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Palm Oil Free Shaving | Shaving Cream Without Palm Oil

Palm Oil Free Shaving | Shaving Cream Without Palm Oil

Thank you for being interested in palm oil free shaving cream and shaving lotion. Below are options for shaving without palm oil.

Every shave cream, lotion, gel, and shaving butter you see in stores contains palm oil. When you see shaving cream advertising that it’s made with aloe, coconut, shea butter, mango, cocoa butter, etc., it still means there is palm oil in it.

Choosing a shaving bar or a shaving soap will lessen the chance of palm oil. These will also have less ingredients and use non-toxic chemicals.

Another option is to use coconut oil. It’s best to wipe the blade frequently between shaving to avoid build up.

Eco-friendly shaving 

The palm oil free shaving products below do not come in aerosol cans and aerosol canisters. In addition, they don’t come in plastic tubes. Many of them are plastic free as well. Even recyclable shaving canisters and plastic tubes still have the environmental impact of making them.

Shaving without palm oil

Choose shave bars which have more eco-friendly packaging and will be less likely to contain palm oil. 

In shaving cream, lotion, shaving gel, and shaving butter, manufacturers use palm oil to make chemicals to:

  1. Create lather and foam (foaming agent)
  2. Soften and smooth skin (emollient)
  3. Combine water and oils together (emulsifier)
  4. Retain moisture (humectant)
  5. Keep the ingredients from separating
  6. Extend shelf life (preservative)

Palm oil goes by hundreds of names in the form of palm oil derivatives. Learn more about palm oil uses.

There are many ingredients in shaving creams, lotions, butters, and gels that are derived from palm oil.

Palm oil in shaving cream

These are a few common palm oil ingredients you will find in shaving products:

Shaving cream in cans:

  • Stearic Acid
  • Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
  • Laureth – 23

Shaving cream in tubes:

  • Stearic Acid
  • Glycerin
  • Tocopherol

Shaving gel in cans:

  • Palmitic acid (note “palm” in the name)
  • Glycerin
  • Propylene Glycol
  • Stearic Acid
  • Tocopherol
  • Glycerol Oleate
  • Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil

Shave butter in tubes:

  • Stearic Acid
  • Glycerin
  • Cetyl Alcohol
  • Glycerol Stearate
  • Ethylhexyglycerin

Shaving cream without palm oil

Please use this as a reference. It’s not guaranteed. To the best of our knowledge, these products do not contain palm oil.

The only way to know if a product is palm oil free is if it has earned Palm Oil Free certification through Orangutan Alliance or the International Palm Oil Free Certification Trademark (POFCAP). We list which ones have been certified. To the best of our knowledge, these products do not contain palm oil.

Palm oil free shaving – United States

Ethique

They are certified Palm Oil Free by Orangutan Alliance.

  • Tip to Toe Shampoo & Shaving Bar

Ethique’s bar is dual purpose for shaving and as a shampoo. As with many of Ethique’s products, they offer a small trial size as well as a full size bar. 

We love that on Ethique’s website, they list out each ingredient along with the option to click on it to see what the ingredient is sourced from. They explain the source of every ingredient– this is very rare.

As an example, the Vegetable Glycerine in the shaving bar is from coconut. The Stearyl Alcohol and Cetyl Alcohol is from sugarcane, rice bran, or coconut. These ingredients are most always derived from palm oil in other self care product brands. 

In addition to being sustainably-minded with regards to palm oil, Ethique is plastic free and certified vegan and cruelty free.

Freedom Soap 

Freedom Soap’s products are certified palm oil free by the Orangutan Alliance. 

  • Beard Balm
    • Original – Woodsy scent
    • Lemon + Mint

Freedom Soap uses beeswax, shea butter, apricot kernel oil, grapeseed oil, sweet almond oil, castor oil, jojoba oil, along with essential oils.

  • Beard Oil
    • Original
    • Lemon + Mint

Ingredients include saponified oils of castor, coconut, olive, sunflower seed, apricot kernel. It also contains shea butter, bentonite clay, as well as essential oils.

EmpireSquid

  • PreShave Oil
  • MacSplash Aftershave Oil
  • Beard Oil
    • Healing Blend
    • Sage & Spicy
    • Sandalwood & Lime
    • Woodsman

EmpireSquid’s Vitamin E is derived from non-GMO soy and sunflower oil. Vitamin E you see in self-care products often comes from palm oil.

Fat and the Moon

  • Olive and Clay Shave Cream

This shaving cream without palm oil is made with aloe vera, coconut oil, sunflower oil, castor oil, shea butter, and beeswax.

Kilted Suds

  • Whipped Shaving Cream

This shaving cream is a 2-in-1 soap. It’s palm oil free as well as free from parabens, propylene glycol, SLS, and petroleum. It’s vegan friendly and certified Cruelty Free.

Kilted Suds also makes Conditioning Oil for post-shaving and beard care.

Unearth Malee

  • Beer Shave Soap bar

Contains organic olive oil, organic coconut oil, organic shea butter, avocado oil, and more

Unearth Malee is certified cruelty free and vegan. They advertise they are palm oil free on their site.

