Well, if certainty of statement truth was measured by the number of times someone wrote "no" in their message and subject line, then I suppose I would have little choice but to resign myself to your superior number of noes. But it is not like that. The point is NOT why do I think shaving cream is appropriate, that point is clear - it fills in shallow etchings so that a better photograph can more easily be taken. It is not that it is white ONLY (unlike paint or mayo), as you suggest - rather it is that it is white AND doesn't harm the stone. The point is, "By what rationale can an assertion be maintained that shaving cream is INappropriate for use on tombstones?". Your example of lanolin and (other) wax rather makes my point for me, in that I have yet to see any such logical rationale given. A wax is a good candidate to ameliorate the effects of several types of chemical weathering, carbonation, hydrolysis, and internal salt crystallization chiefly among them. So, far from being detrimental to the stone, I would suggest that wax would serve as a slightly protective agent, and that the only reason people do not go out and do this to stones on purpose is rather an issue of time, not conscience. Gregg Bonner NO NO NO NO NO! Shaving cream is bad for stones and it has little or nothing to do with the PH. It is the lanolin that is waxy and the other ingredients! Your face and beard are not granite or limestone, What makes you think shaving cream is appropriate? It might be it is white...well, so is Mayonnaise, white paint, clown makeup... come on!