I've never liked styptic pencils because of the way they degrade quickly on contact with water... within a few uses they tend to go all gnarly on me.
When I binned the last one, I decided to try the Proraso Istantaneo gel, which is an alternative to styptics.
Anyone else tried this stuff? It's weird as hell! It comes out of this tiny toothpaste-tube as a clear, thick, menthol-smelling goo. Sticky doesn't even start to decribe it. You use a tiny drop on a cut and wham! it stops the bleed by creating this sticky clear plug. Then comes the weird bit...
Once it dries in place it becomes a clear, transparent, hard plastic coating. It's like you've put some superglue on your face and let it dry. This small dry plug of clear plastic is stuck hard to the skin. Of course, the bleed has been stopped in its tracks.
Later, the plastic shell either falls off or you can slowly prise it off in one piece. What's left behind is a clean, blood-free wound.
If it's a bad cut (I've only suffered this on a finger), it also glues the wound together. The longer you keep it on, the more permanent the mend of the cut.
It's amazing stuff and I've started usng it on the tiny bleeds you sometimes get from going over an ingrown hair. It's not much more cost than a styptic, lasts longer, so I recommend you guys try it out!
