For men who shave their beards daily and women who reach for the Gillette to remove hair on their legs and bikini line, razors and ingrown hair seem to go hand in hand. Certain hair removal techniques are more likely to cause red bumps and ingrown hairs (pseudofolliculitis) on your skin than others. You can reduce your risk of this common cosmetic problem by shaving safely rather than closely.
The Principles of Shaving
Razor blades crop individual hair shafts off where they emerge from the skin. Other forms of hair removal include use of a topical depilatory cream, which chemically dissolves the hair, and buffing, in which a rough surface similar to sandpaper is used to remove the hair. When you use a razor, hair grows back quite quickly--sometimes after three days, but other times by the end of the day. During the regrowth process, you may notice ingrown hairs.
Causes
The structure of your hair and the direction in which it grows each play a role in ingrown hairs, according to the Mayo Clinic experts. When hairs are cropped with a razor, this creates a sharp edge at the tip of the hair, particularly in hair follicles that grow out curly. As curly hair begins to grow out, it can re-penetrate the skin, creating an ingrown hair. If you shave hair that's tightly curled, this puts you at risk for ingrown hairs, states the Mayo Clinic. This also explains why ingrown hairs tend to plague women who use a razor blade to tidy up their bikini lines, where the hair is more coarse and curly, and why African-American and Hispanic men are more likely to get ingrown hairs after a shave. Your choice of razor can also be a factor, according to Mayo Clinic experts. Each time a single razor blade passes over your skin, the newly-cropped hair retreats back into the skin. Use of a double or triple razor blades irritates the hair follicle more than once, resulting in razor rash and greater likelihood of ingrown hairs.
Prevention/Solution
To prevent ingrown hairs, the Mayo Clinic advises selecting a single-bladed razor over more sophisticated razors that use as many as four blades spaced very closely together. Paula Begoun, a skincare expert, states that the latter type of razor gives you a closer shave; however, the closer the shave, the more likely you are to get ingrown hairs.
Thorough prevention of ingrown hairs can necessitate an even bigger change in your daily grooming habits. Mayo Clinic experts suggest using a chemical hair remover (cream depilatory), which leaves the tip of the hair rounded and less likely to penetrate the skin when it grows back. As another option, you may also look into laser hair removal treatments to reduce the density of overall hair growth.
Safer Shaving Options
If you choose to shave, the Mayo Clinic advises you to dampen the area you plan to shave with warm water first and apply a moisturizing shaving gel or cream. Rinse or dip the razor in water after each stroke, and avoid pulling your skin taut. Consider using an electric razor and adjusting the setting so the hair is left a bit longer to cut down on ingrown hairs.
Mayo Clinic experts also advise shaving in the same direction as the hair growth to avoid irritating the follicle. This won't get you the same close shave and smooth skin that you'll notice if you shave against the direction of the hair growth, but you're less likely to experience razor rash and ingrown hairs.
Treating Ingrown Hairs
It's difficult to prevent ingrown hairs entirely after razor shaving, but Begoun suggests applying a topical anti-inflammatory that contains stabilized aspirin. Ingrown hairs that become visibly infected--these may resemble small pimples--can be treated with a topical nonprescription antibiotic such as Neosporin, Polysporin or Bacitracin, states Begoun.
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