How to Stop a Shaving Nick from Bleeding
It happens to the best of us: You’re in a rush in the morning, and — Ouch! — you catch that little ridge below the knee or, worse, nick that little bump just below your nostril.
Now you’re running late, and you’re trying to stop that seemingly endless trickle of blood. What can you do?
Here a 5 tips to stop a nick from bleeding:
1. Grab an ice cube. The cold causes the tiny blood vessels to constrict, slowing the blood and allowing a clot to form.
2. Use your Chapstick or apply a dab of Vaseline jelly: the waxy ointment help seals the tiny nick and provides a surface for a blood clot to form.
3. Soak a Q-tip in witch hazel and apply gently to the cut. Witch hazel is an astringent, which like the ice cube, constricts blood vessels, slowing the bleeding enough for a clot to form. Warning: this will sting a little.
4. Use your deodorant. This is my favorite tip. Most deodorants have aluminum chloride or a derivative of aluminum chloride like aluminium chlorohydrate. It acts as a hemostatic agent, allowing a blood clot to form quickly — in fact, aluminum chloride is what I use in clinic countless times each day to stop bleeding from skin biopsies. Apply a little bit to your fingertip or spray onto a Q-tip to apply. A styptic stick, if you happen to have one, works the same way.
5. Just hold pressure. As we say in medicine: “All bleeding stops eventually.”
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Photo: Lin Zhizhao Flickr.com
I left you a comment on your too small to be a melanoma? post. I know I should go for an eval.
Ultra Shave not only help wounds to heal but, when you shave with this cream it protects the skin against nicks and cuts. It also moisturises your skin all day and improves your skin condition.
Isn’t this what a styptic pencil is for?
is it okay to use a little super glue?
Not “Use your deoderant”. You mean “Use your “ANTI-PERSPIRANT”.
In my understanding, the use of aluminum or aluminum derivative in these products is known to “clog the pores” (I don’t know if this is a dumbed-down phrase meaning the same as your “hemostatic agent” or a separate feature of aluminum).
Either way, the terms “deodorant” and “anti-perspirant” have come to be used by manufacturers to indicate the absence or presence of aluminum. Those of us paranoid about the aluminum/alzheimer’s link know this from closely checking the ingredients on these things.
Thanks for the tips. I’m constantly cutting myself while shaving. I’m thinking about getting laser hair removal when I graduate just so I won’t have to shave anymore. Is there a particular technique of permanent hair removal that you prefer?
SeaSpray-
Thanks. I will check it out and reply to you today.
Tony-
I have not tried Ultra Shave yet. I’ll look for it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Anon-
Yup.
Michelle-
LOL. Hopefully you don’t cut yourself badly enough to actually need superglue.
Smackson-
Yes. Technically it is the anti-antiperspirant part that you are using, not the deodorant.
Half-MD-
It depends on the color of your hair and the color of your skin, but laser hair removal such as by IPL (technically not a laser) is usually the best way to go.
Eye drops. It’s what they do. Suppress blood vessels.
Blake-
Haven’t tried it, but makes sense. Thanks.
Get an ELECTRIC RAZOR !
You mentioned the witch hazel will sting, but the styptic stick (and I assume the antiperspirant) does too… a lot!!! But, it’s worth it sometimes.
I typically use pressure with a bit of tissue moistened with USP Hydrogen Peroxide; It seems to work pretty well and the H2O2 solution keeps the tissue from sticking.
Is there any reason why I should not do this?
Thos-
I have not used hydrogen peroxide to stop a cut from bleeding. It is good at dissolving clots on wounds that have crusting, which can improve the scar once it has healed completely.
Thanks for the tip.
Ken-
Yup. Thats always a good option.
Chemgeek-
Stiptic sticks do sting as well, you’re right.
I tried both your deodorant suggestion and the ice cube and neither worked. I am quite disappointed.
Though I smoke, so that may be the reason.