Thread: Use of alum block

I never use alum anymore. I get temporary red blotched on my face even if it is only on there for a minute or two. I just go straight to after shave lotion or balm.

I like the sensation of the alum block on my shaved face, and I also use it boldly on wheepers and small cuts. Unlike RezDog, alum actually reduces the redness on my skin. Important to note I live (or cook) on a very hot and dry climate and I never use hot towels or water. After a minute, I just wash away the alum until I can't taste it on the rinsing water, and use chilled gim or vodka as aftershave (cheaper than aftershaves and do not interfere with cologne). Also important: I'm a greasy b...rd.

My personal advice is: go make some experiments, just don't use it before shaving and NEVER let your soap or brush make contact with it.

I use alum after every shave now. Since I started using alum I feel I heal quicker from damage than when I don't. On a couple bad scrapes in the beginning there was less scarring and the damaged area healed cleaner and quicker, skin remained smooth and didn't crinkle like some scarring will do.

Still perfecting my SR usage and when using alum I easily find the areas where something was not quite right.

Whether you should use it after every shave is something for you to decide. Try it out, and decide for yourself. The same goes for whether to leave it on or rinse it off. However, most people, including myself, seem to prefer to rinse it off since the astringency can become uncomfortable.

One thing that no one has mentioned: make sure to dry off the alum block after use. If you leave it wet or on a wet surface, alum crystals (that are more or less useless) similar in appearance to salt will form on the alum block, which will drastically shorten the life of your block.

Originally Posted by vileru

Whether you should use it after every shave is something for you to decide. Try it out, and decide for yourself. The same goes for whether to leave it on or rinse it off. However, most people, including myself, seem to prefer to rinse it off since the astringency can become uncomfortable.

One thing that no one has mentioned: make sure to dry off the alum block after use. If you leave it wet or on a wet surface, alum crystals (that are more or less useless) similar in appearance to salt will form on the alum block, which will drastically shorten the life of your block.

I've had the same block for about 5 years, I usually shake it out and let it stand on one of the small ends. The side that it stands has developed crystals, however running your palm over them will smooth them out. I usually don't bother as I use the 4 larger sides for my face after running it under cold water. Although, who knows, it could be a useless white brick at this point!

I am new to shaving aswell I found best to use all over shaving area rinse with cold water and use a balm afterwards for irritation

Just for info if you want to use it there is a cheap solution, not my idea, believe it was the big spendur who told us about Tolumba, they sell the stuff really cheap and the blocks I got a year ago are really wearing well, but I do dry them after using, if I recall I got 5-6 blocks shipped for about 9$. I use it for every day shaving, I rub my fingers on it to give me the ability to stretch well, I used to use it after shaving too, but I like my Thayers witch hazel better. Tc

oh and Bill( Pixelfixed ) used to get large blocks from Asian food stores for a couple bucks.

I use Alum sometimes. It stings like hell. Lately I’ve been just splashing on some Thayer Lavender Witch Hazel then Coral Skin Food.

For me using alum is also a barometer to tell me how well or poorly I shaved. Little to no tingling means I did well and stinging like hell means I either screwed up the shave royally or I had better take a look at the edge and see if it is buggered.

Bob