Most people who have either shaved or waxed facial or body hair (specially you people with curly or thick hair) have experienced the dreaded Ingrown Hair. But have you wondered what exactly causes them? And how you can deal with them, or better yet - avoid them in the first place! 

What is Ingrown Hair?

An Ingrown Hair is one that has grown back into your skin instead of rising up from it. Sometimes, dead skin can clog a hair follicle, forcing the hair to grow sideways under your skin, rather than up and over. Or if you cut naturally curly hair too short, the sharp end of the hair can pierce your skin, causing an ingrowth.

Where does Ingrowth occur?

Ingrowth can occur in any area where you opt for hair removal by shaving or waxing. With that being said, ingrowth mostly occurs in areas with thick and coarse hair such as your armpits, face and neck (beard), legs, chest, back, and your bikini area, depending on hair type and level of growth. This happens because denser hair can curl back more easily into the skin when cut.

Causes of Ingrown Hair

The most common causes of Ingrowth are shaving, waxing, and tweezing unwanted facial and body hair. By removing hair and leaving the sharp tip of the hair too short and close to the skin surface, it is more prone to grow sideways or to curl back into the hair follicle and get stuck under the surface of the skin, leading to irritation and inflammation of the overlying skin. Using incorrect shaving techniques and failing to take precautionary measures when shaving or removing hair increases the chances of developing ingrown hair. Ingrowth is a common occurrence among individuals who have curly or coarse hair. In addition to dead skin cells and debris clogging hair follicles, tight clothing can also lead to and irritate existing ingrown hair.

Getting Rid of Ingrown Hair at home

It may help to temporarily stop shaving, tweezing or waxing to avoid Ingrowth 

Here are some hacks to remove an ingrown hair safely at home:

1. Wash the area with a mild soap and warm water. If the area is not irritated, gently exfoliate it.

2. Apply a warm, wet washcloth over the ingrown hair. This can help open the follicle and allow it to drain. Hold the washcloth in place for 1 minute, and then remove it.

3. Using a sterilized needle or tweezers, gently tease out the rest of the hair. When the entire hair is above the surface of the skin, use the tweezers to grab its base. Pull firmly upward to remove the hair.

4. Wash the area again with warm, soapy water, and apply a warm washcloth if needed to help soothe any irritation.

And lastly, it would obviously be best to avoid having ingrown hair in the first place! To prevent ingrown hair, you can follow these tips:

1. If you like shaving, make sure your blades aren’t blunt. If you feel the blades aren’t sharp enough, get a fresh one!

2. While shaving, don’t press into the skin too hard, this cuts the hair too deep, increasing the chances of an ingrown hair. Also avoid shaving in the opposite direction of hair growth, this too can lead to cutting the hair too deep.

3. You can try going without shaving for a few days if you’re getting ingrown hair too often, this will allow the hair follicles time to heal themselves.

4. Before shaving any body part, make sure your skin is moist and soft. You can do this by having a hot shower or keeping a hot cloth over the skin for a minute. This greatly reduces the risk of any skin irritation, and softens up the hair, reducing the chances of any ingrowth.

5. Laser hair removal and hair dissolving creams may be a good alternative. But you should consider these carefully, and research properly before opting for either.

Hopefully you learnt a little something from this article! Take care and be back for more of these informational articles!