How To Avoid & Treat Wet Shaving Cuts & Nicks
How To Avoid & Treat Wet Shaving Cuts & Nicks
No matter how experienced a wet shaver you are, now and again you will cut yourself when shaving and be reaching for a piece of toilet paper to stem the flow of blood. Scars from shaving cuts can be long lasting and there is always the risk of the cut getting infected.
As ever prevention is better than cure so here’s some tips for bloodless wet shaving.
*Shave after showering, the warm water and steam will help soften the beard bristles.
*Wash the face in warm (not hot) water then apply a Pre Shave Soap or a Pre Shave Oil to the bristles both will further soften the bristles and if you leave a residue of the soap or oil on the skin it will add additional lubrication to your shaving lather.
*Use a shaving brush, a shaving brush will help lift the bristles off the face, soften the bristles and frankly nothing whips up a shaving lather better than a shaving brush.
*Don’t skimp on the lather, your shaving lather should be rich and creamy and free from bubbles and runs. Look to achieve a consistency similar to yoghurt, this is best done by lathering up in a Shaving Lathering Bowl.
*Only ever shave with a sharp blade, the sharper the better in fact as less passes are needed to get a close shave and less passes leads to less irritation and less chances of cutting yourself. A sharp blade will effortlessly cut the bristles and at the same time glide over your skin thanks to the rich layer of shaving lather.
*Take your time shaving; I know from experience that when I hurry I tend to nick my skin.
*Make life easy for yourself and your skin, shave in the direction your bristles grow in twice before shaving against the grain for a really close shave.
How To Treat A Shaving Cut
For best results, we recommend you instantly apply an astringent. Astringents quickly constrict the tissues in your skin and coagulate and dry the blood in the cut. Common astringents used to treat shaving cuts include Styptic Pencil, Alum Block and gels such as Proraso Shave Cut Healing Gel and Aloeclear.
Try also applying cold water or rub an ice cube on the cut. This will cause the blood vessels to constrict which will help slow down the bleeding eventually leading the blood to clot and in time a form a protective scab.
An Alum Block and Aloeclear are my favourites as they also benefit from antibacterial properties that kill any bacteria in the cut.
Some deep cuts that cause a lot of bleeding will benefit from immediate pressure applied with a clean towel to the cut before applying an astringent.
Other remedies include Vaseline and Lip Balm both of which will help seal the cut allowing the blood to clot and stop flowing.
Personally I favour Aloeclear which works quickly to stop bleeding from small nicks; it’s also highly effective in treating ingrown hairs and post shave irritation. Thanks to its rollerball application it’s so easy to apply.