Properties of Shaving Preparations

Shaving is done for removal of hair with the razor. To make shaving tolerable with razor, many shaving preparations have been made.

One of the earliest preparation is the formulation of shaving soap.

Forms of Shaving Preparations:

Shaving soap is prepared by the saponification of potash with caustic soda. Over the years shaving preparations have been presented in various physical forms like soap stick, soap bar,soap cup, flaked soap, powdered soap, liquid, lather cream and aerosol foam cream.

Of these preparations, powdered or flaked soap and liquid preparations are seldom used.

Properties of the Shaving Preparations:

A shaving preparation should have the following properties irrespective of its physical form:

• Shaving preparation should be non irritating to the skin.
• Shaving preparation should retain the moisture as long as it is present on the face.
• Shaving preparation should soften the beard so that hair can be cut easily.
• Shaving preparation should provide sufficient lubricity for the razor to glide easily along the face.
• Shaving preparation should have sufficient viscosity to erect each individual hair so that hair can be cut from the base close to the surface of the skin.
• The Shaving preparation should be stable over wide range of temperatures.
• Shaving preparation should be non corrosive to the containers in which it is stored.
• Shaving preparation should not create clogging problems and should be easily washed down the drain.
• Shaving preparation should develop high lather rapidly when applied with a brush.