Alum Block or Witch Hazel??

So i was wanting a little feed back on this topic, I hear alot of people on the forms suggest an Alum Block to sooth razor burn, ingrowns acne etc. and to just rub the block across your wet face after a shave.
I also have read alot about witch hazel, and how that works very well for razor burn acne etc. as well.

So what i wanted to know is what better? Can you use them both? I have the "Thayers Super-Med" and i really enjoy the peperment sent, but i do have a little bit of acne prone skin. So i didn't know if the Alum Block would help in that area more.

I just wanted a little feed-back and see which is better. Thanks guys!

jasonGjordan said:

I just wanted a little feed-back and see which is better. Thanks guys!

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Neither alum nor witch hazel is expensive. Because everyone's skin is different, it's easy and cheap to find out for yourself.

I use both; alum less frequently. Witch hazel, consistently.

More info on both is here and here.

I keep a styptic pencil around for weepers and nicks, but I use Thayers Superhazel after every single shave, over my entire face. I have not used an alum block, but I may try it at some point. A Shavex alum block can be purchased from Mama Bear's for $8.99, so it couldn't hurt to try.

Speick after shave lotion contains both witch hazel and alum. It's a great aftershave that I have been using often lately

I use an alum block after each shave with good results. I'm going to pick up some Thayer's witch hazel to try soon.

I use both; alum and Witch hazel, consistently.

Wil Dorenbos said:

I use both; alum and Witch hazel, consistently.

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+1 It has become a part of my routine to use both.

Pete

It used to be both, however now its just witch hazel.

When I have a 'shocker' of a shave and murdered my face, I reach for the Alum Block

jasonGjordan said:

So i was wanting a little feed back on this topic, I hear alot of people on the forms suggest an Alum Block to sooth razor burn, ingrowns acne etc. and to just rub the block across your wet face after a shave.
I also have read alot about witch hazel, and how that works very well for razor burn acne etc. as well.

So what i wanted to know is what better? Can you use them both? I have the "Thayers Super-Med" and i really enjoy the peperment sent, but i do have a little bit of acne prone skin. So i didn't know if the Alum Block would help in that area more.

I just wanted a little feed-back and see which is better. Thanks guys!

Click to expand...

Use both. Actually, what I do is rinse the alum off after letting it sit on my face a few minutes with witch hazel and/or bay rum.

I think alum has really helped me with ingown hairs and it might do the same for acne. I have something of my own personal theory on ingrown hairs which sort of parallels acne anyway. My thought is that the issue with ingrown hairs is not so much the hairs twisting around and growing sideways or poking back down under the skin, by themselves. That the problem of ingrown hairs is infection. That is the problem is the the whiskers doing their ingrown hair thing introduces bacteria to vulnerable places and that is what is painful and causes problems. That is, if there were not infection whatever the whisker was doing would not really be a problem. So, my one guy's baseless theory goes, that what something like alum really does to help ingrown hairs is to sanitize the hair and skin so that bacteria does not get to where it should not be. My guess is that the issue with bacteria happens early, very soon after a shave. And that if one can keep bacteria out for not all that long after a shave, your body's natural structure and defenses will recover from the trauma of shavng enought within that short time period to take it from there.

And I would love some real world experience with alum as a treatment for acne. My younger son has acne, but I cannot get him interested in any wet sharing stuff, much less using an alum block consistently.

I have meant to ask about this at an Indian grocery store that sells alum. They might know. Also, in the area of giving you advice you did not ask for, you might try some of the soaps from Indian that are labeled as good for acne. There is a "red sandalwood" soap out there somewhere that has no regular sandalwood smell at all and lathers up kind of pink that is made by some company in India and is supposedly for acne that I have seen and obtained exactly one bar off. I am old enough not to be plagued with acne anymore, but I did use this soap as a face scub until I ran out. It seemed particularly nice. Really left my face feeliing non-oily--I have not outgrown some oiliness-but not dry and irritated. Very pleasent stuff. A different feeling than most soaps though.

Does the Alum block leave a white splotch on your face like the Styptic does?

I hate this by the way. Not real sure of the proper method. Right now, directly after the shave, Wet styptic. Let it dry on face to stop bleeding. Then wipe off with water, and then apply WH.

?????

jtoddaz said:

Does the Alum block leave a white splotch on your face like the Styptic does?

I hate this by the way. Not real sure of the proper method. Right now, directly after the shave, Wet styptic. Let it dry on face to stop bleeding. Then wipe off with water, and then apply WH.

?????

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I think the alum can leave something of a film. The styptic is white to begin with and the alum sort of translucent/clear, so I do not think it woud leave the same kind of prominent white film, but I still do not like the feeling, so I rinse it off.

The thing with styptic is to try to get the bleeding to stop and leaving that white film on may or may not help. Beats leaving a piece of toilet paper stuck to your face.

I do not really think of alum as something to spot bleeding. It does a bit, but it not as effective as styptic for that purpose.

thanks

saltypete said:

+1 It has become a part of my routine to use both.

Pete

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+1 for me too. I rarely have any weepers, but like the way the alum block makes my skin feel. I put it on as soon as I rinse off my razor, clean up the rest of my shaving area, rinse the alum and apply the witch hazel (Thayers).

I like the combo.

After the Thayers, I add a shaving balm or an aftershave.

I am Witch Hazel only and when I get a slight jackin' by a blade I reach for the Styptic Pencil....problem solv-ed!
Wp

At the moment i'm using Witch Hazel on its own and generally splash it over my entire face not just where i have shaved and it seems to do the job...

Might have to invest some $$ in an alum block though

I use TH Dickinson's Witch Hazel, 100% of the time. I do not have an alum block. I would like to try an alum block but for now witch hazel works for me.

Wil Dorenbos said:

I use both; alum and Witch hazel, consistently.

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Me too ...

Finish shaving, cold water rinse
Alum Block, leave for a few mins
Cold water rinse
Pat dry, then WH

I use both, alum 4 times a week and w/h twice the reason being in the uk i can only get off the shelf w/h and reading up on it i read that overuse could dry the skin out!

Wow! Thanks for all the advice guys! I think i am going to try and use Both for a little while. I have pretty oily/acne, so i think its worth a shot.
I have one quick question, here's my routine..

Warm Water Rinse
Cold water Rinse
Witch Hazel
Cold water Rinse

My questions is.. I know i would Rub the Alum Block on my face after i Rinse.. Let it sit little while i clean up, then apply whitch Hazel..

Do i Rinse after i Apply the whitch Hazel?

Thanks!

jasonGjordan said:

Wow! Thanks for all the advice guys! I think i am going to try and use Both for a little while. I have pretty oily/acne, so i think its worth a shot.
I have one quick question, here's my routine..

Warm Water Rinse
Cold water Rinse
Witch Hazel
Cold water Rinse

My questions is.. I know i would Rub the Alum Block on my face after i Rinse.. Let it sit little while i clean up, then apply whitch Hazel..

Do i Rinse after i Apply the whitch Hazel?

Thanks!

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Because Alum is a strong astringent, use it following your first cold water rinse. Then wait, rinse the alum, and apply witch hazel.