Osma Bloc - Alum Block 75g (Soothes Shaving Irritation)

This is great product. Like many here I had never used one of these until I purchased this from here recently. Actually I'd never heard of it before - and my friends haven't either! I happened to come across it while researching traditional wet shaving. Now I wouldn't be without it. My problem is sensitive skin and often have skin burn following shaving, my skin seems to hold heat for a while following shaving. But I also have a fairly quick bristle growth rate so have to shave regularly. I've tried various pre/during/post shaving products and methods to try and help and this has been one of the successes. The block arrived quickly in the nice box as pictured, the block is tough and cold, like a stone/mineral block, small in size but should last for ages. Following shaving I use it by wetting and wiping over my face and neck, 3 or 4 coatings. keep the block wet as it does dry quickly and is tough to use when it is drying. Leaves a very pleasant cool feeling, skin feels taut and smooth, seems to seal any nicks/cuts and leaves a nice sheen. Some prefer to wash their face once applied but I left it on because it feels really nice and protective on your skin. Seems to stop your skin becoming too oily as well; you feel clean and fresh. Very pleasant product. It's now a requirement in my shaving process, I can't recommend it highly enough. Natural products always win.

An excellent value alum block. Certain well known shops sell their own branded blocks for astronomical prices but what you get is exactly the same. I have in the past paid three times as much for a block from a certain Mayfair based shaving emporium but alum is alum and I can categorically state from a users experience that there is no difference whatsoever. There is no need to pay more. If you have not used alum before as part of your shaving ritual it is something you should definitely consider. Alum is a natural styptic and anti-septic and will seal and sterilise any small nicks in the skin. It will also help you to improve your technique and tell you when your razor is getting blunt. You can expect a little bit of stinging after applying the alum no matter what but if you are scraping the skin and causing lots of abrasion or your blade is blunt then you will really feel it. My technique is to finish shaving, wash face in warm water to remove soap, submerge face in cold water them make alum block wet with cold water and pass thoroughly over all shaved areas. Follow that with a skin tonic and a moisturiser and your face will feel smoother than it ever has. An extra benefit of using alum I find is that I hardly ever get collar burn if I shave in the morning and then wear a tie. It really settles the skin down again quickly after shaving. Tip: alum is a salt so it melts (slowly) in water. Make sure you dry it off thoroughly after use and store it somwhere dry. If you do then this small block will last a very long time - probably more than a year. Tip: Alum is an anti-septic and can be very helpful for acne even if you don't shave. I bought my teenage son one and he uses it to keep his spots under control. Tip: You can even use it as a deodorant because it closes pores and kills bacteria - you might want to get two blocks though if you are using one on your pits!

Good product does the job.

I got this because I have just started shaving with a safety razor and it was suggested as part of the post shave procedure. I have always cut myself with a mach 3 before and used to use a small styptic pencil to stem the bleeding. This alum block does exactly what the styptic pencil did but also acts as an astringent and closes the pores. It is also a natural antiseptic -its penicillin in a rock!!! It gives you a nice tingly feeling all over your face. All you do is have your shave, rinse your face in cold water and leave it wet. Wet the block and rub it over your entire face. It is a hard rectangular crystal like product and does not seem to wear at all. It is going to last for ages by the looks of it. Dry it off with a bit of tissue and put it somewhere safe where it won't get damp or knocked on the floor or in the bath as it will shatter. There are others blocks on AMAZON for cheaper prices and I am sure they will be just as good. I just decided to get this one because I liked the comments made by other users and the box looked quite nice. It was also free delivery. There are some blocks which are cheaper even with postage so you just need to make your choice. What I'm saying is that if you wet shave get an ALUM BLOCK. Make sure it is potassium alum -because it is a natural product. I can't see that there will be a big difference between performance but some will be smoother than others. This one is very flat and smooth - like Elgin Marble.

I purchased this back in May due to switching over to DE razors and a badger shaving brush at the start of the year. Anyone who has done the switch from commercial multi-blade razors with self adjusting heads to DE will tell you that you will get the inevitable odd nick here and there, as DE razors are great but don't naturally follow the contours of the face and are not forgiving to those that don't respect them, it takes a little practice before you master the correct angle for perfect shaving and even then there's always that time where you're in a rush and turn butcher from careful user. It's at this time that this product is a life saver, especially if you're wearing a white collared shirt! When you receive the alum block (mine turned up in perfect condition with no breaks) you are surprised at how small it is, it's like a very small bar of soap, but don't be fooled by it 's appearance, it really does pack a punch and a little goes a very long way. As I say, I've had mine since May and with frequent use it still looks exactly the same as when I received it. In Use: I simply run the block under the cold water tap then gently run it over my face where I have cut the skin. You get a slight sting when it finds the cut but this quickly disappears and the result is no more bleeding. You can get dressed and have no concerns about blood seeping onto your clothes or having to apply all those little bits of tissue paper - how much time did we all waste doing that?! then walking around advertising the fact that we had hacked our face to bits whilst trying to decide upon the best time to re-wet the tissue paper and remove it only to find that the blooming cut starts to bleed again! Thank you Alum, thank you.

