Alum

Products

Alum is found in deodorants and shaving pencils, among other products, and is available as an open commodity in pharmacies and drugstores.

Structure and properties

Alum in the pharmaceutical sense is aluminum potassium sulfate dodecahydrate (AlK(SO4)2 – 12H2O, Mr = 474.4 g/mol). Alum exists as a colorless, thirst-quenching crystalline mass or as a granular powder that is slightly soluble in water and very soluble in boiling water.

Effects

Alum has astringent (tanning and astringent) properties.

Fields of application

  • As deodorant
  • To stop bleeding (shaving pencil)
  • For the production of plasticine
  • Technical, e.g. for tanning, etching and dyeing.