How to handle a healing cut

I cut my face with a new razor a few weeks ago. I stopped shaving so frequently to allow it to heal. I've been shaving weekly for about 3 weeks. The first night, I put Neosporin on it. I read a few threads on here about how to help the healing process. I alternated between Neosporin and Vaseline nightly. For the past week or so, I've been using some lotion when I go to sleep and when I wake up to keep it moisturized. I fear that it's going to leave a scar at this point. I mean it's been so many weeks, it should have healed up better.

The issue I'm having is that when I shave, the healing wound gets nicked because the surface isn't as smooth as it was before. How do I get around this? When I look at the cut, it still looks like it's healing so I have some hope this will get better. However, at the same time it seems that if I keep nicking it, the area will only get worse and worse. Ideas?

Gibby, your regimen w/ the neosporin sounds good, but it sounds like you're continuing to shave over the nick. This ensures the nick is reopened and irritated, erasing the good care you're giving it otherwise. The skin needs to be left to heal before normal shaving in that area can resume. Maybe this means wiping the lather away from the nick before starting to shave, so you can see where the nick is and shave around it. They're quite annoying, I know.

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Originally Posted by pinklather

Gibby, your regimen w/ the neosporin sounds good, but it sounds like you're continuing to shave over the nick. This ensures the nick is reopened and irritated, erasing the good care you're giving it otherwise. The skin needs to be left to heal before normal shaving in that area can resume. Maybe this means wiping the lather away from the nick before starting to shave, so you can see where the nick is and shave around it. They're quite annoying, I know.

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That actually sounds good. I hadn't put much mind to it when shaving figuring that it looked good but when the skin is bare it looks a little worse and I've not been shaving for a week at a time which makes things look different. Anyway, I just learned you can use aloe on cuts like this... and that we have a live aloe plant so I'm gonna give that a try. I just hope that I can come back from this. I'm sure it'll scar but maybe what I'm doing now is too late and I should have been researching it much earlier.

As pinklather said, shave around the cut until it is healed.Once healed use some vitamin E oil/cream on the area to get rid of the scar.

I shave every day. For the times I get a cut, I simply close it up (usually this is easy because the razor is so sharp) and apply some styptic pencil is the bleeding continues. I then put on a thin layer of neosporin and just leave it alone.

I'll continue to shave but I'll shave around the cut. After I rinse my face and apply after shave, I will shave more closely around the cut to cut the whiskers near the cut without actually touching the cut. (How many times did I say "cut" in THAT sentence?! :p) Once I tried to shave over the cut and it indeed made it worse.

I find that the cut will fade and heal in 3 - 4 days and are good as new. I can then shave normally over the spot and never know anything was there except for maybe a faint visible remnants of what used to be.

Keep shaving.... Stay clear and put small amounts of neosporin on it. You should be good to go. If you fear shaving over the same cut, simply do not apply lather to that area and "mark off the area" as a reminder to stay away from it. I think continued shavings on that area are your problem. Each nick will conitnue to make it worse and lengthen the healing process..

You cut yourself a few weeks ago and it still hasn't healed?

The other members are correct, healing was likely impeded by shaving over the wound. But I still have to ask - how bad was the original cut???

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

You cut yourself a few weeks ago and it still hasn't healed?

The other members are correct, healing was likely impeded by shaving over the wound. But I still have to ask - how bad was the original cut???

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It was a very clean cut, but it was very bad. I couldn't get the bleeding to stop without putting a bunch of gauze under the bandage. It was sealed up within 24 hours and I showered normally the next day proceeding to alternate between Neosporin and Vaseline nightly. However, there's an outline of the cut that looks like it's still healing on the inside. It's not fully healed and I was just a bit concerned. I will definitely heed everyone's advice to shave around it. I guess I assumed it was all healed up but when I shave of late, it still gets nicked and bleeds someone badly (but does stop very quickly). I'm just hoping that it's not scar tissue that will be there forever causing problems every time I shave.

I've never heard of putting vaseline on a cut (besides in boxing so the fighter doesn't open the gash more). If anything you should have stuck with the neosporin the first few days, then just let it heal on it's own after that.

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Originally Posted by TwistedOak

I've never heard of putting vaseline on a cut (besides in boxing so the fighter doesn't open the gash more). If anything you should have stuck with the neosporin the first few days, then just let it heal on it's own after that.

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The Vaseline they use in boxing has adrenaline mixed into it, to act as a capillary restrictor and stop the bleeding from a cut. For whatever that's worth.

I used aloe from our aloe plant for a couple of days and it healed right up. Then I started using Vitamin E oil 2x per day. I might start using it 3x per day. It seems to be working wonders. I still see where the cut was but the scar seems to be going away. I shaved over it twice now and it didn't open up again. Thanks for all the advice everyone!

If you must shave in the area of the cut, at least always make sure the razor edge is completely vertical to the cut so the edge can never completely reopen the cut. Seems obvious, but we get in the habit of shaving in one direction because of technique and beard direction, so changing edge direction is not always so easy.

My treatment for cuts is to mix styptic powder with Sandahl's vanishing cream. I apply it to the cut and that's it.

When I cut myself shaving it's usually a doozy of a cut. It's because I loose focus and am in an imaginary fight with someone that I've had a disagreement with.

The day after the cut the first area I shave is that where the cut is. I shave away from the cut and then the area around it. If I don't do that area first I'lll forget it's there and re-cut myself.

Mitch