Ok fellas, fess up. You know you’ve done it. Heck, I am a professional barber and even I’ve done it. I’m talking about cutting or nicking yourself while shaving… and using toilet paper to stop the bleeding.
We all know how it happens, we’re in a rush for work, to hang out, or just not taking the time to prepare our skin properly. For whatever the reason may be the result is the same: we will all fall victim. For those of us who already have, what do we look for first to stop the bleeding? The handy dandy, multipurpose “toilet paper.”
But, what happened when we all realized that toilet paper stops the bleeding, only for the bleeding to start again once it’s removed? Or worse, we forget to take it off and we arrive at our destination only to be told that we have toilet paper on our face…(you know who you are!).
So here’s the trick.
Forget the toilet paper and go for something that will stop the bleeding on contact. It’s called styptic liquid (also comes in solid or powder form). Styptics, are used to stop the flow of blood by causing the blood vessels to contract at the site of the wounds. Before safety razors were invented, it was an essential part of a shaving kit, and was used to seal cuts caused by improper shaving. I always have a bottle close by, just in case a client decides to talk at the wrong time or even worse sneeze…just kidding!
Here are a few recommendations:
- My Nik is Sealed Styptic Pen
- Clubman Pinaud Styptic Pencil
- Nick Relief Styptic Powder
- Kds Lab Radical Touch – Liquid
Safe shaving!
The key to the toilet paper method (if one cannot bring themselves to invest in some styptic) is to wet the TP before putting it on the cut. In this way it doesn’t fully dry out and instead seems to act as an immediate scab on the cut. This in turn keeps all the blood inside the confines of the cut and forms the real scab there-in, thus avoiding the normal scabby bump/lump. Choice.
There you have it, thanks for the tip!
If the nick is large, stubborn, or deep, you need to apply direct pressure to stop the initial bloodletting.
2 Other Options:
Option 1
Once the bleeding is manageable, apply a small amount of witch hazel to dab of cotton or Que Tip. Walgreens CVS, Safeway, or Drugstore.com sells this. AND it’s cheap.
Option 2
Almost all styptic products contain Aluminum Sulfate which is a vasoconstrictor i.e. it restricts the flow of blood in the area where it is applied.
Stay away from any products that contain alcohol. They’ll hurt like Hal, and will actually inflame the wound causing additional heal time.
In addition to the items Craig has listed I recommend another from L’Occitane
Cheers!
Another excellent product is Nick Stick from Pacific Shaving Company. A low-tech alternative for small nicks is lip balm!