how to prevent ingrown hairs

Many man will have the occassional ingrown hair. There are multiple reasons why this happens, but luckily there are solutions and preventions to reduce the chance of ingrown hairs.

What is an ingrown hair?

An ingrown hair is a hair that grows back into the skin instead of just straight up as seen in the blog image. This primarily happens in areas that you shave (frequently), so your beard, neck, chest and pubic area.

Especially when you have thicker and/or curlier hair, you can experience ingrown hairs.. When a hair grows back into your skin it can cause an inflammation and start to look like a pimple. You will get a red bump and sometimes it becomes a whitehead.

Infected ingrown hairs can be quite painful and cause red spots and skin irritation. So, it is important to prevent ingrown hairs where possible and remove them in time.

The primary causes of ingrown hairs

The primary reason that ingrown hairs can exist is the removal or partial removal of the hair. I am talking about shaving, waxing and epilating, including removing hairs with tweezers. In all these cases the hairs are either shaved close to the skin or even removed completely.

When a hair grows back, there is a chance it grows back into your skin instead of straight up again. It is no surprise that for men ingrown hairs occur mostly in your face, because facial hair is probably shaved most frequently. Especially in your neck area you can get ingrown hairs.

Men tend to stretch their skin while shaving their beard because it results in a closer shave. Especially when you use a razor with multiple blades, because the hair is cut off too close to the skin and multiple blades are going over your skin. That also causes those annoying bumps.

This is what you should do to prevent ingrown hairs

There are a few things you should take into account when you want to prevent these annoying ingrown hairs.

Stop or change your way of shaving

When you shave your beard, neck, chest or pubic area, then it is best to not cut off the hairs too close to your skin.

It is best to shave your beard with a safety razor or single blade razor. Also a beard trimmer or body trimmer are smart options, because they do not shave the hairs under your skin surface. That way you will have less chance of getting any ingrown hairs in your public area or chest.

A warm towel before you start shaving and a cold towel after shaving also helps to prevent ingrown hairs. And always use a sharp razor and shave with the grain and not against it.

Not shaving or significantly less is always helpful, but that is not always an option of course.

Scrub/exfoliating

A second important aspect is to scrub your skin a few times per week. That way you reduce the chance of ingrown hairs because face and body scrubs contain antibacterial and anti-inflammatory ingredients.

When you want to scrub your body, you can use a body scrub that contains salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. Both have exfoliating properties and reduce inflammation.

When your beard is pretty long, you can also use a beard shampoo instead. The massaging effect helps hairs to grow back the correct way and prevents them from getting stuck in your skin, reducing the chance of ingrown hairs and problems.

Do not do this when you want to prevent ingrown hairs

Above I mentioned a few things that you should do to prevent ingrown hairs, but there are also things you should better avoid doing if you want to make things better.

First of all you should not use razors with multiple blades. Some (disposable) razors have about 4 to 5 blades and the hair gets cut off just as many times. That can result in the hair being cut off below the skin's surface and then it potentially grows back the wrong way.

When you are shaving, do not stretch your skin for a closer shave, because that increases the chance of hairs getting cut off too under the surface. It can also cause redness, skin irritation and bumps. Embracing a slight stubble is not bad idea when you suffer a lot from ingrown hairs.

Waxing and epilating hairs is also not recommended, because there is always a chance that you fail to remove a hair completely. In that case that hair will grow back into the skin and can cause all kinds of problems.

How to deal with ingrown hairs

It is always better to prevent ingrown hairs, but what can you do if you unfortunately still got one even though you took the steps above. If you hardly notices it and it does not cause any discomfort, you can actually choose to do nothing. In many cases ingrown hairs will resolve itself. The skin is resourceful that way.

It might be enticing to get some tweezers and pull the hair out or pop a whitehead, but that damages your skin and can become a source of bacteria and cause infections or inflammations. And there is still a chance that part of the hair is left behind.

When you have an ingrown hair in your beard, you can apply a hot compress to soften the hair. A good scrub is not only recommended to prevent ingrown hairs, but it can also help to remove ingrown hairs. So, use it about twice a week.

Conclusion

The primary reason that causes ingrown hairs it the removal of hair by shaving, waxing or epilating. Part of the hair can stay behind or grow back in the wrong way.

To prevent ingrown hairs it is best not to cut off the hairs under the skin's surface and it is best to apply a scrub with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory ingredients a few times per week.

Do you still happen to have an ingrown hair, do not pull it with tweezers or pop any whiteheads, because that can result in infections. Use a hot compress and a good scrub instead or wait until the problem resolves itself.

And then this...

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