Is hair removal part of your beauty or hygiene regimen? Then you’ve probably experienced ingrown hair at one point or another.
Ingrown hair is a tiny pimple-like bump that has hair stuck inside. It happens when you remove hair and it grows back under the skin instead of above it. Whether you use an electric shaver, regular shaver, wax or tweezers to remove hair you can still experience ingrown hair. So the method of removal doesn’t change your risk of getting it, unless you resort to more permanent methods.
Which Parts Does It Affect?
You can get ingrown hair on any part of your body where you remove hair. This includes the face, legs, bikini area and armpits.
For example, men often get “razor bumps” when they shave of their beard when they shave too closely. The same occurs for women who wax their bikini area and legs regularly.
Additionally, on very rare occasions, other parts of the body where hair grows, including eyelids, eyebrows and the chest area.
Who’s More Likely To Get Ingrown Hair?
Anyone from puberty and older can experience ingrown hair however, African Americans and Latinos who tend to have thick curly hair are more likely to experience ingrown hair.
Another group of people more prone to it includes people with curly hair. This is due to curly hair having a tendency to grow in the opposite direction.
Finally, people who have an active sex life with increased sex hormones are also prone to this. This is due to the excessive hair growth caused by sex hormones.
How Do We Fix Or Avoid It?
Ingrown hair can cause such a discomfort. Additionally, incorrect treatment leads to infection. So to help you deal with ingrown hair better, we’ve gathered these 5 helpful tips on preventing and treating it.
Consider more permanent ways to remove hair.
Though this may be more applicable to women than men, it’s still worth some consideration. In fact, more women have enjoyed the long-term benefits of laser treatments or even better, electrolysis.
Just think about it. Consider the cost of having to spend on shavers, creams and aftershave moisturisers every month for maybe 2 years. Isn’t it pretty much the same, if not less? Plus, you can forego the trouble of having to schedule and routinely shave, wax or tweeze.
So, you save in the long term and get relief from the task of hair removal moving forward. It’s something worth considering right?
No matter how big the temptation, hold your breath and don’t yank it out.
It can be very tempting especially if it’s itchy and burning. However, forcing it out will only do more harm than good.
With some patience it will heal on its own most of the time. If not, here’s a quick way to try and fix it at home:
- Keep from removing hair in the area of your ingrown hair.
- Next, use a warm compress to loosen the pores around it.
- If the hair doesn’t emerge after this, try a warm soft cloth or toothbrush. Use it to rub around the area in a circular motion.
- With sterilized tweezers, pull the hair gently but not completely.
- Don’t pull the hair out until the redness and irritation in the area have subsided.
- Exfoliate and use creams to speed-up healing. Consult with your doctor so you can get the right prescription and the best cream for your skin type.
Remember not to break the skin around your ingrown hair. This is because it makes it prone to infection and that’s a harder problem to solve at home.
Always shave or wax following the direction of hair growth.
This is because doing this helps prevent new hair from growing in the opposite direction. Additionally, it helps avoid friction and irritation on the skin.
Avoid clogged pores by regularly exfoliating and using comedogenic.
Making sure that nothing blocks your pores also ensures your hair can grow through the skin.
Generally, non-comedogenic products are those that are:
- Easily absorbed into the skin.
- Non-greasy.
- Thin and light on the skin.
Also, make sure you consider these if you use sunblock regularly. Luckily, there are more spray-on and light sunscreens available on the market now.
There are many different skin types so this may depend on what your skin can tolerate and absorb better. Meanwhile, some examples of non-comedogenic products includes: Cocoa Butter, Red Dye, and Coal Tar.
If you use an electric shaver regularly consider following a different approach to shaving.
Here are some ways to keep ingrown hair away when you shave:
- Make sure to always shave after a wash or shower (so that your skin and hair are soft).
- Don’t hold the shaver too close to the skin, keep a slight distance.
- As you shave, take slow circular strokes over your shaving area.
- If you can allow it, keep a 1mm to 2mm stubble instead of shaving completely.
Ingrown hair can be a pain to have but you don’t have to feel completely helpless against them. They often say “no pain, no gain” when it comes to fitness and beauty. Well this isn’t one of those pains you have to bear with to feel clean and beautiful.
Do you have other helpful tips in treating ingrown hair? Share them in the comments below.
