A close shave
By Roshni Sengupta

The masculine odour of my shaving cream makes women swoon…and I love that! If you love dropping this line and feel special about your standing among attentive women, no harm, go ahead with your preferred shaving gel and after-shave lotion. It is simply that the ingredients used in most shaving cream compounds are allergens and asthma triggers!

A recent ad campaign for a leading men’s grooming products company featuring soccer superstar David Beckham waxed eloquent on the many advantages of a new shaving gel. What it did not mention is that the product in question contained several skin irritants, four potential carcinogens, three central nervous system poisons, and two reproductive toxins. Beckham surely does not mind the millions that have flooded his coffers for endorsing the brand. You would, considering that none of us want to end up as the ‘best looking corpse’ in the morgue. 

Any regular shaving cream contains the emulsifier, palmitic acid that has been recorded as a cause for contact dermatitis. Isopentane, a solvent, could cause breathing difficulties, altered heart rhythms, and frequent headaches. The heady fragrance in your regular shaving gel is due to the presence of parfum – a collective name given to hundreds of chemicals used to produce fragrance in cosmetics and toiletries – which is neurotoxic and persistent, that is, it does not break down in the environment and accumulate in human tissue. 

Shaving gels could also boast of being a compound containing polytetrafluoroethylene – popularly known as Teflon – a member of the PFC (perfluorinated chemicals) family. Not only are PFCs indestructible and widespread in the environment, their effects on humans may make DDT look safe by comparison. Propylene glycol, another chemical ingredient, alters skin structure, allowing toxic chemicals to penetrate more deeply into the skin and eventually the bloodstream. 

Used as an antioxidant in shaving products, BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) is a potential carcinogen and may cause birth defects. It accelerates the breakdown of Vitamin D thereby putting the teeth and bones to risk. Compounds such as Cl 59040 and Cl 42090 generally used to provide colour to the gel or cream are mucous membrane irritants and carcinogens, respectively. Another additive, D & C Green 8 – a synthetic coal tar dye – has been listed as a cancer-causing agent by the Environmental Working Group, a US pressure group. 

Even though these shaving creams and gels might make you look nice, feel nice, and smell nice, the impact of their contents on human health is of concern. In view of the fact that safer alternatives are few and far between, especially in India, both men and women need to be aware of the dark side of the metrosexual paradise.