Shaving has come a long way from the days of scraping a knife across your face and hoping you wouldn't take half your skin with it. Once upon a time, the best shave you could get involved a visit to your local barber. Even now, people who struggle with razor bumps and ingrown hair may choose to put their faces in the hands of an expert. Fortunately, technological advancements and modern formulations have enabled us to invest in the best razors pre-shave oils and after-shave treatments to create our own ultimate at-home shaving experience.
Shaving cream itself has also come a long way from your grandpa's old aerosol can of foam. The modern man can now choose from creams, gels, butters, oils, and even sticks to get the best shave for his skin type or shaving situation. Many of today's products are also infused with natural ingredients to ensure that your newly shaved face feels luscious and buttery, regardless of your skin type. Lucky for you, we already did the research of the best shaving creams for men in 2022 so you don't have to. Check them out below.
Oui the People Sugarcoat Shave Gel-to-Milk
Best Shave Gel for Sensitive Skin
Oui the People is on a mission to go #againstthegrain and revolutionize the beauty world with premium grooming products that are uniquely designed for people like us. Oui's shave gel-to-milk goes a long way to fulfill this mission: It's jam-packed with Vitamin C, dandelion root extract, aloe vera leaf juice, argan oil, and more natural ingredients that were specially picked and blended to hydrate and protect your skin. If you want a closer shave with far less burn, Oui the People's shave gel-to-milk might just have exactly what you're looking for.
Pisterzi Shaving Care Cream
Best in Style
Barber Pisterzi has made quite the name for themselves on both sides of the pond for refining and redefining "Italian Grooming Art." Pisterzi's Shaving Care Cream not only looks like a work of art in its gorgeously sustainable (and refillable!) glass bottle, but it also works like a charm thanks to its dermatologist-tested formula that's expertly crafted to adhere perfectly to your skin, facilitate the smoothest possible shave, and leave your skin soft and hydrated (instead of irritated and burnt).
Dr. Tusk Shave Cream
Best Eco-Friendly Shave Cream
Dr. Tusk is dedicated to providing "sustainable products purpose-built for clean living." From the solar-powered lab and sourcing of ingredients from organic farmers to an ongoing commitment to donating 5% of profits to charitable partners dedicated to saving elephants, the team at Dr. Tusk goes the extra distance to put its money where its mouth is. If you're wondering whether the brand's commitment to environmental justice lessens the quality of its grooming products, fear not: Their stuff works great! For their shave cream,
Dr. Tusk utilizes their proprietary blend of Dragon's Blood extract, hemp seed oil, caffeine, rosemary leaf oil, and menthol to create this refreshing shave cream that also works great as a daily facial moisturizer.
Grooming Lounge Beard Destroyer Shave Cream
Best Shaving Cream for Sensitive Skin
For a product with the term "Destroyer" in the title, we were a little nervous. Fortunately, Beard Destroyer Shave Cream, used in combination with the brand's Beard Master Shave Oil, offers a smooth, refreshing shave with superior control and glide. The very pleasing natural fragrances are just the top notes of several botanical ingredients included in the products' formulas that help protect sensitive skin. After all, Grooming Lounge is made by barbers, so we should expect nothing less.
Olivina Shave Gel
Best Classic Shave
Olivina Men's Shave Gel is like a classic piece of mid-century modern furniture: The perfect balance between the old and the new. Right out of the can, it's foamy, it's slippery, and it goes on easily like a classic shaving cream. Yet at the same time, it's balanced with natural and organic ingredients like yerba mate, elderberry extract, and aloe vera. Testers found that it offered a nice, smooth shave, even without Olivina's recommended 2-in-1 Shave Prep & Beard Oil. The Black Oak fragrance also smells amazing.
Cardon Cactus Foaming Shaving Cream
Best Overall Value
If you're seeking a premium-looking and feeling shaving cream that won't break your bank, here's an intriguing offering from Cardon. All of Cardon's products are 100% vegetarian, completely cruelty-free, and produced to adhere to the standards of South Korea Cosmetic Regulation, which is actually much stricter than U.S. consumer safety standards.
Cardon's shaving cream not only checks all those boxes, but it also makes for an amazingly refreshing shaving experience with a cactus extract-based formula that was developed to moisturize your skin and prevent irritation. Cardon's multitasking
Mënaji Clear Shave 3-in-1 Formula
Best On-The-Go Shave Cream
Possibly the original entry into what seems to be a growing trend in transparent shaving products, Mënaji Clear Shave offers superior control, particularly if you have carefully manicured facial hair that you specifically want to keep looking carefully manicured. The product also incorporates botanicals to keep the skin healthy. An added plus: There’s no water required to use the gel, so it’s great for a quick, post-red-eye cleanup on an airplane or in an airport bathroom, or for camping, when the nearest restroom is a hike away.
Pacific Shaving Co. Ultra Slick Shave Stick
Best for Travel
This may be our new favorite thing: A shaving cream that’s disguised as a deodorant stick. Goodbye heavy cans and messy tubes; the Ultra Slick Shave Stick was made to easily toss into a gym bag or travel kit — not that you wouldn’t be perfectly happy using it every day in your own bathroom. The stick creates a nice lather (try it with a beard brush at home) and provides a smooth glide during shaving. It’s TSA-friendly, so it's perfectly designed to toss into your suitcase and provide the perfect shave whenever and wherever you need it.
Port Products Face Saving Shave Formula
Best Botanical
Looks aren’t everything, but if we were to grant an award for package design, Port Products would definitely be a winner. The contents of this handsome tube of Port Products' Face Saving Shave Formula also shine, offering a comfortable shave, clean fragrance, and great natural ingredients like coconut oil for glide, avocado and apricot kernel oil for moisture, and willow bark and aloe vera to calm and soothe.
Ursa Major Stellar Shave Cream
Best Clean Formula
We love this shaving cream because it contains natural ingredients like aloe leaf juice — an anti-inflammatory super ingredient that guarantees a clean, soothing shave every time. Time to kiss nicks, razor burns, and irritation goodbye.
Frequently Asked Questions
Basically, shaving cream and shaving gel act as lubricants to protect your skin from itchiness, redness, and ingrown hair. While it's possible to dry shave, it may not be something you want to do regularly. Dry
When it comes to how quickly facial hair can grow, beards grow evenly over 24 hours, though this can vary based on genetics, nutrition, environment, and more. The best time to shave is whenever you need to look your best. Most of us want to look neat and clean for work, so a morning shave typically works for most of us.
If you work the night shift and/or enjoy playing the nightlife scene, you’ll want to shave in the evening. Either way, your beard keeps growing (hence the talk about "five o'clock shadows"), but most of us can make it that far and still look well-groomed. If you're in for an extra-long day of work and play, you may want to duck into the restroom for a quick refresher shave, if possible.
We hope this guide to the best shaving creams helps you create your best shaving experience ever. If you could use more help in upping your
Editors' Recommendations
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- The 9 best razors for men that offer a super-close shave, from budget to luxury options
- The 10 best products to minimize ingrown hairs
- The 12 best pre-shave oils to get your closest, most comfortable shave yet
- Answer your dry hair problems: The best men’s hair oils
