Review of Noxzema Hair Minimizing Shaving Gel

While walking through the shaving product aisle at Target, a dark blue can with a bright neon green cap caught my eye. The new Noxzema Hair Minimizing Shaving Gel boasted that it would help minimize air re-growth and leave legs feeling smoother longer. Comparing it with my usual shaving gel by Skintimates, I noticed that this new product was using a breakthrough ingredient called Capislow, which minimizes hair growth. In addition, compared to the traditional vanilla, raspberry and pear scents of Skintimates, Nozxema Hair Minimizing Shaving Gel had a cucumber melon scent which appealed to me. Uncertain about which product I should try, I let the 98 cent price tag on the Noxzema product win me over. As my sister who was shopping with me said, even if it doesn't work, it is only 98 cents. Compared to the $2.00 price tag on the Skintimates and the $3 and up price on other shaving gels, I realized she was right. It was worth a try.

Still uncertain about what Capislow even was and if it was an advertising gimmick, I did some research online about this new ingredient. Capislow is an extract from Larrea Divaricata, which is a shrub that grows in desert regions. Apparently Capislow is an up and coming ingredient used in depilatory products, produced by Sederma. Capislow effectively works by reducing keratinocytes, which inhibits the anagen phase of hair growth. The anagen phase is a fancy way of saying that the hair begins to divide and grow. Basically, what Capislow does is slow down the metabolic processes of hair growth. In addition, it also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent which makes it ideal to use in a shaving gel, where nicks and cuts are likely during the shaving process. In a study done by Prescribedsolutions, Capislow was shown to reduce hair density, which is how thick the hair grows in by 26% and in some cases, up to 50%. Hair length was shown to decrease by 11% and up to 30%.