This is the place to ask beginner and simple questions. Some examples include:
- Soap, scent, or gear recommendations
- Favorite scents, bases, etc
- Where to buy certain items
- Identification of a razor you just bought
- Troubleshooting shaving issues such as cuts, poor lather, and technique
Please note these are examples and any questions for the sub should be posted here.
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I agree with you. Except I do you one better. I submit that if you use an alcohol aftershave, the alum is redundant and doesn’t offer any extra benefit, other than stinging skin and some extra dryness.
But the four you mentioned… that is definitely not standard. Likely folks who just like to buy stuff, or who watch too many videos of shave “influencers” who just want to sell stuff.
I ditched the Alum a long time ago. Witch Hazel or splash or balm … can all stand on their own, if you want them to.
Sir I was wondering if I could share the Word of Osma with you.
Sure. What perks do you get from your Alum use?
EDIT - link to post downstream with links and such
Alum does a thing called Vasoconstriction (google or ask your doctor what it is) that a splash or balm doesn’t. It repairs/closes the small cuts (even invisible ones) we get from shaving. Alcohol or which hazel aren’t as good a vasoconstrictor as alum is.
Do you need it? Depends. It is all about how much you want to treat your face - even aftershave isn’t mandatory. You can skip the tylenol if you have a little fever - does it mean tylenol doesn’t do anything? No.
But you guys really should look up this a bit before saying alum doesn’t do anything, we are at the point of spreading misinformation here.
I’d be interested in seeing some kind of scientific paper on this. Do you have a link?
the links I can give you are the ones can be found on google (alum + vasoconstriction). Better to talk to some folks on the sub like u/rdthedo and such who are actual doctors, and my original source.
I googled and I couldn’t find anything that relevant. I just don’t think it’s fair to say people are spreading misinformation when what you said isn’t backed by scientific data either. It’s not good enough for me to hear, “Oh, a doctor told me this so it must be true”. I’ve never heard of alum blocks being used in a medical setting and Google isn’t turning up any results either. To me this is the same as the videos going around at the beginning of COVID where a doctor put out YouTube videos telling people how to disinfect all their groceries and he was called out by a actual food microbiologist for spreading misinformation.
I’m in the camp of alum doesn’t do much for me (and yes, I have Osma), but I’m happy to be proven otherwise. So far everything I’ve seen has been anecdotal. It might have some effect at stopping minor bleeding, but in my experience it doesn’t work as well as styptic. To me, alum is just one of those things that you try and you use if you like the way it feels, don’t use it if you don’t like it or if it irritates your skin. Definitely don’t use it just because someone tells you it’s great.
The reason I didn’t give you the links is because I don’t want to be your first hand source of medical information. I can’t answer your follow up questions, I can’t clarify your confusions with the level of confidence I would like to, because I am not a doctor, not someone educated (beyond google) in topics involved here.
But my source of ‘alum preference’ is far from ‘a doctor told me so’. More like a doctor explained my experience - why after a shave (and aftershave) if I go out, for a brisk walk, or run, or hike - the sweat affects me differently based on my alum usage or lack of. If I don’t use alum, the sweat stings. Why alcohol doesn’t have similar effect. what is alum doing here, that alcohol isn’t doing. That question was answered by a doctor who happens to be a wetshaver himself. But he pointed me to enough documents that convinced the software/electrical engineer in me enough. But I still don’t want to be someone else’s first source of medical use of alum. That being said, here are some sources that mention the efficacy of alum as a vasoconstrictor or hemostatic agents.
https://www.scielo.br/j/ibju/a/33TK8r9RwFJLNv5GKpBGfHD/?lang=en
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4163818/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265692280_A_review_on_common_chemical_hemostatic_agents_in_restorative_dentistry
https://magazine.zhermack.com/en/studio-en/astringent-haemostatic-vasoconstrictor-agents-impression-taking/
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Pain.
How does it compare to slapping oneself in the face?
Some people like being slapped in the face, they’re into that sort of thing. If you were one of those people, then it is much like being slapped in the face.
I recently stopped using alum and I think my skin is better for it. I do witch hazel and aloe (currently using Stirling’s mentholed version), then aftershave (either splash or balm), followed by Neutrogena hydro boost gel cream extra dry. The Neutrogena is phenomenal after a shave.
I know it’s a little redundant to use the witch hazel then the aftershave since most have those ingredients, but I like using it.
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I agree with you there, it’s probably not necessary. I do alum followed by a balm and then finished off with an alcohol based splash. If someone didn’t want to use alcohol, they could probably just substitute Thayer’s witch hazel there.
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For me, it’s because I find that balm feels too thick on my skin. My approach is shave, alum, shower, balm, dry off and stuff, splash.