Alum block

K

kai

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8
Hi,

I'm looking for an alum block and my main preference is to get one off the high street somewhere. Can anyone recommend one?

:)
 
kai said:
I'm looking for an alum block and my main preference is to get one off the high street somewhere. Can anyone recommend one?
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Head down to your local south Asian supermarket and nose around - Alum is alum basically - the stuff that's sold as deodorant is Ammonium Alum (and stings substantially more than the stuff sold as shaving alum). I see it in my (ahem) local Indian place for under a quid - sure it's not as prettily wrapped as Trumpers, but I got nearly 2 dozen for the price of 1.
 
Make sure you buy Potassium Alum as the other variety is too harsh on your face as is mainly used for underarm deoderant.
The ones in the indian shops are great value but just a bit rougher and crudely cut than the leading brands such as bloc osoma, tobs etc.
My suggestion would be to order a Bloc Osoma which will set you back about £5 as it will last you years.
 
Manimal said:
My suggestion would be to order a Bloc Osoma which will set you back about £5 as it will last you years.
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Is there a recommended place to get one? Online or offline would be ok. Thanks
 
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excellent advice from Manimal, get Pot Alum not Ammonium Alum, it's a bit too harsh for your face.

not all Alum blocks are equal either, sure it's the same stuff but the more expensive ones have a smoother surface and the internal crystal structure are more solid/tighter, therefore gentler on the face
 
hando said:
the more expensive ones have a smoother surface and the internal crystal structure are more solid/tighter, therefore gentler on the face
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The smoother surface argument breaks down once it's been used a couple of times and the irregularities are dissolved and smoothed... as for the internal structure, I think the cheaper ones are evaporated quicker, leading to generally larger crystals, density is the same (they're all potassium aluminium sulphate with 24 molecules of water of crystallisation), but the crystal packing is different due to the different mean sizes of the crystals.
 
I have a Hero Shaving Alum block left over from the group buy I did recently, if you want a slightly cheaper option it is yours for £2 including postage, PM me if interested. I would point out that these can be had from most Asian supply shops at around a pound so if there is one near you I would go there first (postage requires a jiffy because they are brittle and that put the package into the large letter category).

I think the Osma blocks are nicer looking but having used both I would say the products perform the same. If you want an Osma block the links above are your best bet.
 
The Shavex block that I use daily for my face is wearing down quickly, The Osma block I use for underarm protection seems better built and is lasting longer. Dunno why.
 
The Hero block mentioned by Audiolab works well but is just a bit rougher to start off than the China made blocks supplied by Paul (the lower of the two links). Once the blocks have seen a few uses they smooth down anyway so there really isn't much between them other than price. I don't see the point in spending £££ on alum blocks, much better to keep the money for smelly stuff :)
 
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