The 8 Very Best Shaving Creams

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Ingredients:Vitamin E, Soy, and Aloe| Texture:Gel| Scented:Mild

As someone witheczema, I’m familiar with Aveeno and its range of nourishing, hydrating products. It was no surprise, then, to hear it recommended as the very best shaving cream overall by three dermatologists.

“For those who prefer a gel, this contains a combination of soy, aloe, and vitamin E to soothe the skin,” says Dr. Marisa Garshick, a board-certified dermatologist and clinical assistant professor at Cornell. And while fragrance is usually a derm no-no, Dr. Garshick says she doesn’t mind this one because it’s so subtle. Dr. Binder also loves this option for itsvitamin E and aloe, which “help condition both the hair and skin.” After lathering up with the gel, Strategist contributor Anneke Knot described her skin as feeling so supple and smooth she felt that she could forgo her lotion. And for its emollient-rich and sensitive-skin-friendly formula, two dermatologists even gave this Aveeno gel the okay for facial use.

You can use it on your face and body, and it’s hydrating, and priced at just $6 a bottle. So I’m crowning this our best shaving cream overall.

Ingredients:Coconut Oil, Lactic Acid, Glycerin, Menthol| Texture:Cream |Scented:Menthol scent

Shaving your face can cause bumps, razor burn, and irritation, but it can also have some positive effects like exfoliation.Soren Roi, senior barber at Fellow Barber in New York City, places Proraso amongst his top picks because of its effective ingredients, including lactic acid for even more gentle sloughing on top of the physical exfoliation a razor provides. A long-time barber favorite, Proraso was also recommended by two more grooming professionals in our story on the best shaving creams for men. Russell Manley, owner of New York City’s Ludlow Blunt, loves the combination of glycerin, lactic acid, and menthol that brings hair to the surface and therefore reduces the chance of getting ingrowns. And while Proraso is marketed to men, women have found it works just as well on their skin — in a previous version of this story, one reviewer wrote that this cream left her underarms “tight and smooth but also soft and smell[ing] like the dad you never had.” It has a light, refreshing menthol scent.

Ingredients:Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Soybean Oil, Hyaluronic Acid, Candelilla Wax| Texture:Lotion |Scented: Citrus

This isn’t a traditional shaving cream — in fact, it isn’t a shaving cream at all. In some cases, choosing to shave with a body butter could actually be more beneficial for skin health than foams and gels that can exacerbate dryness. (Dr. Patel says you can technically use anything that will make your skin slick enough for the razor to glide.) This cult-classic body butter comes recommended by Dr. Garshick, who points to the shea butter, coconut oil, and sodium hyaluronate as key for moisturizing and nourishing the skin pre- and post-shave. And you can also use it for a post-shave hit of moisture: I love a twofer.

Ingredients:Glycerin |Texture:Cream |Scented:Unscented

I come across Vanicream on a weekly basis, both as a beauty and grooming writer, and as someone with sensitive skin. Skin flaking off due to acne? Vanicream. Eczema feeling particularly irritated? Vanicream. So, if nothing else seems to be cooling that post-shave irritation, my suggestion? Vanicream. Both its packaging and ingredient list are as simple as they come. Its hero ingredient is glycerin, a powerhouse humectant that absorbs water back into the skin. Both Dr. Garshick and Dr.Binder say the Vanicream is safe for those with sensitive skin, as it’s free of fragrance, preservatives, formaldehyde, and parabens. (In fact, Dr. Binder says she prefers sensitive-skin shaving creams in general, as “I do not like putting a lot of foreign ingredients in sensitive areas.”) This cream is also suitable for allergy-prone skin, Dr. Lal notes, with a gentler, preservative-free formula to decrease the chance of irritation.

Ingredients:Oat and vitamin E| Texture:Gel|Scented:Unscented

I have a persistent case of “strawberry legs” (you might know the affliction askeratosis pilaris, chicken legs, or spotty legs). It means shaving isn’t as simple for me: I can’t just slap on a layer of conditioner and use any old blade. I have to be selective with the shaving creams and gels I use; they have to be hydrating. So far, this one has been my favorite. As I mentioned in the best overall category, as an eczema sufferer, I’m no stranger to Aveeno. This option has a lot of our best overall’s great attributes — non-irritating, hydrating, quenching gel consistency — with some added benefits in the ingredients list. They include oat, an ingredient so nourishing it’s used in pretty much all eczema treatments, and vitamin E, a softening and hydrating ingredient that protects the skin from free-radical damage. Perhaps the most convincing point to make is that in the U.K., where I live, it’s about triple the price, and I still use it devotedly.

Ingredients:Shea Butter and Aloe| Texture:Cream |Scented:Pomegranate and raspberry

If your razor has to cover a lot of surface area, you’ll want a cream that’s just as suitable for your legs as it is your bikini line. This is it. And, as an added bonus, it costs less than $5. Despite the inexpensive price point, it’s packed with nourishing shea butter and skin quenching aloe.Though it doesn’t foam, the texture spreads easily and can be rinsed off or left on post-shave like a moisturizer. Either way, “this stuff will leave your legs as smooth as the day you were born,” as one user said in a previous version of this story, in which the EOS also emerged as a reader favorite. The bottle is also lovely and pink — it will look nice on your bathroom shelf.

Ingredients:Aloe, Olive Leaf Extract, Macadamia Seed Oil| Texture:Gel |Scented:Jasmine

The legs cover the most surface area, so it’s important to choose a shaving aid that provides maximum slip. This formula squeezes out as a concentrated gel, but once it comes into contact with water, it transforms into a milky serum. The unique texture “creates an ultraslick surface so the razor can easily glide over top without slipping or snagging,” Dr. Patel says of the hydrating and redness-reducing formula that contains olive-leaf extract, aloe, and macadamia-seed oil. And because the gel is relatively thin, you can see your progress as you shave. A little goes a long way, though — while the product description claims that a single container of Cremo lasts for 90 days, Strategist contributor David Waltersworked on a tube of the original version for over a year and a half.

Ingredients:Aloe, Olive Oil, Marshmallow-Root Extract| Texture:Cream |Scented:Unscented

For most, the bikini line will be by far the most sensitive area to shave. Dr. Jamie DeRosa, a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon and the founder and lead facial plastic surgeon of DeRosa Center Plastic Surgery & Med Spa in Boston and Palm Beach, recommends using this whipped, ultramoisturizing cream for a close, nick-minimizing shave. “It’s infused with soothing ingredients like marshmallow-root extract, aloe, and shea butter to cushion against razor burn and help minimize ingrown hairs and bumps,” she says. And while it is formulated specifically for the pubic area, “the skin-nourishing, unisex formula works anywhere a person might want to shave — underarms, chest, legs, and face,” Dr. DeRosa adds. Our resident beauty columnist Rio Viera-Newton uses it on her legs, for example. “This gel formula is rich in aloe vera and coconut, so it helps deeply condition skin as you shave,” she says. “My legs used to feel insanely dry and parched when I stepped out of the shower, especially after I shaved — they feel moisturized and silky when I use this.” (If you’re suffering from the usual bikini-line shaving maladies — bumps, rashes, nicks — it’s worth having a look at Fur’s entire line. Its post-shaving oil, in my experience, is particularly effective.)