Bumps from shaving your legs can be unsightly, uncomfortable and even have the potential to become big blisters. There are several ways to treat your existing bumps and prevent leg shaving bumps.
Explanation
Red bumps that pop up after shaving your legs, commonly called razor bumps, are actually small ingrown hairs, say Women Fitness and Columbia University's Go Ask Alice. Right after a shave, sometimes the very top of a remaining hair curls back and starts growing back into the follicle from whence it came, rather than breaking through the skin and growing outward.
Causes
Hair often has a tendency to grow back into the follicle, rather than outward, for a few different reasons, Women Fitness says. Dry skin, oil in the hair follicle or dead skin cells plugging up the skin and legs on your pores are potential causes, as is your leg hair texture. Coarser, curlier hair is more likely to curl around back into the follicle than finer, straighter hair. Shaving too closely or hair removal methods such as waxing that tend to irritate the hair follicle can also give rise to razor bumps.
Characteristics
Razor bumps are slightly raised from being swollen and are often itchy, tingly or painful. If your body rejects the hair that's trying to grow back into the follicle, it results in a small, pus-filled blister, or pustule. If the pustule gets infected, it can break open and bleed or continue to collect pus and grow.
Treatment
Letting your leg hair grow for at least three weeks often gets rid of the razor bumps, Go Ask Alice says, because the ingrown hairs grow long enough to pop out of the hair follicles. Applying a small amount of benzoyl peroxide fights off bacteria that lead to infection; a mild corticosteroid cream lessens pain and swelling. Razor bumps sometimes disappear on their own even quicker than three week's time, Women Fitness says. If you're constantly getting razor bumps from shaving, consider switching to an electric razor or another hair removal method, such as waxing or a depilatory.
Prevention
Adjusting your shaving methods often works to prevent razor bumps, Women Fitness and Go Ask Alice say. Applying a shaving cream, gel or foam and shaving under warm water after a shower keeps ingrown hairs at bay, as does a clean, sharp razor blade. Shaving in the same direction in which the hair grows, or down your leg instead of up your leg, doesn't get you as close a shave but works to prevent razor bumps. Keeping your leg skin moisturized and exfoliated also helps.
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