By: Amanda Padilla
An ingrown hair is basically a hair that is not able to break through the skin as it grows. Because it is trapped underneath the skin, it causes little red bumps at the surface. And although ingrown hairs are nothing to get alarmed about, they are unsightly. Who wants to see small pimple-looking bumps sullying what could be flawless skin?
Eliminate ingrown hairs from your life by doing the following:
1. Exfoliate regularly. If you are prone to ingrowns, you might want to do this three times a week. Your options are to use a sugar or salt scrub on your body after showering, or you could use a exfoliating glove instead of a bath lily or loofah. For those with very thick and curly hair, you might want to include dry brushing into your regular morning routine. Clogged hair follicles are the main cause of ingrown hairs, and usually they are clogged by dead skin cells. Exfoliating is the single most important thing you can do to get rid of ingrown hair.
2. Shave with the grain of your hair. I was shocked to realize I was shaving wrong my whole life- I was shaving my legs upwards when I should have been doing it downwards. Shaving it this way makes it easier for growing hair to pierce through the skin and not get suck underneath it. Make sure to shave with a sharp blade and replace the shaver often. Also, make sure to use a lubricating shaving cream while doing this. Using soap can dry up the skin and clog the pores. Rinse the hair and shaving cream off the blade with each stroke. Use as few strokes as possible.
3. Use moisturizers with alpha hydroxy acids or gentle fruit acids to speed up cell turnover in the skin. This will help get rid of the existing bumps by freeing hairs that are very close to the surface of the skin. Using products like Rentin-A also help get rid of ingrowns by clearing out dead skin cells.
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