Any Vegan Shavers out there?

[celestino]

i used to be a vegan for 18 years. For me, any second-hand product is a better purchase, animal-based or synthetic, instead of buying a brand new one. You're just recycling something that someone does not want.
As 'cvac' mentioned, you may have to ask the manufacturer about the Stearic acid to see if it is animal, or vegetable-based. Martin de Candre, Mama Bears and MJ Soaps make very good veggie soaps.
The Muhle Silvertip Fibre brush is fantastic and you may want to try the Thayers alcohol-free witch hazel instead of after shave, but neither should have animal ingredients.
How you shave is really up to you, but obsessively worrying about if every minute thing is free of animal-products may counter-balance the experience of the shave. Respect what you are using, be kind to yourself and enjoy the shave, my friend! i know exactly what you are trying to accomplish and have great admiration.

[Wcoppage]

but obsessively worrying about if every minute thing is free of animal-products may counter-balance the experience of the shave.

I do agree with you whole heartedly here. This goes well beyond shaving.

[json]

Vegan here. I currently use a Jason Shave Lotion with jojoba and other ois with the Herban Cowboy ASB. Also, Portland General Store is friendly (for most of their products, the glycerin is vegetable based). Like the others have said, if you worry about it, the shave isn't as good. I do lean towards the all natural products more as i have sensitive skin (the edwin jagger are 99.9% natural) and a few others I've forgotten are as well. But godspeed and glad to see fellow vegans here!

[goby]

Vegetarian here!!

I try not to use animal products, but I do have some soaps with tallow. This is highly debatable, but IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, there are great vegan soaps, and terrible tallow soaps, and vice versa. Tabac (has tallow) is amazing, but there are vegan soaps I have that are just as amazing. I could easily go 100% vegan when shaving, except for the brush, because I haven't used a synthetic brush. But if you get that taken care of, you will will have just as a great a shave as a shaver who uses tallow.

One other thing... wet shaving is really cheap UNLESS you start buying 20 soaps, 20 razors, 20 brushes, etc. So when someone suggests Martin de Candre, at $60 a jar, you might think that's crazy. But that jar will last 6-12 months, and give you an amazing shave. Don't be afraid of what seems to be a really expensive soap or cream. A $20-$60 soap or cream will last a long, long, long, long time.

[Froloff]

I'm not a vegan but I heard that 'The Body Shop' provides information about its ingredients of products for vegans http://www.thebodyshop.com/_en/_ww/v...l-testing.aspx

[Jasontheperson]

For me, any second-hand product is a better purchase, animal-based or synthetic, instead of buying a brand new one. You're just recycling something that someone does not want.

This is a great sentiment I think should be repeated. One of the reasons I got into wet shaving was I liked the fact that I was using an "old" razor again, giving it life by keeping it out of a landfill or an attic.
Another was the ability to recycle blades. I place my dull blades in a large can I poked a slot into. It's a large can that will fit possibly hundreds of blades. When it's full, I toss it into the recycling.

As mentioned before, Jack Black makes some vegan products. I use there Supreme Cream and enjoy it a lot. Not sure if it's the old or new formulation (folks here hated the old stuff), but I get great shaves out of it. The website says it's vegan and not tested on animals:

http://www.getjackblack.com/Products...oy__1009O.aspx

[KMF79]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this but Pacific Shaving Company has a full line of all natural, certified organic shaving products including a pre-shave, shaving cream and after-shave moisturizer.

"Sustainable shaving products that use safe, natural and organic ingredients." http://www.pacificshaving.com/

Also, every purchase plants a tree! http://www.pacificshaving.com/pages/...ts-a-tree.html

If that wasn't enough. They will give you a complimentary shaving oil for purchasing two of their products from a retail store. http://www.pacificshaving.com/pages/...-one-free.html

I haven't used these products yet, seeing as I'm new to DE shaving, but there are many positive reviews of their products. Personally, I plan on picking up one of their Nick Sticks just for the inevitable bloodletting. I kid, but I hear it dries clear and doesn't leave a white mark like a styptic pencil would.

If you purchase these products I'd love to hear your opinion on them.


On a side note, if you're interested I use all natural Desert Essence Tea Tree Oil Mint toothpaste ( https://www.desertessence.com/ ) and Nubian Heritage Black Soap Body Wash( http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/e...jsp?id=7Q-1006 ) This stuff is super good! I'm not vegan or vegetarian but I am a highly conscious consumer, so I pay attention to everything I put in and on my body. I guess I can say that extends to just about every purchase I make, but that's for another discussion. If you're interested let me know, and I'll share with you some other all natural products I'm aware of. Anyway, I hope I helped you in some form or fashion.


Happy shaving gents.

[bkfist]

On a side note, if you're interested I use all natural Desert Essence Tea Tree Oil Mint toothpaste ( https://www.desertessence.com/ ) [snip].

I, personally, can not imagine putting something tea tree oil flavored in my mouth.. I couldn't even get through a small bottle of shampoo years ago. Is the toothpaste actually tea tree oil flavored, or have they found a way to remove the taste/scent? In my mine it would be something akin to gargling with tar oil. (No, I haven't tried the toothpaste, that's why I'm asking.)

[ouch]

It's a good time in history to be a vegan. Choices abound in every field, including ours.

[RSC]

Vegetarian, but not vegan. I have to agree with you on the AO Men's Stock aftershave. Great stuff, either City Rhythms or Spice Island.

