The present invention provides an image-bearing member protecting agent, which has a block shape and is used in an image forming process where the image-bearing member protecting agent is applied or attached to a surface of an image bearing member while being scraped off with a roll-shaped brush, the image-bearing member protecting agent including: a fatty acid metal salt, wherein the image-bearing member protecting agent includes a plurality of small blocks and has such an orientation that one or more of the small blocks are easily separated from other small blocks, and a plurality of oriented surfaces of the plurality of small blocks are arranged in a laminated state in a substantially same direction.