Ingrown Hair (And What To Do About It)
Waxing, shaving, sugaring, tweezing, epilators, and even hair removal creams or depilatories can cause ingrown hairs. If you’ve had this problem, you likely won’t soon forget it. After getting rid of your unwanted hair, you find little red painful bumps over your skin. They look like a rash and hurt and itch.
What’s the damage?
Ingrown hairs happen when a hair grows back the wrong way, causing pain. The danger with this is that they can become infected, especially if you keep shaving or using hair removal methods before your skin has had a chance to heal. The other problem with ingrown hairs is that they have the tendency to crop up in places where the skin is especially tender (the bikini line, thighs, and face) so that they become a huge annoyance.
Are there any prevention methods?
Yes. The best way to avoid ingrown hairs (especially pubic hair) is to prevent them before they begin. You can do this by exfoliating before shaving and by exfoliating with a loofah or body scrub each time you shower. This seems to work by stimulating the skin and by keeping pores open. Some women find that consciously relaxing their muscles while hair is being removed helps to prevent ingrown hairs. After removing hair, you should avoid using heavy moisturizers or creams on your skin for a few hours. These can clog skin. You can use witch hazel, aftershave, toner, or even cold water after waxing, tweezing, sugaring or using an epilator. This tightens the pores and cleans the skin (NEVER use witch hazel, toner or aftershave on sensitive areas like the bikini line, and only use toner on your face). If you find that one part of your body is always affected by ingrown hairs, try using a different hair removal method on that part of the body. Some people have reported that using an epilator causes ingrown hairs.
Best way to remove ingrown hairs?
The best product I have ever used, without a doubt, is Kalo Ingrown Hair Treatment & Prevention System. It really helped to release the trapped ingrown hairs within a few days of using the product. The best way to treat them is to follow the advice on the bottle, keep the area clean and the situation should clear up quite quickly. If the ingrown hairs get worse or itch or hurt a lot, you may have an infection. Check with your doctor or dermatologist for help. If you have ingrown hairs on your legs or bikini line, try to wear loose-fitting clothing for a few days so that the friction from the fabric does not aggravate your skin even more. Only start shaving, waxing, or using your regular hair removal methods again once your ingrown hair has healed.
BEST ADVICE – PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE!
I have found that a good hair removal cream is the easiest and most pain free method of hair removal, and with the right selection of product you are guaranteed to avoid ingrown hairs. My personal recommendation is Revitol, which is not only cost effective but also contains a built in inhibitor to slow and thin regrowth. This is the only product I use, and was awarded Editors Choice for best hair removal product.
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I am 17 years old with ingrown hairs on my thighs and arm pits. they started when i was about 15 or younger. they look TERRIBLE! I’m always ashamed of my body because of it. well i went to the doctors office about 2 months ago and she gave me a little cream that did NOTHING! i am trying to search for any home remedies or affordable treatments for ingrown hairs. if any information on how to treat it please let me know, it will be much appreciated!
Amanda, sweetie: I’d say exfoliate with a hot towel (as hot as you can stand: the steam will help open pores) with maybe some soap (I suggest Dr. Bronner’s) and scrub your legs, but not too hard! And if you shave daily, this probably increases the chance of the ingrown hairs, especially if you are using a dull razor. Make sure you are using fresh blades! The best method, in my opinion, is waxing, which means you have to wait for your hairs to grow out in between, and it takes a couple times to get the hang of it, but it may do wonders.
Hope this was helpful at all.
-Julia
i have pubic hair on my upper legs what do i do cuz i can’t wear my bikini no more because there is pubic hair on my upper legs i shave it and grows back quickly what do i do ??????????????
sucks for you… bleach or wax it. ONLY WHEN NECESSARY.
