Yesterday I was shaving by Braille, that is to say I was in a rush, the mirror was fogged and I was not wearing my glasses. I felt I have done the shaving thing for several decades now and I had enough muscle memory to remember where to shave and what to avoid.
Apparently my hand has amnesia because I carved my lower lip.
As expected, I bled and I had not only stop it but make sure it would not reopen and stain my shirt later on or suffer more bleeding at the hands of the Missus for making a mess.
If you shave, you will nick yourself from time to time. Even those with beards need to do some shaping and elimination of unwanted hair with the obvious consequence of bleeding when not paying attention.
Something my father had in his shaving kit was a Styptic Pencil which is but a stick of alum and guess what? It is an amazingly fast blood stopper for small wounds like that. The pencil dates to the 1930s and it is one of those things that simply works better than any newfangled overpriced balm or organic ointment in the market. Plus it works fast! which is always handing when getting ready to go out.
To use, simply wet a little under the faucet, apply to wound till it stops bleeding and then wash and wipe the pencil before putting it away. And it it has to be that simple because you just messed up shaving and cannot be trusted with more complex remedies, right?
And I learned my lesson: No more Braille shaving.
Speaking from experience, that's a rough spot to get right, mirror or no. A new sharp razor helps.
Being a styptic pen manufacturer must not be very lucrative. My original one has lasted for 30 years. I don't need it often but when you need it, you need it.