During my third trimester I read that one should stock their freezer with food, so that cooking won’t become a burden during those sleep-deprived early months. Seeing as how Portland broke records for heat that summer, the only thing I was able to do in the kitchen was open the refrigerator and let the cold air envelope my pregnant belly. I found solace in the air conditioned big box stores and instead stocked up on ridiculous amounts of toiletries. What does this have to do with shaving cream? Because last week we finally ran out of our last can of shaving cream, and I was stoked to whip up a diy version.
This literally whipped up in less than 30 minutes, including a quick shave in the tub. These luscious suds left my legs smooth and silky, protected them from nicks, and left no need for moisturizer afterwards. After the suds mellow down, it turns into this wonderful shaving lotion (as depicted in first photo), that suds up nicely, but not too over-the-top.
Moisturizing Shaving Suds
Adapted from recipes found in Better Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living and Readymade*.
- 1 oz. olive oil
- 1 oz. coconut oil
- 1 oz. beeswax
- 4 oz. water (room temperature)
- 2 oz. liquid castille soap (I use Dr. Bronner’s Baby Mild)
- 1 oz. vegetable glycerin
- 1 tsp. borax
- 1/3 tsp. grapefruit seed extract (or substitute either tea tree oil or vitamin E)
- 10 drops rosemary essential oil
- 8 drops peppermint essential oil
- 3 drops lavender essential oil
Melt the oils and wax over a double boiler over medium heat. Combine the water, liquid soap, glycerin and borax in a small bowl, stir to dissolve and slowly pour into the melted oils, using a hand mixer to whip until frothy. Drizzle in the grapefruit seed extract (or tea tree oil or vitamin e) and add the essential oils, stir and pour into a shower-friendly container
Update: Once the suds settled down I transferred the mixture into one a super shower friendly bottle.
My husband used this and requested something richer and creamier for his needs, though indicated that “this doesn’t suck as much as that other stuff,” referring to the store-bought hippy shaving soap he’d been using. So I’ll make something richer and creamier for him and report back.
*Did you know that Readymade is no longer? Sad day. I’m still savoring the last issue. 
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9 Responses to “moisturizing shaving lotion”
sounds interesting, just like the shampoo, i’m curious! do you grow your own lavender? must be fun to make your own stuff, i don’t know where to get all the ingredients here in france, though! bisous xoxo
Maria @ Busy as a Bee in Paris recently posted..Summer skirts ‘n matching head scarves
I do grow my own lavender! I have a few plants in pots, and we have a very large lavender bush in our front yard. We also go to an annual lavender festival every July: http://bambinosteps.com/2011/04/one-year-blogoversary-and-a-giveaway/. Do you have a local health food store? So many of the ingredients can probably be found there, and regular stores probably carry items such as coconut oil. I have several online resources for items. I have no idea if they ship internationally (and I can’t imagine it’s cheap), but I could provide you the websites if you’d like!
on August 5th, 2011 at 5:02 am #
[...] go along with the moisturizing shaving lotion, I made a silky aftershave for my husband. He liked this a lot more than the suds, and said he [...]
Would taking out the water or adding shea or cocoa butter help thicken it up? Cocoa butter tends to stay more solid in warm rooms than coconut, but mixed in with all that it may give it a more “lotion-y” texture. I really want to try this and see if my husband likes it, now. Such good homemade recipes!
Michelle recently posted..The Jungle
Thank you so much for stopping by Michelle! Yes, adjusting the water levels would definitely make for a richer cream. Ordinarily I test out my recipes for months and months before posting them, but this one I was so excited about, I did not. The suds totally settle down and it turns into a wonderful, creaming lotion. This is fantastic for me, but again, but husband has requested something even more thicker. I’m going to experiment around and will share what I come up with, and in the meantime I plan to post better, more accurate photos of what these suds look like settled down.
It just looks so LUSCIOUS! I could just jump in those photos and swim around.
This is great. I was just thinking the other day that I wish I could figure out some natural shave cream.
Kara recently posted..How To Beat Junk Food Addiction- Free E-Book!
on August 18th, 2011 at 3:08 am #
[...] – I added photos to the shaving lotion post so that you can see what it looks like once it settles. I also added a photo to the no ‘poo [...]
i have been reading your posts for the past few months and have found them very informative. love this blog!
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