What’s The Difference Between An Alum Block And A Styptic Pencil?

Every wet shaver is going to get a few nicks and cuts from time to time. It doesn’t matter how careful you are or how experienced you are with a safety razor, it’s going to happen.

Should you try to minimize how often you accidentally cut yourself? Of course! And if you're getting nicked up during every shave, then you probably need to try and determine what the underlying root cause is. Are you using bad form? Is your safety razor too aggressive for your face? Are your blades too sharp? Are your blades too mild?

But back to the original point we were making though -- since minor nicks and cuts while shaving aren’t completely unavoidable, every guy needs to know the best way to treat them. So today we are going to do a little compare and contrast of the 2 most commonly used products for treating nicks and cuts after shaving: the alum block and the styptic pencil.

Do I Really Need Both An
Alum Block And A Styptic Pencil?

Both alum blocks and styptic pencils are effective at treating shaving nicks and cuts. But don’t confuse that to mean they offer the same features and that you can just substitute one for the other. They are very different products.

We actually highly recommend wet shavers keep both products in their shaving kit. Why? Because as you’re about to find out, they each offer a unique set benefits and are most effective when used under different circumstances.

Alum blocks are one of the most underrated shaving products in the industry. They are made from a naturally occurring mineral (potassium alum) and basically look like a translucent or crystallized bar of soap. Alum blocks are both affordable and economical -- they last a very long time.

An alum block should be a part of every man’s post-shave routine. Why? Because they are both an astringent and an antiseptic. They are not a one trick pony but instead provide several benefits.

An astringent is a fancy word for saying it is something that causes your skin to contract. So as a mild astringent, an alum block will treat you nicks and cuts because it causes your pores to tighten up and close any open wounds.

We do want to point out that alum blocks are considered a mild astringent though. So yes, they will absolutely close up the majority of small nicks and cuts, but if it’s a pretty big or deep cut, alum might not be quite strong enough.

But treating nicks and cuts isn’t all alum blocks do. The real power of alum is in its antiseptic properties. We’ve previously written about this in more detail, but here’s a quick list of some of the key benefits from using an alum block:

• Prevents risk of infection by killing off bacteria
• Helps prevent razor burn
• Helps prevent ingrown hairs

When To Use An Alum Block

We highly recommend using an alum block after every shave. Why? Because even if you don’t have any nicks or cuts that need to be treated, it’s still important to kill any bacteria on your face and prevent any razor burn from developing. And alum blocks do that better than anything else out there.

How To Use An Alum Block

Alum blocks are really easy to use. After you’re done shaving, rinse your face with cold water and run the alum block under cold water. Then rub the wet alum block over everywhere you shaved. If either your face or the alum bock get dry, just get them wet again. That’s really the only critical part of the entire process.

And just a heads up, it’s going to sting when you apply alum to areas that are cut or have razor irritation. But just keep rubbing it all over your face until all your cuts stop bleeding and it no longer stings anywhere. Once you’re done, rinse your face off with cold water.

So you just got done shaving, rinsed all your lather off, applied your alum block and you still have a couple cuts bleeding. What do you do? Well now it’s time to grab your styptic pencil and finish the job.

Styptic pencils are quite a bit stronger and have more concentrated power than an alum block. They look like a piece of chalk and are usually made from aluminum sulphate. Aluminum sulphate is a really strong astringent which is what makes them so good at treating nicks and cuts.

There’s really not much else to note when it comes to styptic pencils. They do one job (closing up cuts) incredibly well and that’s pretty much it. Our guide on the 8 best styptic pencils has a lot more detailed information tough if you’d like to learn more.

When To Use Styptic Pencils

​There is no need to use a styptic pencil after every shave. The only time you should be grabbing your styptic pencil is when you have a nick or cut that an alum block just can’t quite treat fully. Hopefully, this isn’t very often.

How To Use A Styptic Pencil

First, run the tip of the styptic pencil under cold water. Next, apply the wet tip to the affected area. Oh -- and be prepared for it to sting pretty good. I usually keep applying the styptic by rolling the tip of the pencil over the cut for 10-15 seconds to ensure it doesn’t open up again.

When you’re done applying it to the cut and the cut is closed, don’t rinse it off immediately afterwards. It will leave a white powdery residue behind, but rinsing it off too quick might just reopen the wound. So let is sit for a few minutes and then you should be good to rinse it off.

Always Best To Be Overprepared

We’d guess that 95% of the time, an alum block will be strong enough to close your minor nicks and cuts from shaving. And like we said earlier, we highly recommend every wet shaver use an alum block after every shave.

But for those few times that an alum block can’t treat the cut, you’re going to want to have a styptic pencil on hand. There’s no better product for treating shavings nicks and cuts.

Not sure which alum block and styptic pencil you should buy? Then checkout the comprehensive buyer’s guides we wrote about our favorite alum blocks and our favorite styptic pencils. It has everything you need to know.