Need some soap/alum advice

[Lereas]

Hello, B&B!

I've been wet shaving with a Merkur Hefty Classic for something like 6 years now, and have never looked back. I started out with some Nomad soap from C&E but never got a particularly good shave with it. I moved on to proraso and primarily used that, though for the last few months I was using ToOBS Avacado cream and loved it.

Unfortunately, the TSA are haters that must be working for Gillette and confiscated my 5oz tub (never figured out why you can have like 10 3oz tubes, but not one 5oz thing). I have a bit of proraso left to hold me over.

I ordered one of each of the Col. Conk pucks from WCS, as I had realized over time while using creams that I probably had been using way too much water with my soap and ended up with too bubbly of a lather which didn't lubricate well enough. I'd like to try again, and had seen a few mentions of a "dry brush" technique here, though I've been unable to find a good post detailing that.

I assume it's essentially dripping a little water onto the puck, picking up soap, and then generating the lather in another bowl and adding water to it a few drips at a time, rather than picking up the soap on a wet brush?

Also, while I was paying shipping anyway, I figured I'd pick up a few other things, so I grabbed a blade sampler (I've been happy with feathers, but thought I'd try out some others again just for fun) and also an alum block.

I've not used an alum block before, so was looking for some advice on it. Most of what I see just says to run it along your face after your shave after rinsing off with cool water. Do most of you then let that dry a bit, rinse it off and go to aftershave?

Thanks!

 

[Go West Young Man]

"Dry brush" isn't completely dry, it just means not dripping wet - a couple shakes and squeezes to remove all the excess moisture, but the bristles should still be damp to the touch. Load the brush on the soap aggressively for 30 to 60 seconds, move to your lather bowl or face and start swirling. The soap should visibly change as you swirl, and you only need to add a couple drops of water to the brush whenever the lather seems to stabilize. The whole process should take about 2 minutes.

 

[dichdiggr]

Here is how I use alum. I rinse my face with cool water after my shave and rub the alum on my wet face and allow to air dry. Then I will rinse it off with cool water, towel dry, and apply my after shave.

 

[falkor27]

Hello, B&B!
I've not used an alum block before, so was looking for some advice on it. Most of what I see just says to run it along your face after your shave after rinsing off with cool water. Do most of you then let that dry a bit, rinse it off and go to aftershave?

That's pretty much it.

 

[Lereas]

Awesome, thank you for the advice all of you.

 

[bikermonster77]

After my cold water rinse, I run the alum block under the water to get it when then rub it on my face, let it sit for a minute then wash it off. If I let it dry, it sucks all the moisture out of my proraso pre/post shave paste. Also, welcome to B&B!

 

[JPDyson]

After my cold water rinse, I run the alum block under the water to get it when then rub it on my face, let it sit for a minute then wash it off. If I let it dry, it sucks all the moisture out of my proraso pre/post shave paste. Also, welcome to B&B!

That's what I do as well, for the same reason. After my last pass, I do a cold water rinse, and immediately a pass with the alum block. While that sits for a minute, I rinse out my brush and scuttle, then come back and rinse off my face again with cold water before moving to WH/AS/ASB, depending on how I'm feeling and what I'm using that day.

 

[Lereas]

Thanks! I just found out recently that my grandfather-in-law has a straight razor he got when he first moved to the US from Ukraine and that he wants to give it to me since none of his other grandchildren have any interest. I took a look and I don't think it's anything remarkable from a collectable standpoint, just a regular SR with celluloid scales, but it's cool from a heirloom perspective. My father in law is taking it to his barber to see if she does sharpening, and if not I'll find someone here probably so I don't ruin it trying.