Toxic chemicals
At Ethical Consumer, we have rated all the men’s shaving product brands for their toxic chemicals policies.
Those companies which received a best rating had a policy which has banned the use of parabens, phthalates and triclosan.
We also look at animal testing, toxic chemicals, shine a spotlight on the ethics of Procter & Gamble and give our recommended buys.
This is a product guide from Ethical Consumer, the UK's leading alternative consumer organisation. Since 1989 we've been researching and recording the social and environmental records of companies, and making the results available to you in a simple format.
What to look for when buying shaving gel and foam:
Is it organic? This is a fail-safe way to avoid most of the nasty, artificial chemicals that are in so many products. And thereby also help to protect the environment.
Is it cruelty-free? 80% of the world still permits animal testing for cosmetics, although it is banned in the UK. The Cruelty-Free logo guarantees that the company is not animal testing anywhere in the world.
Is it vegan? Many shaving gels and foams contain animal products, such as honey. Look for a vegan brand.
What to avoid when buying shaving gel or foam:
Does it contain palm oil? At its most unsustainable, palm oil is linked to mass deforestation and serious violations of human rights. Look for brands that commit to sourcing palm oil sustainably.
Does it contain toxics? The long and complex ingredients lists for shaving gels and foams often include toxic chemicals. These are bad for the environment as well as health.
Does the manufacturer use microbeads? Although these tiny pieces of plastics are now banned in the UK, lots of cosmetics companies use them in products elsewhere in the world. They are disastrous for marine-life, so avoid those companies using microbeads.
We recommend the following companies who received a worst rating for animal testing:
Brand | Score(out of 20) | Ratings Categories | Positive Scores |
---|---|---|---|
Green People shaving gel [O, Vg]Company Profile: Green People Company Ltd |
16
|
||
Neal's Yard shaving cream [Vg][O]Company Profile: Neal's Yard (Natural Remedies) Limited |
16
|
||
Conscious Skincare Fuzz Off Shave Gel [O, Vg]Company Profile: Conscious Skincare Ltd |
15.5
|
||
Friendly Soap bar soap [Vg]Company Profile: Friendly Soap Ltd |
15.5
|
||
Badger Shaving Soap [O]Company Profile: WS Badger Co Inc |
15
|
||
Pure Nuff Stuff shaving soapCompany Profile: Pure Nuff Stuff Ltd |
13.5
|
||
Weleda shaving creamCompany Profile: Weleda AG |
13.5
|
||
Lavera Shaving Foam [Vg, O]Company Profile: Laverana GmbH & Co KG |
12.5
|
||
Lush Five O'Clock Whistle [Vg]Company Profile: Lush Cosmetics Ltd |
11.5
|
||
Lush Shaving Cream [V]Company Profile: Lush Cosmetics Ltd |
11
|
||
King of Shaves Shaving gel/oil/serumCompany Profile: The King of Shaves Company Limited |
10
|
|
|
Molton Brown shaving cream/gelCompany Profile: Molton Brown Limited |
8.5
|
|
|
Nivea shaving gelCompany Profile: Beiersdorf AG |
8.5
|
|
|
ClarinsMen shave foamCompany Profile: Clarins |
7.5
|
|
|
L'Occitane shaving gelCompany Profile: L'Occitane International SA |
7.5
|
|
|
Avalon Organics shaving cream [O, Vg]Company Profile: Avalon Organics |
7
|
||
Bulldog shaving gel / cream [Vg]Company Profile: Bulldog Skincare Limited |
7
|
||
Wahl 5-star Foaming GelCompany Profile: Wahl Clipper Corporation |
7
|
|
|
Aesop Moroccan Neroli Shaving SerumCompany Profile: Aesop |
6.5
|
||
Avon shaving creamCompany Profile: Avon Products Inc |
6.5
|
||
Body Shop shaving creamCompany Profile: Body Shop International Limited |
6.5
|
||
JASÖN shaving lotion [A]Company Profile: JASÖN Natural Products |
6.5
|
||
Aveda shaving creamCompany Profile: Aveda |
5.5
|
|
|
Clinique shaving creamCompany Profile: Clinique |
5.5
|
|
|
Origins shave creamCompany Profile: Origins Natural Resources Inc |
5.5
|
|
|
Logona shaving cream [O, A]Company Profile: Logocos Naturkosmetik AG |
5
|
||
Kiehl's Shave CreamCompany Profile: L'Oréal |
4.5
|
|
|
L'Oréal Men Expert shaving foamCompany Profile: L'Oréal |
4.5
|
|
|
Lancome Shaving FoamCompany Profile: Lancôme |
4.5
|
|
|
Sante shaving foamCompany Profile: Sante Naturkosmetik |
4.5
|
||
Vichy Homme Shaving GelCompany Profile: Vichy Laboratories |
4.5
|
|
|
Palmolive shaving gelCompany Profile: Colgate-Palmolive Co |
3.5
|
|
|
Plamolive shaving soap stickCompany Profile: Colgate-Palmolive Co |
3.5
|
|
|
Gillette shaving gel/foamCompany Profile: Procter & Gamble Company |
3
|
|
|
Superdrug shaving foam & gelCompany Profile: Superdrug Stores Plc |
2.5
|
|
|
Boots shaving gelCompany Profile: Boots UK Ltd |
0.5
|
|
|
Botanics Men's Shave GelCompany Profile: Boots UK Ltd |
0.5
|
|
At Ethical Consumer, we have rated all the men’s shaving product brands for their toxic chemicals policies.
