Cut - leave it alone for a few days or keep shaving

[-Doug-]

On Friday I cut my head   while shaving. I re-shaved on Saturday and haven't since then. This afternoon I was rubbing/itching the site of the cut and some of the scab came off. It is now to the point that all of the scab came off. It not really bleeding much. So, my question is should I:

Shave it: I'm thinking that a stubble free surface would help with healing as I think the growing stubble dislodged some of the scab.

or

Wait a few days to let it heal.

I'm wondering what other here have done when faced with this similar situation.

[BillOnBass]

I usually take 2-3 days off from shaving when I get a good-sized cut.  I'm getting much better at not cutting myself!  Has been at least a few months since I've had a bleeder.  Probably coincides with me retiring the Headblade and using a Fusion or Mach3...

[D.A.L.U.I.]

I'd get some Aquaphor ointment at the drugstore and keep the cut area really clean and covered w/ the ointment--it aids healing and reduces any potential for a "bump" from the cut.  Less than a week you should be able to clean it up with a razor unless you really gouged it out.  Learned about this stuff early on in my experience w/ skin cancer and precancerous removals.  Great stuff.  Just wash with a mild antibacterial soap then spread a thin layer a couple of times a day.  
Good luck.

[-Doug-]

I'd get some Aquaphor ointment at the drugstore and keep the cut area really clean and covered w/ the ointment--it aids healing and reduces any potential for a "bump" from the cut.  Less than a week you should be able to clean it up with a razor unless you really gouged it out.  Learned about this stuff early on in my experience w/ skin cancer and precancerous removals.  Great stuff.  Just wash with a mild antibacterial soap then spread a thin layer a couple of times a day. 
Good luck.

Thanks for the tip Saint! I've been applying Aquaphor since I got home yesterday. It does seem to be helping. Hopefully I'll be back on the wagon by Friday.

[Razor X]

I usually shave around the affected area, and then go over that spot -- very carefully -- with an electric razor, until it's healed enough to withstand the blade again.

[-Doug-]

I usually shave around the affected area, and then go over that spot -- very carefully -- with an electric razor, until it's healed enough to withstand the blade again.

Why didn't I think of that! Thanks for the tip.

[Larry G]

     I'm naturally bald and, therefore, don't shave my head.  However, I find that many times a year I injure my scalp in some way:  on the side of a golf cart; on a low shelf, the latest, on a car sunglass holder that I forgot to fold back in near the head liner. 
     Regardless, it's always taken a long time to heal, for some reason, longer than any other part of my body takes to heal, regardless of what I put on it...until I found this product in Phoenix at Chakra 4 herb and tea house.  I''ve been going in there to pick up psyllium husks, and was looking for something to put on a pre-cancerous sun damage area on my sideburn. 
     Well, it didn't help that, but I tried it on a cut on my scalp.  Well, I'm here to tell you, it cut down the healing time to more than half.  It's called, Garden Salve, and one of its main ingredients is bees wax.  I told the girl who makes it up in batches, "It's like Melon Spackle".  I told her I would find a forum and share it, so there you go.

Larry

[Palin]

I usually shave around the affected area, and then go over that spot -- very carefully -- with an electric razor, until it's healed enough to withstand the blade again.

I just had a cut and was thinking of doing that too, but I still haven't tried the electric at all.  I've been on the bald bandwagon for almost a year and I've never used anything but the headblade.  Frankly, I'm not really sure how the cut happened, I haven't bled since the first day.  Anyhow, I used the headblade as gently as possible around the cut, but IF (hopefully not when ) it happens again, I think I'll give the electric a try.

[buddha]

I usually shave around the affected area, and then go over that spot -- very carefully -- with an electric razor, until it's healed enough to withstand the blade again.

Ditto!

[Blitzed]

I shave in the shower and dread seeing dribbles of red suddenly appear. The heat of the water apparently masks the cut. Immediately after the shower, I dip a Q-Tip in Hydrogen Peroxide to clean it thoroughly and help stanch the bleeding. (For more serious slashes, I'll apply a small Bandaid for a day or so.) Usually within 24-48 hours I'm back to my usual practice. I do think it's important to clean the area as soon as possible. Left over soap or foam or whatever could get in and set off an infection. And then you've really got problems. For more serious cuts, us a dab of neosporin or similar.

[BBCAlex]

I only shave with an electric razor (Panasonic ES-LA63-s on the advice of another member) which shaves as close as a blade but without any cuts.

[Ming the Merciless]

It's been a long time since I did it, but I've taken a few significant divots out of the dome in the past--just shave around the spot, carefully.  I'd dab away the shaving cream in the area, and then, after everything else was done, clean all the remnant foam from the head and then "push the envelope," which meant coming as close as I could bear to the now well-exposed injured spot.  And then letting nature do its thing.  Never took too long before I was zipping all over the scalp again.

It surprises me that someone said a head cut healed slowly; I find they are the fastest-healing of any skin wounds.  As I push closer to the grave, alas, even those "fast 'uns" are taking longer.

But, if practice does not make perfect, practice has at least made bloodbursts on the dome quite rare for me.  It can't be a matter of better razors, as I've been using essentially the same kind for forty years.