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 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.[1][2] The term shaving cream can also refer to the lather produced with a shaving brush from shaving soap or a lather shaving cream.
Shaving creams commonly consist of an emulsion of oils, soaps or surfactants, and water.[3] In addition to soap, lather shaving creams include a humectant 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.[1]
- ^ a b Schoen 1978, p. 125-126.
- ^ Roberson 1985, p. 176-177.
- ^ Thomas Clausen et al. "Hair Preparations," Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim (2006). doi:10.1002/14356007.a12_571.pub2