Shaving, blood and white dress shirts

[Jack Burton]

It seems more often than not that when I put on a white shirt in the morning (after shaving) and flip the collar up to put on a tie, I'll get a tiny pinpoint of blood from somewhere on my neck on the collar. I've heard spit and hydrogen peroxide are good quick remedies for this. I'd be interested in how you Floungers would deal with this.

 

[Lexybeast]

I've cleaned shirts by first soaking them in hot water and white vinegar for an hour, then rinsing, then soaking soiled spots with hot water mixed with a lot of oxyclean. Let that sit overnight and launder normally the next day.

Hydrogen peroxide should work too though it can bleach, I've heard. Not a problem with a white shirt though.

In the future, you probably want to wait a few minutes after shaving before putting your shirts on.

 

[Tomasso]

flip the collar up to put on a tie .

I never flip up the collar to tie my tie. I tie the knot with the top button open and when the knot is sufficiently formed I button the button and tighten the tie. Works like a charm.

 

[Oldsarge]

1. The best thing to take blood out of cloth is cold water. If the blood has dried, a little soap helps but never, ever use hot water, it cooks the blood into the cloth.

2. Consider investing in a styptic pencil or a small container of powder. Touch the shaving nick and the blood clots. Voila', no more blood spots on shirt.

3. Both Lexybeast's and A.C.' advice on waiting and not flipping the collar up are good.

4. Consider shaving the night before. It avoids the entire problem and the Mrs. will appreciate it.

 

[Noirblack]

Red shirts will solve your problem. Or grow a beard. Or just don't flip up the collar. I don't understand why people do this. You see it on TV shows and in the movies, but it always struck me as being unnecessary.

 

[HodgePodge]

COLD water rinse after shaving, styptic pencil on the knicks, and dont put your [good] shirt on right after shaving.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I opt for a modern razor like any in the Gillette Sensor family. Never a cut when they're sharp. Those old fashioned razors are lethal.

 

[HodgePodge]

I opt for a modern razor like any in the Gillette Sensor family. Never a cut when they're sharp. Those old fashioned razors are lethal.

I've done less damage (i.e. little to none) to myself with a straight razor than I ever did with one of those million-bladed Gillette monstrosities.

 

[Shangas]

I think you need a better razor.

But if that doesn't work, I suggest a product called "Amodex". It's designed as an ink-stain remover, but it removes a lot of other things - Blood included. It's pretty effective if you follow the instructions properly. But it works best if you don't soak the shirt first (water sets the stain into the cloth and that can make it damn hard to remove - even harder, if the water is hot, as mentioned further up).

And Amodex is oldschool vintage. It's been around since the 1950s.

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

In the long run, I think you need to fine-tune your morning routine.

I go against conventional wisdom and shower after shaving and before getting dressed. The shower helps close up any little weepers I might have. You could also obtain an alum block from one of the on-line shaving vendors. Kind of like styptic but an alum block lasts much longer. Just run it over your face after shaving.

I second the recommendation on getting a better razor, better blades, or changing them a little more frequently.

 

[Alex Oviatt]

Been there--in my case the only fancy shave I ever got--Trumper's in Curzon St. Sweeney Todd of Mayfair. Good thing the girl I was going on to meet had a sense of humor. Impressed, really, that a Yank could find the best barber in town and still come away bloody.... The shirt was a goner.

 

[BrandonCarlson]

That's funny, this happened to me the other day. I was shaving the back of my hairline in the evening before going out, so I just rolled my collar under my shirt so I didn't get soap all over the collar, shaved the back of my neck and everything looks nice so I button up and go on my way. When I got back home and took my shirt off I noticed a bloodstain on the neckband of my shirt... I cut myself but I didn't feel anything or notice anything. Luckily it was just one of my cheap white shirts, and in a spot nobody will see. Now I should go see if I can wash it out.

 

[Shangas]

If you're cutting yourself and staining your shirts so frequently that you have to make a thread about it, I think you really need to have a look at your shaving equipment.

Shaving with cheap, blunt razors leads to more cuts than shaving with a sharper, better-quality razor.

My best razor is a five-dollar flea-market cutthroat that I bought last year. A polish, a clean, a sharpen, and it's never failed me yet. Never once cut myself with it. Quality doesn't have to be expensive.

 

[HodgePodge]

If you're cutting yourself and staining your shirts so frequently that you have to make a thread about it, I think you really need to have a look at your shaving equipment.

Shaving with cheap, blunt razors leads to more cuts than shaving with a sharper, better-quality razor.

My best razor is a five-dollar flea-market cutthroat that I bought last year. A polish, a clean, a sharpen, and it's never failed me yet. Never once cut myself with it. Quality doesn't have to be expensive.

With some peoples' skin, I wonder if it just doesn't make any difference. Some guys seem like as though they could dry shave with a piece of jagged, broken glass and come away with a close, unirritating shave. If I try to shave with any less than, say, 3 days growth, nothing seems to stop me from knicking hair folicles on against-the-grain passes, and generally having to do an inflamatory number of passes for a less than satisfactory shave.

 

[Shangas]

Skin type does have a certain level of blame, that's true. My skin is pretty dry. The key to a good shave is education, knowledge, practice and knowing who to listen to. Many people have forgotten how to do a proper shave, so half the information they tell you is useless anyway.

The better you shave and the more informed you are about what is, and how to do a good shave, the less likely it is you'll screw it up and stain your shirts. I had to learn how to shave from scratch, learning from videos and shaving forums. Neither my brother or my dad ever taught me. I doubt they really knew themselves.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I think being in a hurry can be an issue, too. Often times, when I'm getting ready for work and I find myself in a hurry, I end up cutting myself shaving.

Skin type does have a certain level of blame, that's true. My skin is pretty dry. The key to a good shave is education, knowledge, practice and knowing who to listen to. Many people have forgotten how to do a proper shave, so half the information they tell you is useless anyway.

The better you shave and the more informed you are about what is, and how to do a good shave, the less likely it is you'll screw it up and stain your shirts. I had to learn how to shave from scratch, learning from videos and shaving forums. Neither my brother or my dad ever taught me. I doubt they really knew themselves.

 

[Shangas]

I shave the night before, if I know I'm gonna be in a hurry the next day. Of course, my beard doesn't grow that fast (on average, I only shave about three times a week, probably). If your beard is a slow-grower, perhaps you should shave in the evenings before bed (provided you're not so dozey that you fall asleep on your razor).

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I wish I were so lucky. I've usually got five o'clock shadow by the time I leave work!

I shave the night before, if I know I'm gonna be in a hurry the next day. Of course, my beard doesn't grow that fast (on average, I only shave about three times a week, probably). If your beard is a slow-grower, perhaps you should shave in the evenings before bed (provided you're not so dozey that you fall asleep on your razor).

 

[John in Covina]

As i understand it, there is a specialty cleaning product that is made for nurses and doctors, you might want to ask at the local hospital.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

www.badgerandblade.com