If you nick yourself shaving and want the bleeding to stop before you leave the bathroom, a styptic pencil is the tool for the job. It is a short stick of an astringent that you wet and press onto the cut, and the bleeding usually stops within seconds. What it will not do is help a cut that keeps bleeding, and knowing the difference is the part that matters. This page covers what a styptic pencil is, how to use one properly, how it compares with an alum block and a liquid styptic, and four current options worth keeping in the cabinet.
What a styptic pencil actually is
A styptic is an anti-hemorrhagic agent, which simply means a substance that stops bleeding. A styptic pencil is one way to deliver it: a short stick whose main ingredient is anhydrous aluminum sulfate. Pressed onto the bleeding site, it acts as a vasoconstrictor, tightening the tissue and sealing the small blood vessels a razor has opened. The astringent action causes local vasoconstriction, and the high ionic strength of the stick helps the blood clot at the surface.
That makes it a spot tool for the small nicks a blade leaves behind. It was a standard part of a shaving kit long before safety razors, and the people who still keep one usually use it for exactly that: minor wounds from a safety or an electric razor. It is not a substitute for first aid on a cut that will not stop bleeding.
How to use a styptic pencil
- Rinse the nick with cool water to clear the fresh blood, so you can see what you are dealing with.
- Wet the tip of the pencil. A couple of seconds under the tap is enough.
- Press the wet tip onto the cut and hold it there for a few seconds. It stings briefly; that is the astringent working, and it fades within seconds.
- Let go and check. If the nick is still open, press the tip on again once.
- Rinse the tip when you are done and let it dry before it goes back in the cabinet. It is a personal item, so do not share it.
When a styptic pencil is the wrong tool
A styptic pencil handles a nick. It is the wrong answer for a cut that keeps bleeding, a deep or wide cut, or a wound with something in it. For those, the first-aid advice is firm pressure with a clean cloth or dressing and, if the bleeding does not stop, medical help, rather than another pass with the pencil. As a rough guide, get urgent advice for a cut longer than about 5 cm (2 inches), for bleeding you cannot control, or for a deep cut on the face or the palm of the hand. Our guide to how long shaving cuts take to heal covers the aftercare once the bleeding has stopped.
Some skin also dislikes the aluminum salts in a traditional pencil. If it stings well past the first few seconds, or leaves the skin red and angry, stop using it and fall back on plain pressure and a soothing aftershave instead.
Pencil, liquid or alum block?
Three products do a similar job, and the differences are mostly about where and how you use them.
- Alum block. A wet bar of potassium alum, pressed over the whole shaved area when you finish. It closes pores and disinfects like a solid aftershave, it is reusable, and the residue rinses off. It is a whole-face finisher rather than a spot fix for one nick. Our guide to alum blocks covers the options.
- Styptic pencil. The spot fix. It seals a single cut faster and, unlike an alum block, leaves no residue to rinse away.
- Liquid or roll-on styptic. A clear-drying liquid in a roll-on applicator, sold for people who dislike the chalky pencil. Easier to control on a small cut, and neater in a travel kit.
Four styptic options worth keeping
Between them, these four cover the usual situations: the classic pencil, an alum-based pen, a liquid for anyone who dislikes a pencil, and a pack of spares for a kit bag or a busy sink.
1. Clubman Jumbo Styptic Pencil, 1 oz: the classic
The traditional aluminum-sulfate pencil, and the format most people picture when they hear “styptic pencil”. The jumbo size is the one many people keep at home. Wet the tip, dab it on, done.
2. Classic Samurai Alum Styptic Pen: the gentler stick
An alum-based pen rather than a traditional aluminum-sulfate pencil. You wet it and dab it on the same way, but alum is the gentler of the two chemistries, which suits anyone whose skin reacts to the classic pencil.
3. Pacific Shaving Company Roll-On Nick Stick, 2-pack: the liquid
The non-pencil option: a clear-drying roll-on liquid that its maker markets as sting-free and travel-friendly. It is the pick if you would rather not use a stick, and the two-pack gives you one for the cabinet and one for a bag.
4. BARBERUPP Styptic Stick, 3-pack: the spares
A three-pack of styptic sticks, sold for barbers and for anyone who wants spares. Easy to replace and simple to keep clean, it suits a shared bathroom, a kit bag or a home that gets through them.
How to nick yourself less often
Dermatologists at the American Academy of Dermatology give a short list of habits that cut down nicks and irritation, and most of them cost nothing:
- Wet your skin and hair before you shave. The best time is right after a shower, when the skin is warm and moist and free of the oil and dead skin that clog a blade.
- Apply a shaving cream or gel. If your skin is dry or sensitive, look for one labeled for sensitive skin.
- Shave in the direction the hair grows, which helps prevent razor bumps and burns.
- Rinse the razor after each swipe, and change the blade or throw away the disposable after five to seven shaves.
- Store the razor somewhere dry between shaves, rather than in the shower or on a wet sink.
- If you have acne, shave lightly and do not try to shave the spots off, because both make it worse.
If your problem is redness and soreness rather than one bleeding nick, the fixes are different, and our guide to preventing razor burn and irritation is the place to start.
The next step
A styptic pencil is cheap insurance for the mornings a blade bites. Keep one where you shave, use it on nicks and not on deep cuts, and give the skin a hand afterward with a proper post-shave routine. If the nicks are frequent rather than rare, the pencil is treating a symptom, and it is worth fixing the blade, the pressure or the prep instead.
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