Check out "alum" on Wikipedia: this is a cool salt that actually has many uses. It's been used by people since the Egyptian times! Here are a few other little tips and facts that'll hopefully help you with this purchase: - You'll want to finalizing EVERY shave with this (even if you don't nick yourself). It is an antibacterial so helps keep away any rashes or spots. - After shaving you'll also find it's an AMAZING antiperspirant. Rub a little water into your armpits then rub this block around them. The antibacterial property of this block will kill the bacteria that cause odor and make it safe for use on your face the next time. - I think this 75g block in the cardboard box is better than the 100g one in the perspex box. It always needs damp skin to work on, but water will slowly dissolve it. The cardboard takes a little of the remaining water off the block and so extends its life. The only reason to go for the one in the perspex box would be if it needs to travel with you. - Even using multiple times a week, I expect this block to last a year. So it's really good value for money, you don't need to try and hunt down the cheapest offer on it. Buying a single 75g block at a time is fine. - Be a little mindful that this is a salt block. It's not amazingly fragile but a full drop to the floor will probably shatter it. Hope the above helps. And if you're putting together a double edge shaving kit as a present for someone, be sure to add this little guy as it's just too cool to skip over :-)

Maybe its just me but I enjoy shaving, at least I do since I switched to traditional practices, using a double edge safety razor, brush and proper lather. I may even be a little obsessed with getting the perfect shave, that all over babies bottom smooth feeling without the razor burn and irritation of multi-blade cartyridge razors. So after reading advice from others that I really should be using one of these, i decided to go ahead and order one. I was a little surprised when it arrived, it's much smaller than i thought, but that night after using it I was hooked. You use it after your shave, I run it under cold water and then rub the block over my freshly shaved face and it goes to work, helping to seal minor nicks and tone the skin. It leaves your face tingling in a good way, not stinging. It's also an excellent guide to the quality of your shaving technique, the more it stings the harsher your shave so it's a great way to improve your technique. If you haven't got one get one, now! Well worth it.

Thank goodness I found this. I wouldn't be without one now. It will last for ages too. The Osma block (at least for me) fits into the shaving regime to combat razor burn and irritation a job which it performs very well. Doesn't matter how you shave i.e DE, cartridge etc., if you like a close shave with sharp blades or make multiple passes this is a must for 'closing up' the skin and soothing irritation. Your skin can only take being 'harrassed' for so long without it complaining and this (in conjunction with a good alcohol free balm afterwards) will counter a lot of the aggression you impose on your skin during a shave. You can tell after a shave if you've gone too hard as this gives you good feedback with a sort of minor sting which passes very quickly. The feeling is a bit like throwing alcohol based scent on your skin (like we did before we knew better) but much milder. It certainly doesn't hurt. It's actually quite hard to believe that such a little and seemingly inert product can help that much but, at least for me, I wouldn't go for a close shave without one on hand. Just don't let it slip out of your wet fingers of it will probably shatter or at least splinter if it hits the sink. I use it after a cold flanel on the face after the last shaving pass. Make sure your face is still wet and just run it round the shave area. If you need to, just run it under some water so that it runs over your face 'slick'. Not sure if I'm doing this right but it works for me. One thing it WONT do is close up a bad cut or , as in my case, where I've run over a mole too aggressively (I try not to but a new Feather blade takes no prisoners). You'll need a stiptic pencil for those ones. The other thing I've found is that Proraso pre/post shave cream seems not to like being applied after you run the Osma block over your face. It seems to sort of curdle or reject the Prorazo. Strange but true. As a result I've switched to using Proraso cream as a pre-shave only (in conjuntion with Proraso shaving cream) and now use Nivea balm (on Amazon at a very good price) after the Osma Block just to wrap things up. No problems here. I can honestly say that I've not had anything approaching razor burn since using this product. It's as important a part of my shaving kit as any other.

So this is sold as an aftershave and for razor nicks, but I saw people online saying it works great as a deodorant so I figured why not try it. I've always had problems with body odor. Didn't matter what soap or deodorant I used, I always ended up stinky. Started using this alum block as deodorant 3 days ago and honestly I can't believe it. Even 24 hours later, no smell at all. Nothing I've ever used has done that. It's cheap, the block will probably last me forever, and it actually works. I seriously don't get why more people don't know about this. Try it you will not regret it.

