Witch Hazel makes my healed cuts bleed again!

[Jobol]

Hey guys,

So I decided to use witch hazel after my shave to get a smoothing effect and to properly "finish" the shave.

But what I discovered so far, is that when I have cuts or weepers that stop bleeding with the pen or cold water, the instance I apply witch hazel to my face, the bleeding comes back with a vengeance...and worst, the blood now underneath the witch hazel dies eventually and leaves brown blood spots on my face.

How do you guys deal with that?

 

[shamus]

After shaving, even if I don't have any nicks, I rinse with cold water and apply a very cold, wet wash cloth to my face for a few seconds. Then I hit my skin with the combo of WH and AS mix. Wait a few minutes and if there are any weepers of nicks I just hit those with a wet septic pencil and let them dry. I will usually reapply some WH/AS a few minutes later. Done. No more weepers or nicks.

Cheers.

 

[dod.e.ratherwell]

After shaving, even if I don't have any nicks, I rinse with cold water and apply a very cold, wet wash cloth to my face for a few seconds. Then I hit my skin with the combo of WH and AS mix. Wait a few minutes and if there are any weepers of nicks I just hit those with a wet septic pencil and let them dry. I will usually reapply some WH/AS a few minutes later. Done. No more weepers or nicks.

Cheers.

+1 to a T

 

[mwhals]

after shaving, even if i don't have any nicks, i rinse with cold water and apply a very cold, wet wash cloth to my face for a few seconds. Then i hit my skin with the combo of wh and as mix. Wait a few minutes and if there are any weepers of nicks i just hit those with a wet septic pencil and let them dry. I will usually reapply some wh/as a few minutes later. Done. No more weepers or nicks.

Cheers.

+2

 

[Jobol]

After shaving, even if I don't have any nicks, I rinse with cold water and apply a very cold, wet wash cloth to my face for a few seconds. Then I hit my skin with the combo of WH and AS mix. Wait a few minutes and if there are any weepers of nicks I just hit those with a wet septic pencil and let them dry. I will usually reapply some WH/AS a few minutes later. Done. No more weepers or nicks.

Cheers.

Gotcha. So should I apply the septic pencil during _and_ after the shave?

The reason I apply during is that my cuts sometimes bleed so bad, that I have to tend to it immediately.

 

[Defcon5]

You guys have to mean styptic pencil, right? Septic sounds like rubbing sewer sludge on your face.

 

[dcrosso]

After I shave I rinse off the soap and apply the alum block with very cold water. I leave it on until I finish cleaning up the shaving area. When the face is dry, and any bleeders have stopped. (If they have not stopped: repeat). I then rinse with cold water and dry my face. I then apply Witch Hazel or aftershave. I usually put on some Vaseline Face and Body Lotion as the last thing.

 

[Jobol]

You guys have to mean styptic pencil, right? Septic sounds like rubbing sewer sludge on your face.

loool...yeah, styptic pencil

 

[Go West Young Man]

The reason I apply during is that my cuts sometimes bleed so bad, that I have to tend to it immediately.

This does not sound normal.

 

[luvmysuper]

This does not sound normal.

I agree big time.

You should see a doctor to see if you might have some coagulation issues.

I don't ever use styptic during a shave because it is the polar opposite of slippery shave soap and will put the brakes on a sliding razor.

Generally tiny weepers stop before the shave is over.

On a rare occassion when i might get a nick, the styptic stops the bleeding on the spot. I mean IMMEDIATELY.

If your having issues with stopping blood flow from small cuts, a visit to your primary care physician is in order.

 

[DSB]

I agree big time.

You should see a doctor to see if you might have some coagulation issues.

I don't ever use styptic during a shave because it is the polar opposite of slippery shave soap and will put the brakes on a sliding razor.

Generally tiny weepers stop before the shave is over.

On a rare occassion when i might get a nick, the styptic stops the bleeding on the spot. I mean IMMEDIATELY.

If your having issues with stopping blood flow from small cuts, a visit to your primary care physician is in order.

I was thinking the exact same thing. Please discuss this with your doctor. Unless you are on blood thinners, bleeding like this could be a symptom of something your doctor needs to check out.

 

[Eudjinn]

Gotcha. So should I apply the septic pencil during _and_ after the shave?

The reason I apply during is that my cuts sometimes bleed so bad, that I have to tend to it immediately.

This sounds like an exaggeration of normal bleeding in an area that is very vascular (the head).

The reason your WH application is causing your weepers to bleed again has nothing to do with the WH and everything to do with the mechanical motion of your hands going over and rubbing the area where the weepers are and destroying the temporary platelet plug that is the only thing keeping them from re-bleeding.

If you wait a bit longer before applying WH or take careful notice of where your weepers were and don't physically contact that area when you rub the WH on your face, you will notice improvement.

1 out of 250 people have a platelet aggregation disease (vWF disease). If you have issues with small cuts taking prolonged periods to close up by themselves, you should consider visiting your primary care doctor. Hope this helps.

 

[shmeegs]

I don't cut myself that often but a styptic pencil does that job.

BTW, do see a doctor about that. It could be anything from medication to Leukemia. I am not trying to scare you, but it can be that serious. Please check it out.

 

[Jobol]

Thanks for your help guys. My scars do weepers do coagulate pretty fast, but it is the nastier cuts that I get one in every 3 to 4 shaves that are a mess. When I injure myself usually the blood coagulate at a normal speed.

I am diabetic as well, so I do tests on the tip of my fingers and the blood does coagulate fast as well.

Maybe Eudjinn in that when I rub the HW filled cotton pad on my face, it is the rubbing that is removing the coagulated blood that is stopping further bleeding.

 

[Walter Sobchak]

Wow, I've never cut myself that bad, I guess. I'll consider myself lucky. Hopefully, your technique will start to rescue your face soon.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Well, if you had mentioned that you apply WH with a cotton pad, it would have made more sense that you're re-opening cuts. I assumed you just splashed it on your skin by hand. It's not the WH re-opening your cuts, it's the rubbing them just as they start to close.

Anyways, I wasn't so much concerned about your bleeding as I am that you give yourself nasty cuts every 3-4 shaves. You've got to work your technique to get beyond that stage, blood should be the exception not the rule in shaving.

 

[internet]

+3

 

[mattbikes1]

I agree big time.

You should see a doctor to see if you might have some coagulation issues.

I don't ever use styptic during a shave because it is the polar opposite of slippery shave soap and will put the brakes on a sliding razor.

Generally tiny weepers stop before the shave is over.

On a rare occassion when i might get a nick, the styptic stops the bleeding on the spot. I mean IMMEDIATELY.

If your having issues with stopping blood flow from small cuts, a visit to your primary care physician is in order.

+4?

Always do the styptic pencil application after the shave. Brakes indeed! If you don't mind the sight of blood it will not interfere too much with the shave. But I also agree, you shouldn't be cutting yourself too much and if so you need to really watch your angle and pressure.

 

[Slack]

Same thing used to happen to me. I just switched up the order with WH before the cold water. It helped immensely.

Shave -> Rinse -> Pat Dry -> WH -> Air Dry -> Cold Water Rinse -> Aloe -> Air Dry -> ASB

 

[Jobol]

Same thing used to happen to me. I just switched up the order with WH before the cold water. It helped immensely.

Shave -> Rinse -> Pat Dry -> WH -> Air Dry -> Cold Water Rinse -> Aloe -> Air Dry -> ASB

Doesn't washing with cold water remove the WH off your face though thus defeating the purpose of putting it there in the first place?