Although this is my first post on this site, I have been trolling here for a while and have learned a lot. I started wet shaving a couple of months back and am really enjoying this new hobby. I recently added an alum block to my repertoire. My early experiences with this have been very good. I am hoping I can get some advice on how to properly use it. The instructions just say to wet the block and rub on face. That is great, but I am wondering about the following points: 1) Should I pat dry my face before I apply the wet block? 2) Can my face be too wet for this to be effective? 3) After application, do I let my face dry out fully before applying aftershave? 4) Any other advice or suggestions? Thank you in advance for your input.
I rub the wet block on my wet face. Let it sit around 30 seconds and then rinse with a cold H2o splash. I find, if I leave alum on too long it is irritating to my skin. That's what I do, I'm not sure if it's the proper application.
In this hobby of ours I don't think there is any "proper" application for anything. It's all about trying new things and seeing what you like best and what works best for your face. I've actually never used an alum block so I can't even give you any tips from my experience. I will say that I've found some things work better for me when I don't necessarily do them the way that many others do them. Just try changing one variable at a time and give your face some shaves to give you a true reaction to it. It takes some time, but at least now we are enjoying our shaves instead of groaning through them so there's no need to hurry. Another day, more stubble, another reason to shave! Enjoy the process and have fun!
Hi! Welcome to the Den. As for the alum block, I wet the block, rub on wet face, rinse with ice water. Is that the right way? Don't know, don't care. Is that the only way? I doubt it. But it's how I like it. My face is none the worse for wear afterwards. Guess it works.
Another gent here who just uses it any way I want. When I do use it I rub it on the slightly wet/damp face before splashing on the AS. I don't rinse the alum off. You know you can also use it on the underarms? It great. I don't know if it's anti-perspirant or just keeps stench away, but either way, it works. It doesn't give me the rash I get from most aluminum based anti-perspirants.
Actually it is antibacterial in the underarm application. Prevents bacteria from growing, and the bacteria are what causes the odor.
Alum blocks are also useful for providing a bit of extra traction while stretching the skin for straight shaving, a trick I picked up from Chimench / Dov. Rub your wet fingers on the alum block and then stretch the skin for shaving.
I just added an alum block to my routine, too, and here are the instructions I found... After final warm water rinse to clean off any remaining lather, rinse face with cold water. Leave face wet and apply block to face. I've seen people say you can wet the block first and I've seen people say the water still on your face is plenty. Personally, I give the block a quick shot of water to wake it up. Rub block on your face, covering all areas you've just shaved and let sit there for about a minute. Rinse face again with cold water and apply aftershave. I read that some people don't rinse, they either leave the alum on as their aftershave, or they apply aftershave over it. The instructions warned that the alum can interfere with the consistency of some aftershaves, especially those containing alcohol. One deviation from these instructions I've yet to try is to apply the alum before I do my cold rinse, to really get it into those open pours.
I really makes no difference, hot or cold application. It's one of those myths that everyone "knows". Human pores don't open and close. They just are.
Thanks for that info. I didn't really know that about pores (pours...nice typo on my part). I thought they did contract somewhat when the cold water was applied. I did apply the block before my cold water rinse today and can't say the results were any different than when I use it after. My skin still feels great!
I just got one of these blocks because I heard it was good for nicks and cuts. What exactly does the rubbing of the block do to the skin to slow/stop bleeding?
I've read claims that it does help stop bleeding and I've read that it doesn't. I opened up a bleeder a few shaves ago and the block did nothing to stop the bleeding; I still had to apply a styptic pencil directly to get it to stop. I'm mostly using the block for its natural astringent and toning properties, I'll still keep a styptic pencil in my cabinet.
I love Steve's replies, right to the point. My way, wet face, wet block, rub. I let the alum sit for 30-60 seconds, then rinse it off. I use a wash cloth to make sure I get as much off as I can. I read in Leisure Guys book (I think) to make sure you get most of it off your face and neck.
I rinse after I am done cleaning my brush and thn apply balm follow by an aftershave splash. See how complicated things can become?
Something to be said for that. Maybe I'll try some pre shave oil as post shave oil followed by aftershave lotion? This might be good, too. Anybody try this before?
Been using a A block for about two months - ill never shave without one again. My skin looks and feels better. No ingrown hairs since I started using it too!