Those companies which received a best rating had a policy which has banned the use of parabens, phthalates and triclosan.
As you can see from the table below, almost half of the brands in our list have not committed to banning any of these ingredients.
Best | Middle (which chemicals banned) | Worst |
---|---|---|
Avalon |
Aesop (parabens) |
Aveda |
Badger |
Body Shop (parabens and phthalates) |
Avon |
Green People |
Boots (phthalates / triclosan) |
Clarins Men |
JASON |
Botanics (phthalates / triclosan) |
Clinique |
Lavera |
Bulldog (parabens) |
Gillette |
L'Occitane |
Logona (parabens) |
Kiehl's |
Neal's Yard |
Lush (phthalates, triclosan) |
King of Shaves |
Pure Nuff |
Palmolive (parabens) |
Lancome |
Weleda |
Sante (parabens) |
L'Oreal |
Conscious Skincare | Molton Brown | |
Nivea | ||
Origins | ||
Superdrug | ||
Vichy | ||
Wahl |
Friendly Soap received a middle rating for not using parabens
Companies which are suitable for vegetarians or vegans have been marked on the table using the symbol [A] while those made with organic products have been marked with an [O].
Brands that are certified by the Vegan Society and the Vegetarian Society get an extra whole plus point, while those that just market themselves as vegan or vegetarian only get and extra half point.
The following brands were certified by the Vegan Society: Friendly Soap, Green People, Lavera.
The following brands were certified by the Vegetarian Society: Conscious Skincare (Vegan), Bulldog, Lush.
The following brands carried organic certifications: Avalon Organics, Badger, Green People, Lavera, Logona, Sante.
Although the testing of cosmetics on animals has been banned in the EU, this is not the case everywhere else in the world. The EU’s REACH legislation has also complicated the issue.
Ethical Consumer rates all companies selling cosmetics on their animal testing policy. Companies will score a best rating if they have a policy not to test on animals, have a fixed cut-off date (a date after which none of their products or ingredients will have been tested on animals), and are not selling to markets, such as China, where animal testing of products is required by law.
The following brands were certified by the Leaping Bunny certification for not using animal tested ingredients: Avalon Organics, Badger, Body Shop, Bulldog Skincare, Conscious Skincare, Friendly Soap, JASON Natural Cosmetics, Molton Brown, Neal’s Yard Remedies, Superdrug.
Additionally, although not Leaping Bunny certified, Green People, Pure Nuff Stuff, Logona, Sante, Lush, Weleda, King of Shaves, Aesop, Wahl got our best rating for animal testing policies.
Palm oil and palm oil derivatives have become an important component in many personal care products. In particular, it is used for its viscosity and as a skin conditioning agent.
The new column on our table shows how all the companies rank on their palm oil policy and practice.
The following brands scored best in our palm oil category: Conscious Skincare, Friendly Soap, Pure Nuff Stuff, Lush.
Shaving products come in a variety of packaging with varying environmental impacts. Worst will be large packages with complex materials like aerosols, and best will be smaller packages like the shaving oil from King of Shaves.
Best of all are the solid, shaving soaps made by Friendly Soap, Neal’s Yard and Pure Nuff but these need a shaving brush to apply them. Watch out for badger or boar hair bristle brushes.
Please see our guides to razors to find out which is the best brand to buy to complete your wet shave.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) is the focus of several consumer campaigns including one over its sourcing of palm oil from Felda Global Ventures, a Malaysian company that was said to be the world’s largest palm oil plantation operator.
Campaign organisation SumOfUs stated in March 2017: "Felda deals in the human trafficking of its plantation workers, confiscating close to 30,000 passports, and still works with labour contractors and recruiters who charge enormous fees to trafficked foreign workers. Plantation workers are trapped in modern-day slavery, all to produce palm oil that ends up in P&G products. The multinational consumer goods company is well aware of the problem, and yet still buys conflict palm oil from its joint venture partner Felda.”
P&G’s products have also been named and shamed in campaigns against the use of microbeads. The International Campaign Against Microbeads in Cosmetics lists Gillette on the orange list for containing polyethylene (PE).
P&G has stated, perhaps as a result of consumer pressure, that it will remove polyethylene microbeads from all toothpaste and cleansing products by 2017. However, in 2016, when Greenpeace East Asia (GEA) ranked companies on their commitment to tackling the issue of microbeads in their products, P&G’s commitment was found inadequate as it only applied to one type of plastic (polyethylene) in certain products (personal cleansing and oral care) rather than to all forms and in all products. It also only applied to microbeads used for specific purposes (scrubbing agents, colour, chewing gum base), rather than for all functions.
Want to know more?
If you want to find out detailed information about a company and more about its ethical rating, then click on a brand name in the Score table.
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