'scuse the lapse, got called into work ... anyway, the products i use are part of the "men's stock" from aubrey. i have a face scrub (pre-shave), shaving cream, and aftershave balm. there's things like eucalyptus oil, menthol, camphor, aloe, ginseng, jojoba, avocado, and witch hazel in them. some of the ingredients can be found in the more conventional products, at least the good products like the headblade stuff, not your standard aerosol foam products, but without the propylene glycol and methylparabens and so on. if you go to this link:
http://www.aubrey-organics.com/about/treat_10synth.cfmyou can read about 10 common ingredients found in cosmetics and why you might want to avoid them. this link is also part of the aubrey site, where you can read about their products, natural cosmetics, etc.
aubrey is one of the most seriously all-natural, organic cosmetic companies out there. there are others, but usually smaller and not as pure. but, yeah, companies like JASON, Alba, Tom's, Kiss My Face, etc., those are the kind of companies i buy exclusively from. when it comes to my face and now my head, i stick with aubrey.
i can't give you an honest review of the shaving products, because i just started using them this week. before that i used an electric razor for years on my face and almost a year on my head. i use aubrey facial soap and moisturizer, which are simply great, and i was using JASON aftershave, and even though it has some of the parabens and stuff in it, it is mostly pure and i really liked it. however, i wanted 100 percent purity on my bladed-face and scalp, so i upgraded to completely chemical-free aubrey products. the first couple of times have been fine, but i'll be sure to keep you posted. i'm not an experienced blade-shaver, though, so i don't know if my review can be all that helpful. i will say my face/head wasn't super-super slick with the cream, and it seems people here really get slicked up with their products and that that's beneficial to a good shave. so at this point i'd say the shaving cream might be sub-par in that respect, if i'm doing everything correctly ... the balm is sweet though, very calming, and the scrub seems to do what it's supposed to.
you can buy all this stuff at co-ops, whole foods, trader joes, etc., or of course on the internet.
i'm trying to find out more about shaving creams and lotions that have been around for a really long time, stuff from england and italy and so on that's popular now with the resurgence of shaving as an art form. i assume some of that stuff should be pretty pure as it's simple and was probably originally made by hand in some small room. it's hard to track down ingredients on the internet though. not only would i like to use "classic" products, but the all-natural stuff, aubrey in particular, isn't cheap by any means.
so ... that's what i'm into shaving-wise in a nutshell. hope that helps and again, very interested in your input. keep in mind that certain "bad" ingredients can be fine if they are the actual plant-based product and not the synthetic derivative ... the aubrey link explains that some more. so the ingredients that turned me off of headblade products could actually be fine. if someone with a headblade connection feels like discussing that with a rep and getting some info, hey, more power to you/us ... ok, out