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How to best use alum

If I feel a lot of sting from alum I make a note not to use my mildly exfoliating face wash before bed and sign-up for a one or two pass shave option the next day+.

I assume, that be it due a heavy hand, bad angle of attack, poor prep, blade, whatever, I'm over the line with exfoliation.

Anything more than the occasional/odd/rare biting sensation here or there concerns me and I start with those changes. My skin profile is normal/average, and when I'm just over exfoliated, sadly, it looks its most shiny and healthy so alum feedback is valuable to me. Others here seem much less concerned by weepers and minor burning sensations, to my amazement.
 

garyg

B&B membership has its percs
Ok, well I use it a lot .. first on finger tips pre-shave that gives a grip on the brush & razor I think .. like some before me it is used post-shave to ? not sure I just have the habit .. rinsed off when I shower next, never have had a bad reaction when it wasn't rinsed immediately. Thirdly as an underarm deodorant. The only difficult thing about alum is not dropping it onto the floor or tile counter.

To the OP if it is hurting that much you need to step back and change one aspect at a time - razor, blade, post-shave to isolate which it is ..
 
I had an epiphany today as I went about my shave. I’ve been struggling with my cheapo badger brush as it sucks up all the lather as soon as I can make it.

Today I went with my favorite cream Taylor of Old Bond Street - Sandalwood gave the brush and my hand a wee bit more of a work out and got a bit more lather than usual forming in the bowl.

But that’s not the epiphany, the epiphany came as I took the brush to my face and began to work around my face. Actually more into my face. And then it happened lather began oozing out the side of the brush, soon my brush and my face and brush were covered in a nice rich lather.

I was prepared with my Edwin Jagger DE.89 razor and a fresh Astra green blade.

I almost stopped after the first pass, boy a nice smooth shave no nicks or weepers. But I had all this and let it go to waste, so I proceeded with it 2nd pass. Perfect best shave yet not even a little weeper!!! Finished up with a splash 💦 of cold water a run of alum block another rinse of cold water. Followed by my favorite after Duke Cannon Ice Cold, what a life.
If your brush is eating all your lather, you may want to try using a wetter brush. Keep in mind, this will also likely lead to a wetter lather, though. So you may want to play around with how wet/dry you keep your brush before lathering.
 
Alum helps prevent ingrown hairs and razor burn because of its natural antiseptic and astringent properties. All over the face after every shave is best, like a mild cleaner to keep your face fresh. But some people can use dollar tree barbesol and a dollar tree 4 blade disposable and be fine…

Obviously everybody’s face is different, but in general this is true. I would also recommend Proraso white aftershave balm after you rinse the alum off.

But you could also drop all this and just use shave secret, it’s a lot less fun then the whole shave routine but leaves your face feeling better than any past post shave.
 
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