How to Choose Your Shaving Cream

There are lots of important factors in getting a good shaving - one that isn't followed by days of red bumps and lots of blood staunching - but one of the most important is to choose a good shaving cream that protects your skin. Although a big part of that choice is personal preference and skin type, there are some principles to consider that will make a good choice more likely.

If you never have problems with your skin getting irritated, it probably doesn't matter if you use cheap products with irritating perfumes and bad pH balance. However, for most people it's a good idea to consider avoiding the dollar store shavings creams. A poor-quality shaving cream contains irritating ingredients that can dry your skin out cause the razor burn that you were trying to avoid by putting it on. Most of the time, taking a step or two up the scale of shaving creams will get you something with fewer irritants and a better pH balance.

If you have really sensitive skin, avoid using products with sodium laurel sulfate or menthol. Although they are used often in these kinds of products, they can cause major irritation to some skin types (and might be the reason that your current shaving cream isn't working for you. Instead, look for rich shaving creams with aloe and other soothing things in them. Moisturizing shaving creams a great idea, especially if you can leave it on for a minute before you start shaving.

Some companies put out both shaving creams and shaving gels. Gels are essentially the same, but usually they last longer because more of the gel can be stored in the can. Once you lather up the gel, it looks rich and foamy like shaving cream, but you get that with a tiny amount instead of using a handful of shaving cream.

You may need to experiment to find the right shaving cream, but rest assured that finding the right one will give you a more comfortable, smoother shave.