Palm oil free shaving – New Zealand

Ethique

See above for Ethique’s palm oil free shaving bar. Based in New Zealand, they ship to Australia, United States, UK and Europe, and more. You can also find some of Ethique’s products on Amazon.

Palm oil free shaving – Australia

Urthly Organics

Urthyly Organics is certified Palm Free by Orangutan Alliance. 

  • Australian Handcrafted Shaving Soap

Their palm oil free shaving soap contains saponified coconut oil as well as (all organic) olive oil, castor oil, macadamia oil, hempseed oil and jojoba. It also contains essential oils including lemon myrtle, bergamot, aniseed and cedarwood.

Viva La Body

Viva La Body is certified Palm Oil Free by Orangutan Alliance.

  • Solid Shave Bar
    • Smooth Shave Cedarwood & Lemongrass

This shave bar is made with coconut, castor oil, Himalayan cedarwood oil, and lemongrass oil.

  • Solid Aftershave Moisturizing Serum
    • Himalayan Cedarwood

This contains jojoba, evening primrose oil, rosehip oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, carrot seed oil, and Himalayan cedarwood oil.

They have an ingredients page which spells out what each ingredient contains. In addition, to being certified Palm Oil free, Viva La Body is cruelty free, plastic free, and vegan.

Palm oil free shaving – UK

Friendly Soap 

  • Orange Lavender Shaving Soap

This palm oil free shaving soap contains olive oil, coconut oil, kaolin clay, soy wax, aloe vera. It also contains lavender and orange essential oils.

Friendly Soap’s Shaving Soap is free from palm oil, parabens, and preservatives. It also come in plastic free recycled and recyclable box. These are handmade shaving bars without palm oil. They are registered vegan and cruelty free as well.

Odylique Skincare

  • Tea Tree and Green Clay Soap Bar

They advertise that you can use this bar for shaving. It contains saponified virgin olive oil, coconut oils, lemongrass, and green clay.   

Odylique is Organic Soil Association certified as well as PETA Cruelty-Free, vegan, and organic. We hope they will apply for palm oil free certification as well. 

Palm oil free shaving without chemicals

Instead of using shaving cream or a shaving bar, you can also use a Norwex towel for shaving. Using a body cloth from Norwex helps to raise hairs and to reduce cuts and nicks.

Norwex body pack of towels are microfiber cloths. In addition, they contain micro silver agents.

To use it for shaving, wet it, and wipe it on the area you want to shave. Right after wiping your skin with the cloth, use a razor. It’s an easy and gentle way to shave without chemicals.

Use it with water or with palm oil free soap and water on your skin before using a razor.

Norwex

  • Norwex Body Pack Towels

On a personal note, we love these cloths for shaving. We bought these Norwex cloths at a sales party. You can likely find a Norwex rep in your area by looking online. The rep told us how great these body towels were to shave your legs, etc. without chemicals. 

We use separate cloths for washing and shaving in the shower and bought others for palm oil free cleaning. 

The towels are 12″x12″ and come in a pack of three. Wet them and run them up and down your legs, armpits, face, and gently shave without chemicals that are common in shaving creams, gels, lotions, etc.

Why choose eco-friendly shaving cream

The problem with palm oil is when you buy products with palm oil, the demand for palm oil increases. Developers burn and clear rain forests for palm oil plantations. This affects and destroys thousands of plants and wildlife living in the rain forests. It displaces indigenous people. Deforestation also affects our world.  

Rain forests are considered the lungs of the planet by helping the earth in significant ways. They produce oxygen as well as absorb carbon dioxide.

When you choose palm oil free products, you are reducing demand for palm oil and typically supporting small business.

Natural shaving cream packaging

Choose shaving bars and shaving soap instead of shaving cream if you seek earth-friendly and palm oil free options.

In addition to being less apt to contain palm oil, shaving bars will be more earth-friendly by not being in aerosol cans and canisters and in plastic tubes.

There is an environmental impact of aerosol-based shaving cream cans and canisters whether or not they can be recycled. Shaving butter and shaving lotion in plastic tubes isn’t environmentally friendly either.

Shaving bars and shaving soaps typically come wrapped in paper, not plastic.

Palm oil free shaving

Palm oil ingredients are common in shaving cream; they have many uses. Companies use it as a foaming agent as they know consumers expect lather and foam. In addition, it helps as a humectant to lubricate the skin and provide moisture. They use palm oil as an emollient in order to make skin smooth and soft.

Palm oil works as an emulsifier in shaving cream as it helps water and oils stay together. You will see Propylene Glycol and other preservatives in shaving creams in tubes. Palm oil acts as a preservative to extend shelf life.

shaving without palm oil

Shaving without palm oil

When we looked at shaving cream at Walmart and shaving cream at Target, we found that every shaving cream, shaving gel, shaving butter had palm oil ingredients in them. Even earth-friendly shaving cream brands contained it. One shaving cream in a tube had 30+ ingredients!

Shaving cream, lotion, butter, and gels contain palm oil more often than bars.

Palm oil free soap 

Remember, shaving bars and shaving soap are likely to be palm oil free than shaving creams and shave lotions, etc. In addition, they won’t come in aerosol cans and plastic tubes. For more earth-friendly shaving, choose an eco-friendly razor which will be plastic free.