[KMF79]

I, personally, can not imagine putting something tea tree oil flavored in my mouth.. I couldn't even get through a small bottle of shampoo years ago. Is the toothpaste actually tea tree oil flavored, or have they found a way to remove the taste/scent? In my mine it would be something akin to gargling with tar oil. (No, I haven't tried the toothpaste, that's why I'm asking.)

Actually the tootpaste tastes great! There is no Tea Tree flavor to be found, only Mint. Desert Essence also offers other Tea Tree toothpastes that are Fennel, Ginger and Neem flavored. Best thing about it is these toothpastes contain No fluoride, animal derived ingredients, parabens, sweeteners, harsh abrasives, artificial fragrances or dyes, petroleum compounds, SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate), preservatives, glycols or phthalates. They are vegetarian/vegan, recyclable, gluten free, biodegradable, made with renewable sources and cruelty free.

I'm happy I made the switch.

[CrotalusHH]

are the badgers harmed when making brushes?

No, the badgers aren't harmed. They are already dead.

[bkfist]

Actually the tootpaste tastes great! There is no Tea Tree flavor to be found, only Mint. Desert Essence also offers other Tea Tree toothpastes that are Fennel, Ginger and Neem flavored. Best thing about it is these toothpastes contain No fluoride, animal derived ingredients, parabens, sweeteners, harsh abrasives, artificial fragrances or dyes, petroleum compounds, SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate), preservatives, glycols or phthalates. They are vegetarian/vegan, recyclable, gluten free, biodegradable, made with renewable sources and cruelty free.

I'm happy I made the switch.

Thanks! I'll have to give the mint a try. Fennel and Ginger sound bad, not sure what neem tastes like, but mint sounds good. SLS toothpastes mess with my taste buds horribly for well over an hour (can't enjoy coffee at all). One of the few decent performing ones I've came across is Burt's Bees. I've also used "Tooth soap" in the past, but despite all the "testimonials" to the contrary, after a couple months of using nothing but soap flakes, my gums were in worse shape than when I started.

[KMF79]

Thanks! I'll have to give the mint a try. Fennel and Ginger sound bad, not sure what neem tastes like, but mint sounds good. SLS toothpastes mess with my taste buds horribly for well over an hour (can't enjoy coffee at all). One of the few decent performing ones I've came across is Burt's Bees. I've also used "Tooth soap" in the past, but despite all the "testimonials" to the contrary, after a couple months of using nothing but soap flakes, my gums were in worse shape than when I started.

For me the real thing was finding a toothpaste without Fluoride, SLS, Hydrated Silica and Xylitol. Boy was it hard. I've looked at the Burt's Bees offerings but unfortunatly they contain Xylitol and Hydrated Silica. I came across the Desert Essence Tea Tree oil - Mint and have been more than happy with it. Prior to this I used Jason natural organic Sea Fresh toothpaste (with Fluoride). Hence the switch. Jason is a very good brand and offers a wider selection to choose from, some containing Xylitol and Fluoride, and some without. But at least there website clearly shows you the ingrediants of each so you can compare.

[Stevew443]

I am only vegan for a few more months. I had to give up eating animal products until my pancreas heals a bit more, so I am not really into the vegan life, but I am getting a very good appreciation for that life. You may want to check out Kosher soaps. I have a friend who used to make Kosher soap and used no animal products at all in their soap. They are no longer producing, but that may be a route to look into.

[CorCat87]

heres a horse hair brush that ive been meaning to get http://shaveabuck.com/vie-long-12601...ush-p-720.html im a vegetarian my self, did the vegan thing for a little bit, but i really just couldnt live with out cheese.

[Sargon]

for brushes: Horse is my reccomendation , as it is harvested without harm to the animal, though if you want a strict vegan option, that lathers well, you'll want a synthetic badger.

for soaps: mostly you want to avoid tallow soaps ( anything with tallow or tallowate as an ingredient). A few popular tallow soaps are: DR Harris, MWF, Wiliams (it IS sort of popular...), Tabac, and Cella. A few well respected non-tallow soaps include: Valobra (their soft soaps, not their hard), Proraso, most glycerin soaps ( Col conk, and a lot of artisan soapmakers), la toja, and most french soaps.

In terms of creams, Very few creams include tallow or other animal byproducts(Godreg has lanolin, but that is about it as I recall), so you are msotly okay there.

Hope that helps!

[KMF79]

Wcoppage, have you taken a look at the links I gave you to The Pacific Shaving Company?

[dpm802]

I came across the Desert Essence Tea Tree oil - Mint and have been more than happy with it.

I'm using this now, the Wintergreen flavor. Does your toothpaste contain "Neem?" I'm not sure what it is, but I've seen it on a lot of oral-hygience products.

Another great toothpaste I had from years ago was something from India that followed the Ayurvedic principles. I don't remember the name of it, but if I ever come across it again I will buy up a case of it.

Where do you get your Desert Essence from? Is there an online source? I got mine when I was on a trip to Baltimore, at a little kiosk in Cross Street Market that carries a lot of obscure and relatively unknown personal care items. They also are the only source I have for Dettol Hand Soap, which is great to keep at the kitchen sink. Talk about a HARD-milled soap ... one bar usually lasts me a year or more.

[Wcoppage]

Wcoppage, have you taken a look at the links I gave you to The Pacific Shaving Company?

Yes. I have. Luckily, that brand is at our local "nicer" grocery store. Plan to stop by hopefully this week and pick up some product. Cheers