almost every day and I wanted to know what ingredients a typical branded shaving foam has got and I was shocked to find some harmful ingredients in them like -

Synthetic fragrance , Parabens , Petroleum or mineral oil , Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) , Propolene glycol , Triethanolamine (better known as TEA), Propane, Butane.

Look under http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ to know more about the above harmful ingredients.

I got my husband to use a natural shaving cream made by LUSH (http://www.lushusa.com/Dirty-shaving-cream/03098,en_US,pd.html).

In addition to natural ingredients like Oat milk, Shea butter, Safflower oil, glycerin etc, Lush shaving cream has also got Methyl paraben as a preservative. I was not totally happy with it as Methyl Paraben is a possible human carcinogen.

I wanted to make a natural shaving foaming lotion at home that has got safe and natural ingredients and serves the same purpose as a commercially available shaving foam i.e. the razor should find easy to glide on the skin with the help of the foam/ cream, moisturize, soften and protect the skin from cuts and nicks.

Homemade natural shaving foam lotion can be used both by men and women:

Ingredients you need -

1. Calendula infused oil/ sweet almond oil - 5 tbsp (I used Calendula infused oil as is known for soothing properties and it is suitable for sensitive skin. You can use sweet almond oil as it is essential fatty acid-rich oil).

2. Mango butter/ cocoa butter - 2 tbsp (I used mango butter as it is rich in oleic and stearic acids and it has got wound healing property. Mango butter and cocoa butter are rich emollient too).

3. Distilled/filtered water - 1 and half cup.

4. Castile soap made from olive oil/ coconut oil/ Jojoba oil - 2 tbsp.

5. Kitchen grade Baking soda - 1 tsp (Optional).

6. Honey/ aloe Vera gel - suitable for sensitive skin - 1/2 cup (Optional).

7. Liquid Vitamin E (acts as natural preservative and good for the skin) - 4 drops.

8. Essential oil for natural fragrance: Sandalwood oil or citrus EO for Men/ Lavender or rose essential oil for women - 3 drops.

9. Wide mouth glass jar with lid to store the foamy lotion.

10. Electric hand mixer/ blender.

In India:

- You can buy mango butter from arjunanatural.com.

- If pure castile soap is not available, it is best to use shavings from pure glycerin vegetable soap available from Khadi shops.

How to make it:

1. First heat the oil and mango butter/cocoa butter over a double boiler at a low heat. Stir until the mixture is clear, then pour into a large bowl and let cool.

2. In another pan, heat the water, and then add the baking soda, and castile soap/ shavings of glycerin soap, stirring until completely diluted. Add honey/ aloe Vera gel to this solution and stir.

3. Pour the soap mixture into the bowl with the now room-temperature oil and mango butter.

4. Add liquid Vitamin E and essential oils if desired. Blend everything very well with a hand mixer, or throw into the blender. For best results, blend for two minutes, stop, and then blend again for another two minutes.

Store the foam lotion in an airtight glass container in a dry, cool location. This natural cream can be stored for about three months; none of the ingredients are perishable but oils such as sweet almond have a limited shelf life.

This shaving foam lotion is completely natural and it is my husband’s and my father’s favorite. I made this recipe around 7 pm in the night. My husband and my father were the lab mice to try it once it was made. They just loved it.

Tips and Lessons:

1. You can make a shaving cream by not adding distilled/filtered water to the existing recipe. Just add liquid castile soap to the room temperature melted oil-butter mixture and mix thoroughly to avoid the liquid separating from the oil-butter mixture and blend as per the recipe above. Allow it to set.
2. The same foam lotion is a good hair conditioner after shampooing. Apply this foam lotion after shampoo and leave it on for 2 to 3 minutes and wash your hair. This is good for dry hair.
3. If you don’t have liquid castile soap, you can melt the shavings from 100% pure glycerin soap in a Pyrex bowl over a double boiler and add it to the oil-butter mixture at room temperature.
4. You will notice that when blending, the quantity of the mixture will raise.
5. Store it in your refrigerator for extended shelf life. After 3 days you will notice that your shaving lotion has set into a smooth and delicate shaving cream which will be easy to apply on the skin.
6. If you use Calendula infused oil, the final product will have an yellow color. It wont stain your face.

Other natural alternative for shaving cream, if you don't want to try the above recipe is to use –

·         Herbal natural hair conditioner - Yes. Hair conditioner can be used as shaving lotion. Make sure, it is completely natural or 100% herbal.

I can understand that it is a hard work and time consuming to make natural products at home. You may question “Why bother, if I can buy it from the shop as there are variety of choices in front of my eyes?”  When buying something like body care/skin care/other toiletries, think whether a particular commercial product/brand is good for your health in the long run. Manufacturer making the products on a large scale is more concerned about his profits or consumers’ health?

Your choice-Your decision-Your Health.

Until then, bye for now – Love from PetalDew.