How to Treat Ingrown Hairs and Razor Bumps

As skin professionals, ingrown hairs are a common concern we come across when treating our clients. Ingrown hairs not only feel irritating, when experienced, but they can also affect a person’s sense of confidence. Now that its summer is here, we may find ourselves removing body hair more often. If we’re going to do so, there are ways we improve our skincare habits to keep ingrown hairs at bay.

What are Ingrown Hairs?

Ingrown hairs are natural hairs that have grown irregularly. This occurrence often occurs after the hair removal process, such as shaving or plucking, and causes the skin to become inflamed, irritated, and raised with small cysts. Hairs become ingrown in the process of trying to grow back from the follicle.

As the hair follicle begins to grow, it curls inward, causing the pores to be trapped by the curved hair follicle. When the pores are trapped, the skin becomes inflamed as puss and other impurities trigger swelling and irritation.

Remedies for Ingrown Hair

Luckily, ingrown hairs are very common reactions from the body when we remove hair. There are a few things that we can take into consideration to ensure that we remove hair carefully, without irritation. Here are a few easy ways you can treat and prevent ingrown hairs in the future:

Prevent

• Avoid shaving your skin. Instead of shaving, try using another hair removal method like sugaring or our Laser Hair Removal .
• Only use sharp, single-bladed razors. Make sure to disinfect the razor before shaving.
• Do not shave too close to the skin, and use as few razor strokes as you can.
• Shave in the direction your hair is growing.
• Use warm water to shave, with a moisturizing shaving gel or cream.
• Rinse the skin with cool water to reduce irritation.
• Keep the skin moisturized after to reduce irritation. For example, coconut oil is a natural moisturizer with antibacterial properties to prevent inflammation.

Treat

• Exfoliate regularly with a blemish-fighting cleanser. Our Exfoliating Cleanser is the perfect daily treatment for ingrown hairs. Containing Green Tea, Aloe, and Lactic Acid, our cleanser will soothe skin inflammation while dissolving all impurities trapped under the skin.
• Add a buff or soft scrubbing pad to your skincare routine. By manually exfoliating the skin, once a day, you’re assisting in un-trapping the ingrown hairs and removing impurities under the skin.
• Avoid touching, picking, or squeezing ingrown hairs. Doing this can lead to further infection and scarring.
• Using a retinoid cream can assist in reducing inflammation. Apply a thin layer of our overnight Refining Créme or Resurfacing Créme , each night, until you begin to see improvement.
• Book a facial treatment. Our invigorating Perfec-Tone Facial is most ideal if you’re considering a faster treatment. Including blemish extraction, facial steaming, and nourishing masks, our weekly facial treatment will boost your skin’s recovery.