Try sugaring…it is waaaay less painful than waxing. I’ve tried waxing my privates and after about 2nd ‘yank’ i wasn’t able to go on, but with sugaring I do my privates and underarms with no problems. Hope this helps
I need to wax or sugar my privates because I have the same problem, and I’m thinking to go with sugaring, but I’m extremely nervous because I have not waxed or sugared before. Can you give me a little bit of an idea how much it hurts? Perhaps a comparison to something else painful?
i have really bad ingrown hairs on my binkini line and on the very top of my thighs all the time and ive tried many products, none of which have helped. my hairs also grow back very qucikly so i continually have to wax which causes more ingrown hairs. i dont even shave, i wax and sometimes epilate- but i stopped because i thought that might be the cause- and the hairs still grow back uickly and get ingrown. what do i do?
I have really bad ingrown hairs on my cheeks and chin area. Is there anything I can use to keep them from growing. Currently I have them waxed off but I want something permanent or longer lasting. As a woman this is so embarrassing. Please Help!!!
Hey I have an ingrown hair and it really hurts I want to get rid of it. I tried talking to my mom about it and alll she said is to not pick it. And I said okay I want some help please if anyone can help me …HELP me
PLZ HELP ME…..
I’V GOT INGROWN HAIR ON MY FOREHEAD AND CHEEKS…
I CANT FACE ANYBODY DUE TO THIS..
I AV LOST MY SELF CONFIDENCE TOO..
I LOOK REALLY UGLY UPCLOSE..
PLZ HELP ME
I work in a salon so would like to share my personal thoughts…..I’m also battling my own ingrowns
I highly recommend laser hair removal. Yes, it’s very expensive, but worth it. The pain is minimal. My skin is sensitive so I really feel pain and it’s true when they say it feels like a snap of a rubber band against your skin. You will have to do a few treatments, but they get fewer and fewer. I am now only doing maintenance treatments once or twice a year for some facial hair. I’m in and out quickly and I love it.
If money weren’t an issue for me, I’d do the laser in my bikini area too. But since I can’t, I wax. There are many different waxes and waxers. I suggest first, going to a GOOD salon. Sanitation is paramount! For your area, go to Yelp reviews and look up “bikini waxing.” People are very particular about bikini waxing and will quickly write a good or bad review. Just look for the salon, or the waxer, whose name keeps coming up most often for great serice. Once you find a good salon for bikini waxing, they will most likely have a good facial waxer as well. Unfortunately waxing is trial and error and some people just excel at it, like any other profession. But I have had good luck with the Yelp reviews, and luckily I have access to some good people where I work.
For the ingrowns,I found my dermatologist didn’t help much either. I take baths as hot as I can with epsom salts. I soak for at least 15 minutes. That sometimes loosens them and they slide out on their own. Definitely do NOT pick and scratch. For facial ingrows, try steaming. A couple of salons in my area advertise “ingrown hair removal.” I can only imagine how painful that is, but if that’s what it takes to get rid of one, so be it. If you think your ingrown is infected, see your doctor. You will need antibiotics, just like for any other infection.
I agree with the poster who recommended exfoliation, too.
Good luck to everyone. Hair removal is a really tough thing to deal with.
I used to have really terrible ingrown hairs on my lower legs that would cause huge infected cysts and ugly scars. I always wore jeans and was mortified if I had to wear a dress. I know this sounds odd, but what really worked was going to a tanning salon. Yes, it’s bad for your skin, but it seemed to cure my ingrowns by 99%. I may still get the occasional one here and there, but it doesn’t form the huge cysts or wounds I used to get. Also, I discovered a product called Sugar Whip, made by primal elements. It’s $20 a tub, but lasts forever and has such an addictive smell and texture. Best exfoliater I’ve ever found. Now my legs look stunning (excuse my ego)! I even started epilating again and have no problems with ingrowns.
My gyno told me best method for ingrown hairs arnd ur bikini line is good ole fashion liquid dial soap. Wash that area daily with it and u should notice a difference in about a week. It works like a charm.
I know have issues with my eyebrows where I wax – not sure why its bad now esp when I’ve been waxing for a decade – hence why I read this post. But cold water – toner – etc. R not helping. Lmk if u have another idea. Def can’t. Afford laser.
I have baddddd ingrown hairs !!! They hurt when I walk and I kerp pulling my underwear out like a wedge 7!!!! Helpp they reallyyyyyy hurtt
i have two or three ingrown hairs in one area on my pubic area and they are huge and they hurt like hell