Thread: Which is better styptic pencil or powder

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Prevention being the best medicine..... don't cut yourself.

Well said! But when that rare cut occurs I reach for my styptic pencil, wet it, wipe some on the wound then apply pressure for about 15secs. Accept for arterial cuts it stops immediately with no mess and no fuss. I just keep shaving and can even go over that area again without incident.

I used a general drugstore pencil, liked it, until i dropped it, turned it into a spike! Then I stepped up to Osma's pencil, very effective, but apparently one needs to dry it well prior to sealing it up in the tube/vial -- it ended up fracturing, splitting apart, then turning to mush.

I'm going to try Pacific Shaving's roll on applicator Nick stick and see how that works ...

Wow, I've always used the pencil, didn't even know there was powder. After reading most of the above, will probably stick with the pencil.

Although the Nick Stick is smooth and easy in application and reasonably effective, I think the standard pencil is more effective at immediately sealing a nick/cut, perhaps due to a higher concentration of aluminum sulfate/titanium dioxide ...

alum block hands down IMO.

+1 for the block, boys.

I love my alum block for general after shave irritation, but I still reach for the styptic pencil if I get a nick during a shave. They seem to be better at stopping the bleeding and sealing the cut than the alum block. Just my opinion and YMMV.