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. 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.
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.
- It should provide sufficient lubricity for the razor to glide easily along the face.
- It 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 preparation should be stable over wide range of temperatures.
- It should be non corrosive to the containers in which it is stored.
- It should not create clogging problems and should be easily washed down the drain.
- It should develop high lather rapidly when applied with a brush.