I love using it every morning after my shave.

Sono passato da poco più di un mese alla rasatura con un rasoio di sicurezza a doppio filo (chi volesse delucidazioni in merito può leggere la mia recensione sul rasoio Edwin Jagger DE89bl) e devo dire che nel "dopo rasatura" questa pietra in allume di potassio a forma di saponetta fa il suo. L'allume di potassio (o di rocca), come il nome ci dice, è un sale misto di alluminio e potassio ed è impiegato in ambito casalingo specialmente in qualità di deodorante antitraspirante. Le sue proprietà antibatteriche, astringenti ed emostatiche lo rendono perfetto per disinfettare e cauterizzare la pelle visto dopo subito una rasatura. La pietra in vendita è stata spedita dal Regno Unito e recapitata in 4 giorni. È piuttosto piccola (potete fare il raffronto nelle foto con la carta di credito affianco) e arriva inscatolata nella bustina di plastica (richiudibile) della prima foto. Il costo è un pochino alto, ma è in allume di potassio al 100% e, onestamente, in giro o non si trova o costa ancora di più. Credo che, utilizzandola circa 3-4 volte a settimana, la sua durata sia di circa un anno. Lascio a chi fosse interessato un piccolo vademecum sul suo utilizzo, basato sulla mia personale esperienza: 1. Dopo la rasatura, inumidire il viso con acqua fredda 2. Passare la pietra di allume anch'essa sotto l'acqua fredda 3. Passare la stessa lentamente (premendo delicatamente) su tutti i punti in cui si è effettuata la rasatura 4. Lasciare agire per un minuto circa ed effettuare un leggero risciacquo del viso. Similmente alle comuni pennette emostatiche (meno efficaci e piacevoli da usare di questa pietra, a mio avviso), l'unica piccola controindicazione è che pizzicherà un pochino sulla pelle (nei punti in cui la rasatura è stata più aggressiva), ma terminato il punto 4. ogni singolo tagliettino sarà chiuso e il viso sarà liscio come seta. Dopo, volendo, si può applicare un dopobarba (nel mio caso PRORASO per pelli sensibili) sempre sulla pelle umida per poi lasciar asciugare il viso naturalmente, arieggiandolo o, se proprio si va di fretta, tamponando con un panno pulito (mai sfregare, la pelle è già piuttosto irritata dopo la rasatura, non c'è bisogno di peggiorare la situazione). Bisogna porre particolare attenzione nel maneggiarla con cura poiché, se cade, si rompe in mille pezzi. Perciò, considerata la sua fragilità, consiglio di riporla in un posto sicuro dopo averla asciugata tamponandola con della carta igienica.

I use this block as both an underarm de-odorizer and an aftershave treatment on my face. Yup. I use the same block for both. The reason it works on your pits is because it creates a hostile environment for odor causing bacteria. That's just by getting its residue on your skin. Imagine how much the bacteria would hate to live on a solid block of the stuff. Thus, it takes on no odor and does not cause any bacterial razor bumps or anything. As an aftershave treatment, it stops bleeding from tiny cuts and weepers that are not leaking much, and it disinfects the whole surface that it is applied to. For a substantial cut, it won't stop the bleeding and you will need a styptic pencil, so if you have a tendency to hack your face up, this won't be your best solution. However, you will find this soothing as a daily application, so it should definitely be a part of your tool kit. This is good for what it's good for, and the styptic pencil handles the rest. Keep both on hand. As a deodorant, it surprises me how effective this is. I use it daily, and it prevents odor all day if I don't sweat, or a partial day if I do. This is not an anti-perspirant, so if you decide to go out and chop some wood, don't be surprised if you need to reapply some alum. Or you can do what I do, which is keep a stick of deodorant around for emergencies. As it is though, I would say this works better than the organic deodorants I have had to use for years because of skin allergies to anti-perspirants. This is a solid chunk of alum, so it isn't wearing down much. I think this thing could probably last a couple years with daily use. I want to point out that this does not leave a visible residue on your face. You do not need to rinse or wipe it off. I apply it while my face is still wet after I rinse off my shaving cream remnants, and I let it dry. Then I put on an aftershave splash and lotion and head out the door.

Llegó rápido y en buen estado. La piedra no es muy grande, pero da para muchos usos. Viene en una caja como de cartón ligero. Nunca había usado una piedra de alumbre pero la verdad es que funciona muy bien. Ayuda mucho contra la irritación y si te haces algún corte para el sangrado enseguida. Estoy contento con la compra, lo recomiendo.