Duke Cannon After Shave Balm: What the Big Tin Actually Contains

Duke Cannon After Shave Balm is a 6 fl oz menthol gel-balm built on water, glycerin and shea butter, with no denatured alcohol in its listed ingredients. It sells for $11.00 at dukecannon.com and $9.99 at Target, so it costs less per ounce than most drugstore balms. One correction to the “big tin” reputation: the 6 oz version ships in a bottle, and the only smaller size is a 1.5 oz travel pack.

What the label actually lists

Target’s listing prints the full ingredient list. The first three are water, glycerin and shea butter, which tells you this is a moisturizing balm first and a cooling product second.

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Further down you get fragrance, phenoxyethanol as the preservative, dimethicone for slip, then menthol. Trace botanicals close the list: tamanu seed oil, baobab extract and tea tree leaf oil, plus Blue 1, which is the colorant.

The product page talks up aloe, but aloe does not appear in the ingredient list Target publishes. Formulas get revised, so read the back of the bottle you buy rather than the marketing copy.

How strong the menthol and scent are

Menthol sits after phenoxyethanol, a preservative the EU caps at 1 percent. Ingredients listed after it are usually at or below that level, so expect a noticeable chill that fades rather than a sting.

Duke Cannon describes the scent as light sandalwood, while Target files it under “Menthol.” There is one scent, not a range. If you want a classic barbershop smell, a bay rum aftershave gives you far more choice.

Duke Cannon vs other aftershave balms

Ingredient columns follow the retailer or brand listing for each product. Prices are street prices on 9 October 2026 and will move.

The “built for men” marketing, read plainly

The copy talks about “sharpened steel” and a “scorched earth feeling.” Under that, the formula is an ordinary gel-cream balm: humectant, butter, silicone, cooling agent.

What you actually pay for is volume. Six ounces at Target’s price works out to about 30 percent less per ounce than Nivea or Harry’s.

The travel size flips that math. At $4.67 per ounce it is one of the most expensive ways to buy the same formula.

Who should pick something else

Skip it if you react to added fragrance or to tea tree oil, since both are on the label. Nivea’s sensitive balm lists no menthol, which suits skin that dislikes the chill.

If you prefer a thin, fast-drying finish over a cream, read how an aftershave lotion differs from a balm. For a budget splash with history behind it, see the Clubman Pinaud aftershave review.

For everyone else, the 6 oz bottle bought at Target is the cheapest way into a menthol balm that leaves skin moisturized rather than tight.