Okay...who actually uses an alum block post shave?

I do. I use Thayers after I have done a cold face wash off the rub the face with Alum block. I leave it one while cleaning up, then go for another cold face wash followed by Thayers. I've only recently tried Pinaud's after shave but find the smell a bit overpowering, even if I like the scent.


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So what I was proposing, if you'd be our Lab Rat, is use witch hazel on one side of your face & alum on the other. Do that until you see a difference if there is any.

As to Pinaud products; they were developed by The French and tend to be quite strong in their original formulation. Later an American Division of the company made them available to us common men rather than The Aristocrats and Hungarian Calverymen as Napoleon intended. If you are OK with the alcohol in your aftershave/cologne water it down with vodka or perfumers alcohol. Or use less.
Which scent(s) are you using?

 

Off topic: try decanting Pinaud stuff into glass bottles. I can't offer a scientific reason, but it mellows and changes the AS for the better. For instance, I used a new olive oil cruet to decant Veg. Vintage Pinaud glass also available in the usual places.

Apology, thread hijack over.

I still love Alum and recommend to all new converts, even if just to evaluate technique. I don't rinse, and go straight to the Veg.

 

+1

 

Agreeing with alum vs WH testing procedure,
Pinaud Lore and thinning suggestion,
or both?

 

Mostly the test, but like all of it.

 

I've just tried the regular Pinaud. I ,Ike the Tabac & Bay scents in my Shave soap so maybe I'll try the Bay Rum.

Before my Alum block arrived I used straight Witch Hazel, the store brand pharmacy stuff for years on all sorts of stuff for the face. It's never bothered me. Can't feel any burn not matter what I've done. It's an astringent, but a very mild one. I don't leave the alum on long, just to check feedback and stop any small weepers. When straight razoring, you definitely need to have a good styptic pencil around as the gashes tend to be much deeper and in weird spots. The active ingredient in styptic is what the mi,Italy used in quick-clot bags, which turned out to be a fatal idea for some wounds, particularly in the abdominal cavity or major arteries and veins. They stopped using it after seeing the error of their ways. However faces bleed like none other, except maybe ears and nose tissue. For those, styptic, pressure, ice and crazy glue.

Witch hazel is definitely more mild then alum, but used for very different reasons.


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Just to be clear on my last post, I do rinse the Alum off my face after leaving it while cleaning up my shave gear and brushing my teeth. I then put on whatever AS I happen to be using at the moment (currently the BArrister and Mann "Reserve Spice" scent).

 

Me, too. I don't know where stands the issue about aluminum and Alzheimer's but I've been assure Alum is OK to use. At my age and decades long exposure level... What was I going on about?
Oh, I apply, clean my gear for a couple moments, and rinse the alum off.

Here's some interesting reading about alum.

 

Gentlemen John's is what I use. Inexpensive, easy as pie to use and has a decent case to sit open for drying under the sink away from dust and other blowing stuff when the wife blows her hair dry.


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Aluminum double Sulfate of Potassium (potassium alum, potash alum, formula is KAl(SO4)2 ) exists in a stable, molecularly bound form. Also the aluminum is not available for uptake into the bloodstream through the skin, as the molecules are too large to pass the skin. This will preclude any aluminum poisoning issues and is safe for topical use. This form is also used in pickling and baking, so even safe to ingest in small quantities.

Styptic is the ammonium sulfate of aluminum, ammonium alum (NH4)Al(SO4)2), and is a more potent coagulant. It is not safe to ingest, though small amounts on the skin to control bleeding are just fine.

 

As mentioned by others, I used it every shave when I first started as feedback to tell where I had bad angles or too much pressure etc. if it stings, for me technique was lacking. Now I only use it when traveling. I use witch hazel at home followed up with aftershave.

 

Saved the face when I accidentally grabbed the Maggards OC with a Merkur blade while mind was elsewhere and I put a bit too much pressure as I rushed the Shave.

Each to their own but I love my block.


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Well, at least it is a disinfectant which doesn't dry out the skin in the same way that alcohol does. There much sense to using an alum block post shave for me.

 

I am just learning about alum blocks, and just in time. I have added one to my cart twice and removed it before checking out. Well, today I stopped by a local Indian market and found alum blocks there for $1.99. I couldn't help it at that price and brought one home. Good thing, too because my first Weck arrived today. I had my first shave with a shavette, and the alum block came in handy. I am usually a Witch Hazel guy. Today was a both day. The shave was not really that bad, as I kept it super simple to mitigate the damage. But the alum block taught me a lot after that shave. And I really did enjoy the post shave feel with it. It did leave me a little dry, but nothing my secret weapon - Palmer's Cocoa Butter - couldn't handle.

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I do the same.

 

Got an Indian grocery near me. When my current block gives up the ghost, I'll have to take a ride. Thanks for the tip!

 

All the blood in the sink is another good indicator.

 

Alum plays havoc on my face and leaves it feeling extremely irritated. So in other words it seems to have the opposite effect as intended.

I posted about this on "another popular shaving forum" a while back, and what I learned from that is that everyone who chimed in saying that alum was terrible for them shared one thing in common, which is Irish ancestry. So, in addition to having bad tempers, being prone to alcohol abuse and getting sun-burned, we seem to have a curse of having some genetic marker that reacts badly to alum. Go figure!

So Shavewizard, I'm going to hazard a guess that you're Irish. How'd I do??