Chemicals in products: Shaving Cream

Before I get into the toxic shaving cream, first I want to talk about some of the other changes I've made to lessen the amount of toxic chemicals I put on and in my body.

• Toothpaste: From Crest to Toms. No problems there at all.
• Deodorant: From Sure to Toms and also tried Alba and Trader Joe's.
• Shampoo & Conditioner: From Biolage to Trader Joe's and Avalon Organics.
• Body Wash: From Bath & Body to Dr. Bronners and Trader Joe's.
• Cleaning: Tossed all of the old stuff, too many to list. Now I use Dr. Bronners (18 in 1 Castille) and Seventh Generation (all purpose cleaner, dishwasher and laundry detergent) and have stuff to make a home brew (Borax, Vinegar, Oils, Water).

I haven't had to make even the smallest compromise in changing any of the above. My only beef is the shaving cream I used from Jason. It didn't lather well and it dried too quickly. Aside from the minty feel, I felt like I could achieve the same results with a bar of soap. I found myself reaching for Sarah's shaving cream (she's working through the last can of it). By doing that, I was defeating the purpose of my new goal of avoiding these nasty products. Anyway I did purchase some new shaving cream last night at Whole Foods based on a recommendation from a store clerk (with a full beard, lol) and I will give that a try soon.

To talk myself out of using Skintamate I decided to look up a few of the chemicals. That usually makes me feel like the slight downside to using a natural and possibly less effective product is far better than the major downside to using a product that contains chemicals that may be potentially harmful to your health.

I did a quick google search for "look up cosmetic chemicals" which brought me to a pretty cool website titled "Skin Deep which is a cosmetic safety database. First time I saw it, pretty cool. Ok so here we go, I'll just pick out a few chemicals that had names that looked suspicious, listed in the order they are found.

If you click on any of the links above you will see the chemical descriptions along with the different products the chemicals are used in. The site also lists related studies and findings on the chemicals.

• PALMITIC ACID - Fragrance Ingredient; Opacifying Agent; Surfactant - Cleansing Agent; Surfactant -Emulsifying AgentSurfactant

  View Entry - Rated 1, Low Hazard on a 0-10 scale.

  
  
• TRIETHANOLAMINE - Fragrance Ingredient; pH Adjuster; Surfactant - Emulsifying Agent

  View Entry - Rated 7, High Hazard on a 0-10 scale.

  
  
• STEARIC ACID - Fragrance Ingredient; Surfactant - Cleansing Agent; Surfactant

  View Entry - Rated 2-3, Moderate Hazard on a 0-10 scale.

  
  
• ISOPENTANE - Propellant; Solvent; Viscosity Decreasing Agent

  View Entry - Rated 3-4, Moderate Hazard on a 0-10 scale.

  
  
• PANTHENOL - Hair Conditioning Agent

  View Entry - Rated 2, Low Hazard on a 0-10 scale.

  
  
• FRAGRANCE

  View Entrance - Rated 8, High Hazard on a 0-10 scale.

  
  
• TOCOPHERYL ACETATE - Skin-Conditioning Agent

  View Entry - Rated 4, Moderate Hazard on a 0-10 scale.

  
  
• ISOBUTANE - Propellant

  View Entry - Rated 4-5, Moderate Hazard on a 0-10 scale.

  
  
• PEG-90M - Binder; Emulsion Stabilizer; Viscosity Increasing Agent - Aqueous

  View Entry - Rated 5-8, Moderate to High Hazard on a 0-10 scale.

  
  
• BHT - Antioxidant; Fragrance Ingredient

  View Entry - Rated 5-8, Moderate to High Hazard on a 0-10 scale.

  
  
• BHA - Antioxidant; Fragrance Ingredient

  View Entry - Rated 10, High Hazard on a 0-10 scale.