Shaving Accidents / Injuries Thread

[thekinge]

Couple of days ago, I was getting started with my shaving and was loading up the blade in my "newly" acquired / cleaned up Gillette #77 razor. When I was screwing in the handle to the head, due to my hand being wet and carelessness the razor and head slipped off my hand and started falling down In order to prevent the razor from getting damaged and as a reflex action, I tried to catch the razor with my right hand and the blade cut open a nice 1/2 inch long and very deep gash in my right thumb! Needless to say I oozed out loads of blood and it took quite while for the bleeding to stop. However, like a true DE shaver, I patched up my hand with cotton and band-aid and finished up my shave with just 1 WTG pass.

This is the worst shaving incident in my life so far and as a B&B'er it got me thinking about starting a thread for journaling the worst shaving incidents that B&B'ers have had! The purpose of the thread would be to warn / give a heads-up to other fellow B&B'ers new & old alike on what could happen if they get careless and how easily it could be prevented.

I propose a simple structure for the post:

Type of shaving: DE, SE or Straight
What happened:
How / why it happened:
How could it have been prevented:

Guidelines:

• Let's not post the nicks, cuts & weepers all of us get once in a while during the course of our DE shaving lives. However, if the nick or cut is big enough to slice a part of your face and/or leave you dripping with blood for a while, then please do post them here
• The injury does not need to be in your face; could be any part of your body as long as it happened during your (face) shave!
• If the accident caused a damage big enough to your shaving gear or to your bathroom, that qualifies too!
• If it is a bodily injury, please apply your judgment and decide if it would be too gory to post a picture of your injury or not
• Any type of shaver can post here - DE, SE, straight shavers, all are welcome to post!

Now, post away your shaving accidents / injuries!

PS: I'm proposing this thread after searching through B&B and turning up with no such threads. If there is an already existing thread, mods feel free to close this one.

 

[grimas42]

My worst accident was with a straight (imagine that)
I was shaving over the sink and moved my arm out of the way to look at my face in the mirror for a moment. My wife has one of those plug in scented wax melter things plugged into the outlet right next to the mirror and I bumped it with my elbow. Next thing I know, there is hot wax on my arm and I flinched as most people would. Well... I don't know about anyone else, but flinching with a straight next to my face was just about the worst thing I could have done. I some how avoided needing stitches and just barely missed my eye, but now have a nice scar on my cheek bone.

I guess the lesson learned from this is to be aware of your surroundings and not to flinch.

 

[thekinge]

My worst accident was with a straight (imagine that)
I was shaving over the sink and moved my arm out of the way to look at my face in the mirror for a moment. My wife has one of those plug in scented wax melter things plugged into the outlet right next to the mirror and I bumped it with my elbow. Next thing I know, there is hot wax on my arm and I flinched as most people would. Well... I don't know about anyone else, but flinching with a straight next to my face was just about the worst thing I could have done. I some how avoided needing stitches and just barely missed my eye, but now have a nice scar on my cheek bone.

I guess the lesson learned from this is to be aware of your surroundings and not to flinch.

Thanks for posting grimas42, but ouch! Its unfortunate that you ended up having a permanent scar. Well said on the lesson learnt. It is especially true for one to be aware of the surroundings and to make a good amount of space in the bathroom that serves as your den!

 

[Jussi]

With a straight razor. Was shaving my face (some years ago), there was a blackout. I tried to put the blade down (on my washing machine), but somehow missed it in the dark.

Result: straight on my toe. Ended up getting 8 stitches on my toe.

Avoidance: Always make sure that when you put a straight on any surface, it is: 1: Closed and 2: In the middle of a larger area, so no one can knock it down.


Hmm. I wonder if I'm one of the rare folks who discovered straight shaving before DE-shaving - and is happy with DE because it's less hassle...


Grimas: Ouch. Damn, that defines the "ouch". Wax burn + permanent damage on face. Ouch.

 

[California Cajun]

Type of shaving: Straight
What happened: cut my thumb down to the tendon
How / why it happened: I was concentrating so hard on technique that I injured myself while switching hands
How could it have been prevented: always be on my toes.

I was about two months into straight shaving and struggling mightily. Thankfully I've improved...

When you really think about it, we all do things that are potentially dangerous in our daily lives. We handle things all the time that could injure you. It's just part of living.

 

[thekinge]

With a straight razor. Was shaving my face (some years ago), there was a blackout. I tried to put the blade down (on my washing machine), but somehow missed it in the dark.

Result: straight on my toe. Ended up getting 8 stitches on my toe.

Avoidance: Always make sure that when you put a straight on any surface, it is: 1: Closed and 2: In the middle of a larger area, so no one can knock it down.


Hmm. I wonder if I'm one of the rare folks who discovered straight shaving before DE-shaving - and is happy with DE because it's less hassle...


Grimas: Ouch. Damn, that defines the "ouch". Wax burn + permanent damage on face. Ouch.

Jussi, I can't imagine the horrible few seconds you would have gone through when the razor slipped and before it hit your toe! Thanks for your post and tips on avoiding such incidents!

 

[Jussi]

Jussi, I can't imagine the horrible few seconds you would have gone through when the razor slipped and before it hit your toe! Thanks for your post and tips on avoiding such incidents!

I didn't actually feel it at all. It just whacked my toe, didn't hurt at all and I knew that I had been injured rather badly. So, I took toilet paper, advanced to kitchen and wrapped saran wrap and toilet paper around my toe. Then, I called to paramedics, discovered that my injury didn't count as a serious one and made my way - 3,5 miles - to the ER. (Yea, taxi).

Took 6 hours, overall, to come back home. Bummers.

