John BenosTable of Contents
No matter your wet shaving experience, there are always times that you get irritation or tiny nicks. But if you’re new to wet shaving and you look like you’ve been fighting with Wolverine every time you decide to get rid of your facial hair, you should definitely try their styptic balm. After all, collaging your face with toilet paper is not the best idea.
Beginner or not, go ahead and read on and see why I believe Glyder should be in every man’s shave den.
What’s Glyder?
Glyder is a relatively new company, founded in 2015 by a visionary Chicagoan Kaivan Dave who started the company with a single goal in mind. “Improving your post shaving routine using cutting edge science”.
As I said, this is a fairly new company, and as of right now they have a single product. At the moment, they are doing one thing, and are committed to doing it right. The future seems exciting as they’ve got a few other products in the pipeline.
Their styptic balm is pretty amazing it does a great job preventing bleeding while at the same time providing tons of benefits for your skin, and more importantly for that part of your skin which has been nicked or cut.
How’s the Glyder Styptic Balm?
The guys at Glyder have been generous enough to send me their styptic balm for free for the purposes of this review.
The looks
The first thing I noticed is how elegantly packaged this styptic balm is.
It comes in an elegant black paper packaging, which is looks gorgeous, making this product an ideal and inexpensive gift for anyone who wet shaves -and isn’t careful enough.
Inside the box is the styptic balm tube, very minimalist and pleasing to the eye. It looks like one of those chopsticks but with a more thought out design. The tube is light and it feels really well in the hand, as it has a nice surface that allows for secure grip. This actually proved to be really helpful once I had to apply the balm mid shaving.
Inside the tube, there’s a retractable balm with a chopstick like consistency which allows for easy application of the product. The tube has a waterproof cap which keeps the balm clean and dry until you decide to use it again. That alone beats the products like styptic pencils and alum blocks, that we have been using this far to stop the bleeding.
The formula
Glyder’s balm contains Vitamin E which is an excellent antioxidant blocking the free radicals from the body thus providing numerous benefits for your skin.
Aloe Vera which is a shame that most styptic products have not thought of incorporating it into their formula, as it is proven to have anti-inflammatory properties as well as wound healing properties thanks to the Auhin and Gibberellins hormones. Aloe Vera has been used as far back as history goes to treat skin problems such are acne, eczema, psoriasis, e.t.c.
The balm also contains a fair amount of Argan oil which in itself has a high vitamin E content as well as fatty acids, providing your skin with hydration and nourishment.
And the most important ingredient in the formula are the vasoconstrictors which temporarily constrict your blood vessels allowing the blood to clog the wound and expedite the healing process.
The use
Glyder is perfectly safe to use externally anywhere on your body.
As well as being effective at stopping bleeding from nicks and cuts on your face it perfectly safe to use on any other part of your body, like armpits, legs, arms, we don’t judge. Which gives way for the balm to be used on a range of small injuries which as we all know can bleed abundantly.
So why use styptic pencils, alum blocks, or toilet paper to stop the bleeding when you have the ready available product that performs just as good or even better than all of the above mentioned outdated remedies while bringing additional benefits for your skin?
What is the difference between the Glyder balm and a regular aftershave balm?
Put simply, you can use the Glyder up to some point to soothe and moisturize your skin to some extent, but you can’t use aftershave balm to stop the bleeding.
Aftershave balms are used to soothe and moisturize your facial skin after you shave and to reduce the effects a razor blade has on your skin, like razor burns, ingrown hairs, skin irritation.
On the other hand, the Glyder’s primary purpose is to stop the bleeding once you cut yourself shaving. Although it too contains ingredients that help soothe, nourish and moisturize your skin, it is not recommended that you use it all over your face due to its vasoconstrictive properties.
How does the Glyder perform?
In terms of performance, the Glyder is nothing short of excellent.
As I have already said the balm comes in an easy to use tube that is very easy to grapple. This comes really handy if you cut yourself mid shaving and want to stop the bleeding immediately.
Once applied to the affected area, the balm yields instant results, it stops the bleeding right away, and unlike the styptic pencils, it can be applied immediately without leaving a chalky mess on your face. And not only that, thanks to the combination of vitamins and minerals in the formula the Glyder promotes the healing process. This makes it perfect for nicks and cuts.
Those with sensitive skin would really appreciate its soothing properties. Because the formula includes Aloe Vera, Argan Oil, and vitamin E the Glyder can be used to soothe razor burns.
While it is a bit more expensive than your average styptic pencil or alum block it is definitely worth choosing it over the other two.
With Glyder a little goes a long way, as you need to use it only when you cut yourself, and once the package is opened the product can be used for 12 months. It offers a great value for the money. The value that you get is so high that you might not be able to use the entire balm during the period after opening it.
How to use Glyder Styptic Balm?
Using the Glyder styptic balm is pretty straight forward.
- The first thing you need to do is to is to wash your face with water to rinse off the excess blood and shaving cream from your face.
- Twist the ring to protract the balm, making sure that you don’t twist too much only the tip of the balm should be out. If you twist too much, the entire balm would come out and it would be really difficult to retract it back in the shaft because of the balms specific consistency.
- Wet the tip of the balm only
- Dab the tip of the balm on your nicks gently poking your skin, this will sting a bit, but it is normal, it means that the vasoconstrictors are doing their job.
- The bleeding should stop in a matter of seconds.
- You are ready to go
How does Glyder fare against other styptic products?
I can freely say that the Glyder Styptic Balm outperforms all other styptic products available on the market today.
While the styptic pencil is made up of pure aluminum sulfate which takes some prep to be able to use it you can apply the Glyder immediately after you cut yourself.
The styptic pencil or the alum block act only as vasoconstrictors, while the Glyder has active ingredients that help soothe and repair your skin.
Also when using aluminum sulfate products such are the alum block or the styptic pencil, with time you will realize that those things need to be washed off, and cleaned after every use, and be kept away from water and moisture as they can dissolve pretty fast if in contact with water. With the Glyder you won’t have any of those problems after you use it. All you need to do is just splashing some water on the tip to wash away any blood, retract it, put the cap on and the tube will take care of the rest.
Also, the Glyder does not give out that strong alcohol smell that is usually present in liquid styptic balms or roll-ons, and it does not leave that chalky residue on your skin after it dries out like styptic pencils do.
What’s going to cost you?
Innovative technology is often more expensive than products that do almost the same job, but luckily this is not the case with the Glyder.
Although it uses next generation, cutting edge technology, the Glyder can be acquired for under USD 10,00. And we already talked about the insane value that you get which might last you for a year even if you cut yourself regularly on shaving. Well, I surely hope that you don’t make that a habit.
So get rid of all those outdated styptic products that have not changed for hundreds of years, try the Glyder and get a taste of the future.
Would I recommend it?
Based on the experience with Glyder Styptic Balm, I would definitely recommend this product. Especially to those that are new to wet shaving.
Above all it does its job perfectly, you cut yourself, you apply the balm the bleeding stops, works like a charm every single time no mess no fuss. It is easy to use, it works fast, and it is very convenient.
Acquiring one will not damage your budget, as it if fairly affordable.
And last of all, it just looks great, the packaging is not only convenient form a practical point of view but it is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, which also makes the Glyder a great gift for your beloved ones or even the next fathers day.
To wrap up, if you are a member of the clumsiness brotherhood, and you manage to peel your skin off every time you try to shave, you should definitely try the Glyder. And if you never cut yourself shaving Glyder would be a perfect present for a friend or a family member with such masochistic inclinations.
