Does Shaving Cream Affect the Environment?
The use of razors in some form dates back to Egyptian and Roman times. Before shaving cream, men used shaving soap and a brush to clean skin and whiskers, making hair removal easier. The cream also helps soften and protect skin. Today, shaving products are a hot industry, with proprietary formulas closely guarded secrets. If you are looking to reduce your carbon footprint, scrutiny of the shaving cream you use can be a good starting point.
By federal law, a shaving cream label must provide ingredient information, though the precise proportions may not be listed. The main ingredient is water. Other ingredients are similar to what you may find in soap, such as stearic acid, which acts as a cleansing agent. It is classified as generally regarded as safe, or GRAS, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Other ingredients you may see are lanolin, glycerin or triethanolamine. While triethanolamine is not an environmental hazard, it may trigger an allergic reaction in some individuals. (See References 1 and 2).
Making shaving cream requires the use of heat and electricity that can contribute to climate change. Because the product is heated at some point, a concern exists about thermal pollution from the discharge water. Like other facial products, quality control is essential through the entire production process. Water used when making shaving cream must be pure and safe. This may involve the use of distillation and additional energy use.
Shaving creams contain aerosol propellants to help you use the product. Manufacturers may use a variety of ingredients, including hydrocarbon propellants like butane or propane. These substances present the greatest concern about the environmental impact from shaving cream. Hydrocarbons are essentially another source of greenhouse gases. Depending upon the gas, their global warming potential can far exceed that of carbon dioxide. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, emissions of hydrocarbons and other fluorinated gases have increased by nearly 60 percent from 1990 and 2009. (See References 3 and 4.)
Packaging and Recycling
Most shaving cream containers contain a mixture of steel and aluminum. Both of these materials are recyclable. From a packaging perspective, the use of aerosols may help with recycling because it can ensure most of the product is dispensed. This can prevent contamination from foreign matter during the recycling process. Because all manufactured products have some environmental cost, you should make an effort to recycle used containers, including those that held shaving cream, to minimize environmental impact.
Chris Dinesen Rogers has been online marketing for more than eight years. She has grown her own art business through SEO and social media and is a consultant specializing in SEO and website development. Her past work experience includes teaching pre-nursing students beginning biology, human anatomy and physiology. Rogers's more than 10 years in conservation makes her equally at home in the outdoors.