The Symphony of Shaving Accessories

Hey its’ happened to us all.  We get up early in the morning, still half asleep.  We start shaving and #@!!? we cut ourselves.   Blood running everywhere.  It always seems to happen when we’re in a hurry or have an important meeting that day, doesn’t it?  Early on many of us learned that the quickest way to stop the bleeding is to apply a small piece of toilet paper, right?  Yes, that usually does the trick until such time as you remove it from your face.  With the paper usually comes the scab and it starts bleeding all over again.  Or worse yet you forget it’s there and you show up for that important meeting with a wad of bloodied toilet paper stuck to your face.  Not quite the impression you were looking for.

There are better ways you know.  Probably the most common method to stop the bleeding from a razor nick is the good old fashion styptic stick applied directly to the cut.   A styptic or hemostatic pencil is a short stick of medication, usually anhydrous aluminum sulfate (a type of alum) or titanium dioxide which stops the bleeding by constricting the blood vessels and promoting coagulation at the site of the cut. Readily available at most drug stores.  It will put you back about $1.75 or so.  A shaving accessory that should find a home in every bathroom drug cabinet.

But just suppose you’re on the road and forgot to drop it in your dopp kit.  What then?  Well there are a couple of lesser known but effective ways to approach the problem.

• Try applying an ice cube to the cut.  The ice will  cool the affected area, constricting the blood vessels and stem the bleeding.

• Apply a dab of Vaseline jelly to the cut.  This serves to clog the cut allowing the blood to coagulate quickly.

• Apply witch hazel.  Apply with a Qtip or cotton ball.  Witch hazel is an astringent which,like a styptic stick and ice constricts, the blood vessels.

• · Got a tube of Chapstick around?  Try that.  It works like Vaseline jelly clogging the cut.

• · Check your deodorant.  Many contain aluminum chloride or a derivative like aluminum chlorohydrate.   It helps a blood clot to form quickly.

• Although I’ve not tried this one, I’ve heard that applying a bit of sugar to the cut will stop the bleeding immediately.  Not sure what it is about sugar that makes it so, but worth a try if nothing else is available.

• · What if you don’t have any of the above handy, then what?  Take a dry wash cloth or towel and apply pressure to the cut.  It will stop eventually but your significant other may not be too pleased with to find the towels spotted with specks of blood.

Of course, the best way to solve this problem is to prevent a nick from occurring in the first place.  Slow down and pay attention to what you’re doing whenever  you shave.  If you are nick prone try moisturizing  your face before you shave.  That may help lessen the occurrences.

Pick you poison.  There are a lot of different shaving accessories that will help to avoid nicks and the dreaded toilet paper fix.

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