Razors are sharp. Repeat: Razors are sharp.

I've been training and teaching martial arts (the more serious kind) for more than half of my life. I didn't panic, I knew that I wouldn't die on the injury (I have been stabbed in the heat of an attempted robbery - it gives a nice perspective) and that I actually wasn't hurt all that bad. Still, I bled like a stabbed pig and did feel a bit lightheaded when I got myself to sewing.

Whenever you use a straigh razor, think about it. It's a great tool, but in case something unwanted happens, be prepared to it - take the thing away from you and to a surface it cannot hurt you. If a wasp stings your shaving hand, bear with it.

It's a tool you can cut your finger off and feel it 10 seconds later.


And yes, it's still the manliest way to shave.

 

[tblech]

All of the shaveing accidents I have had involve my wife. I have one high on my cheek I got with a straight razor when she burst in and startled me. I have one low on the same cheek when she did the same thing though this time it was with a DE, both very nice deep slices...

 

[Viseguy]

I posted about my last mishap back in September, in the thread called 'So what is with the "Do Not Wipe Blade" printing?` Here it is:

Does this answer the OP's question?

I stupidly decided to wipe my injector with a blade loaded in it. This is what my left thumb looks like two days later. I came "this close" to needing stitches!

Four days later, almost healed (looks worse in the picture than it actually is):

The body's power of self-regeneration is pretty amazing, isn't it? Not that I'd want to test it again any time soon...

Let's all pay close attention to what we're doing, ladies and gents. Carry on.

 

[Gordy2]

I was reconditioning a full wedge and in the process of hand sanding the blade, I lost my concentration. Next thing I knew I felt this deep metallic bite going right into my thumb. It was very
deep and gushing blood quite badly. My wife told me to go to the ER and get stitched up but being stubborn I rigged up two butterfly stitches and kept pressure on it. I had to replace the butterfly
stitches about 4 times over 24 hours but it worked. I wear thick hard leather gloves now when working on str8s.

 

[PFP_Dad]

Type of shaving: Straight
What happened: I was going across the grain and didn't keep the skin tight. The razor bit in a little and I didn't stop right away. It left me with about an inch long scar.
How / why it happened: Didn't stretch the skin and pushed too hard.
How could it have been prevented: Always keep the skin taught and stop immediately if the razor grabs.

 

[BilliardKing]

Type of shaving: Straight
What happened: Small (shallow, around 1/4 inch long) cut near the Johnson.
How / why it happened: Was "manscaping" and decided to try to do it faster using my straight razor.
How could it have been prevented: Having a brain.

 

[Jussi]

Do it faster with sr. Down there?

***?

 

[PFP_Dad]

How could it have been prevented: Having a brain.

Too funny. I bet that's a one time mistake.

 

[tfinch]

Type of shaving: DE
What happened: broken toe
How it happened: Dropped my razor on my toe, handle first.
How it could have been prevented: Be less clumsy, more deliberate.

Did you guys know that medically, there is nothing that can be done for a broken toe? I do now! I feel pretty wimpy even posting this after reading Jussi's account of dropping an open straight on the toe, but in the end I decided my busted toe might be worth a laugh by comparison.

 

[Mad Man]

Type of shaving: DE with what I *think* was a fat-handled tech
Age: about 9 (1979 I recall)
Situation: after watching pop shave I decided to "have a go" (it's a very Aussie thing...), grabbed the brush, lathered up (it was a pretty thin lather) and promptly took a chunk out of my top lip on the first stroke leaving to this day a very faint scar. I do recall the blades were Wilkinsons. I bled quite badly and I DO remember pop holding a styptic to it for yonks once he came running in after hearing my cries.

I didn't pick up a DE again until last year.

 

[A28]

Type of shaving: Straight
What happened: Small (shallow, around 1/4 inch long) cut near the Johnson.
How / why it happened: Was "manscaping" and decided to try to do it faster using my straight razor.
How could it have been prevented: Having a brain.

a straight in manscaping?????

 

[A28]

Type of shaving:Straight
What happened: Took a good piece out of my chin
How / why it happened: I have a chin thats very rounded think Hercules chin. Anyway to this day its a my problem area when I shave. When i came to my chin area with the straight i had the blade at a 90 degree angle.... i pushed down and made a scoop motion and thats when a good piece of chin came off... my styptic pencil was my buddy for the next 10 minutes should have taken picture maybe no i still have a nice divet scar but hey chicks dig em. This happened after 3 to 4 months of using a straight it happened because i was trying to rush through the shave and wasnt thinking about the straight.
How could it have been prevented: i should have taken my time and have ever since and guees what not another single accident

 

[deafficianado]

Type of shaving: DE
What happened: Chunk of skin off my thumb (twice!)
How/why it happened: Once when adjusting the height on my Merkur futur and holding the head
while shaving with wet hands. Second time while trying to replace a blade on my EJ89 head that was 'stuck' on a Sabi heavyweight handle.
How could it have been prevented: Use a towel to wrap/hold the head!!!

 

[michiganlover]

So reading through this thread, I have come to one conclusion: I am never ever ever touching a straight again!!


-Type of shaving: Straight. Using a Feather Artist Club with a Super Pro Blade (widest, with the most exposure)

-What happened: gave myself a two inch long gash (and permanent scar) to my upper check in an area that isn't even shaved!!

-How / why it happened: was starting a downstroke, and apparently using way too much pressure (being a straight razor newbie), basically I filleted my check open to a depth of about a 1/4 inch. It bled for a couple of hours!! I had a flap of skin pretty much hanging off of my face.

-How could it have been prevented: Always heed the rule about no pressure!! Especially when using uber sharp Feather blades!!