Shaving Gel & Foam

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.

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.

Friendly Soap received a middle rating for not using parabens

Vegan and organic shaving products

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: Bulldog,  Lush.

The following brands carried organic certifications: Avalon Organics, Badger, Green People, Lavera, Logona, Sante.

Animal testing

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, 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

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: Friendly Soap, Pure Nuff Stuff, Lush.

Packaging

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.

Which brand of razor should you buy?

Please see our guides to razors to find out which is the best brand to buy to complete your wet shave.