Ingrown hairs…ughhhh!!! A dirty, hairy word we all despise. If you have ever done any waxing or DIY fuzz patrol then you have likely had the pesky experience of an ingrown hair.

An ingrown hair or Pseudofolliculitis occurs when the hair curves into the side wall of the follicle instead of growing straight out of the follicle opening. So those of you with thick, curly hair are more susceptible to ingrowns because the hair has a tendency to not grow straight through the surface. Also, skin can heal over the top of the opening which restricts the hair from surfacing and forces it to grow back beneath the skin.

How do you prevent ingrown hairs?

Give the skin on your body the same TLC you grace your face with. Three days after your wax or when all redness subsides, start a daily exfoliation routine and make the loofah or hand mitts your best friend for life! Wet the loofah or hand mitts and add a dab of cleanser and gently scrub the area. This will exfoliate the thin layer of skin away and set that hair free preventing an infection. Do not scrub too hard.

For a gentler exfoliation, you can opt for a washcloth. I have found cleansers containing salicylic acid work the best. This acid clears out the junk or oil and makes room for the hair to grow freely upward and outward. For those who find ingrown hairs rare, exfoliation two to three times a week is enough. But frequent ingrown hair victims should exfoliate daily and also add a little No Bump or alcohol on the area after showering.

Picking, prodding and poking, ohhh so hard to resist, but you can end up permanently scarring your skin. Picking is likely to irritate the skin or cause an infection. Don’t let those nasty little ingrowns fool you. Not only are the pesky, but very generous in spreading themselves around. When you push down on the red bump or ingrown you force the sebum and/or pus downward to neighboring follicles spreading the infection to other follicles nearby.