Like the wheel, the hamburger and the Wonderbra there are some inventions that are a true gift to mankind. The Alum block is one of them. Used by man since Egyptian times as a cure for cuts, nicks and razor burn and popular with traditional barbers for hundreds of years, it’s now something of a grooming curio, having fallen out of favour with the advent of aftershave balms. But believe me, you’ll never have a more useful grooming tool. Moistened with cold water and rubbed on the face after shaving alum acts as a natural antiseptic, calming irritation and redness, and also as a styptic, stopping bleeding and helping heal nicks a cuts. It’s simple, cost-effective and, frankly, pure genius.

To buy Geo F Trumper’s Block of Alum click here

Grooming Guru Essentials are the products I genuinely love and have used as part of my own routine.