Thread: Skipping the Alum

Originally Posted by kevinred

Thanks Guys

I'm not really sure whats happening with my skin. Shaving with a straight gives me the closest and most comfortable shaves I have ever had. But lately even my old favourite Proraso green has been leaving me with red skin. I can't seem to shave with my DE or my shavette either unless I want a red bumpy neck. I'm finding that a cool water shave with no pre shave, Arko face lathered then a good rinse with cold water is all I need to keep my face feeling great. I add a few drops of alcohol free balm or some neat almond oil and all is good. I used to love splash on AS but the alcohol seems to inflame things too.

Maybe my skin has got sensitive in my old age or maybe I have become intolerant and sensitive to any sign of irritation or redness, as for me a perfect feeling and looking shave is a DFS with not a hint redness let alone a bump. Or maybe for me I have found the perfect way to shave and everything else falls short.

It seems like I'm rapidly ruling out what either I or my skin doesn't like. Funny thing is my taste in scents is rapidly changing too, I seem to have gone off the strong smelling scents and am moving towards the more subtle ones…..maybe I'm pregnant…lol

LOL - I got to tell you... its that, or male menopause!! That's pretty radical.

How confusing!!

kevinred, name the baby after Ed and make him the Godfather so he will have to pay all the bills. Since I've stopped using the alum block my face has cleared considerably. That's my result. As for Proraso, if it's got menthol and/or eucalyptus in it stay away from it if shaves with it leaver you less than satisfied. I do love my cold water shaves.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

If you're using alum as a deodorant keep in mind there are two alums. Ammonium and Potassium. The ammonium type is used in deodorant and the potassium type is what goes on your face.

I was curious about the difference between the two types of alum so asked a Pharmacist about it. The upshot was that the main difference was that the ammonium one would sting more on a cut. Like I say, I have been using Henri Bernard deodorant crystal post shave for going on a year now with no side effects that I can notice. There is no ingredients list on the container so which type it is who knows other than it is sold as a deodorant. So I don't know why one type would be for one use and the other for a different use.


Bob

As an after thought I should say that I am not recommending using an alum crystal product labelled as a deodorant for post shave use, only that I do use it for post shave.

Bob