Don’t Use Shaving Cream on Tombstones

By David A. Chapin

Excerpted from Heritage Quest Magazine. Issue # 64   July-August, 1996

      “Many people in the genealogical community know that I am an activist AGAINST this practice, because the stearic acid in the shaving cream will dissolve MgCO3/CaCO3 that makes up typical marble stones.  Since most people are not experts in the different gravestone types, as a genealogist by training I suggested people stay away from shaving cream on tombstones altogether …..

     1) The time of reaction is very brief, as anyone who has mixed baking soda with vinegar will attest to.  The damage commences within seconds of initial contact.  Even acid rain works the same way.  It is not the length of time that matters so much as it is the fact that you add the acid to the stone in the first place.

     2) The active ingredients in shaving cream are not so easy to wash away.  That is one of the reasons why the menthol or the perfumes that you apply to your face when shaving still can be felt or smelled for a long time after you shave.

     3) Acid rain comes and goes.  In one rainstorm, the drops could be acidic.  In the next they could be alkaline.  I know here in North Texas where I live the rains are almost always alkaline.  I know this because every time it rains, I have to add acid to my pool to balance it.  …..

     4) Shaving cream may be an easier medium to work with, but should laziness be the excuse we use to damage gravestones for future generations?

     “In summary, a couple of points need to be made:

·        No one in their right mind would want shaving cream to touch the finish of their car, right?  Everyone knows the damage it can do.  Why take a chance of damaging a gravestone with shaving cream?

·        It was pointed out by others that gravestones—indeed cemetery plots—are owned and deeded just like any other piece of property.  You would not want someone coming up to your house painting graffiti or sandblasting it without your permission.  Tombstones are usually someone else’s property.  Like the saying goes:  “take only photos…leave only footprints.”  

     Appropriate means of getting the information off a gravestone:

 If at all possible, take a photograph without doing ANYTHING to the stone.  My favorite technique is to always use a detachable flash (even on sunny days).  I direct my flash at a low angle to the stone to enhance the lettering.  Some people like to use mirrors or flashlights to enhance the inscriptions. 

  I don’t mind taking a rubbing of the stone.  Some people claim that even a rubbing may damage the stone, if you don’t do it right.  Please check what the rules are in the cemetery before you attempt this procedure.  If you are interested in how to take a rubbing, check out web page: http://www.firstct.com/fv/t~stone.html

If you have to add something for contrast, start with water.  If you have to go further for contrast, the only thing I recommend is powdered, chemically inert substances.  My suggestions are for light-colored stones powdered charcoal or graphite.  For dark-colored stones, use talc or powdered limestone.   I know using powdered substances is more bothersome than shaving cream, but it works and doesn’t contribute to the degradation of the stone.  In fact, it doesn’t alter the stone in any way.

For more information about tombstones, contact the Association for Gravestone Studies:  http://www.history.rochester.edu/ags.htm

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