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Alum block

Ratso

Mr. Obvious
I use the alum block to see how much my shave irritated my face after every shave. The alum block doesn’t seem to help with weepers which are far and few between. What are your thoughts on the alum block?
 

Eben Stone

Staff member
I use alum every shave, no exceptions. Regardless of how good I think my shave went, if there's any feedback from the alum that means there's room for improvement.

There's some satisfaction when you put cold water on the alum block and it feels like a popsicle when you rub it around on your face. IMO, it's the best part of the shave.
 

ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
I had never heard of Alum Blocks until I joined this forum. Now I use mine everyday. I do find them quite drying to my skin but I shave before I shower so I wash the Alum off after use. It works for me and something that I have started doing from using tips from other members on this forum.
 
I use it after aftershave. It always lets me know how my shave really was and I like the way it tightens everything up. It's left on while I clean up and then wiped away with Witch Hazel.
I don't find it helps much with weepers other than very minor ones. I have a steptic pencil on hand to deal with anything else.
 
I use an alum block every time I shave. But not always on my face. I use it mostly on my fingertips to give extra traction for stretching my face to make my skin taught for the straight razor.

Of course, dabbing on to the odd weeper or nick once in awhile makes it handy.
 
This is a weird one for me. I don’t need an alum block to tell me I did a subpar job. It doesn’t help much when you mess up. I do feel the burn as punishment and so maybe that’s an incentive to get it better next time. My skin does tighten up but makes me have to put something on my face to counter the tightness so, ya. A bit confusing. Why do I need an alum block?
 
This is a weird one for me. I don’t need an alum block to tell me I did a subpar job. It doesn’t help much when you mess up. I do feel the burn as punishment and so maybe that’s an incentive to get it better next time. My skin does tighten up but makes me have to put something on my face to counter the tightness so, ya. A bit confusing. Why do I need an alum block?
I cut out the alum and stuck with witch hazel for the post and haven't needed a balm since. I can't say I miss it, and can say my face feels calmer without it. YMMV.
 
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