Dear ladies, if you've ever waxed before, there's a good chance you've had to deal with the horrors that are called ingrown hairs. Not only are they so uncomfortable, but they are also unattractive.

What's the point of waxing if you still have to deal with ingrown hairs? So, how do you deal with ingrown hairs after waxing?

Well, there are several ways you can deal with this. An ingrown hair is what happens when you wax, but the hair never breaks the skin. Instead, it grows back into the skin. This happens in areas with thicker skin where the hair is most likely curly.

We'll consider a couple of steps, like using  precision tweezers, exfoliation, using some oils, and more to help you deal with this nuisance of ingrown hairs after waxing, andwe’ll also cover some tips to prevent this from happening next time.

Now you get how ingrown hairs work, but as a bonus, we'll throw in a section about shaving bumps, so watch out for that! Let's go!

What Causes Ingrown Hairs?

Before we go about casting spells and creating potions and cures, let's understand what causes ingrown hairs. Unsurprisingly, anyone can get ingrown hair. It is relatively common in people with curly or stiff hair. Imagine a hair follicle getting clogged with dead skin cells, you’ll have ingrown hair.

Humans shed about 600,000 particles of skin per hour — mind-blowing, isn't it? When these dead particles, or "dead layer," aren't removed, they block hairs under the skin, causing ingrown hairs.

One other culprit of ingrown hairs is various types of hair removal. Let's take a look at a few of them below.

• Waxing

Does waxing legs cause ingrown hairs? Well, waxing rips hairs out of their roots. Each hair follicle is attached to a tiny tube that guides the hair up to the surface as it regrows.

Waxing pulls the hair so rapidly that it damages the follicles and tubes. When the lining of the tube is damaged, it cannot guide the hair. Ingrown hairs are ultimately caused when hair gets stuck underneath the skin.

Waxing aims to remove the entire hair from the root; however, it might break above or below the skin's surface. This might happen if a technician doesn't have the right "pull" or applies too much wax to a particular spot.

• Epilation

During epilating, something similar happens. An epilator is a device that works like an electric shaver. It has a revolving tweezers head that grab and pulls hairs from the root as it moves across the skin. This has the same negative impact as waxing.

• Shaving

Does shaving prevent ingrown hairs? Well, the answer depends on which direction you shave to avoid ingrown hairs. Shaving stickers are designed with multi-blade razors to provide the smoothest shaving experience possible.

One razor lifts the hair, and the other cuts it below the skin line. One problem with this system is that it only works in your shaving direction.

Let's assume that your hair grows in one direction, and you are shaving in the opposite direction. This increases the risk of a hair follicle getting trapped under the epidermis, resulting in inflamed and painful ingrown hair.

For coarse facial hair, aggressive razors with many blades were intended to give a smoother shave with fewer passes. To put it another way, they're more suited to men's faces than to women's bodies.

A similar issue can be caused by dull blades. If you shave with dull blades, the hair ends up jagged instead of being cut cleanly, causing irritation as the hair grows.

• Tight clothing

Tight clothes, especially extremely tight underwear, can cause ingrown hairs. When skin is allowed to breathe, it is at its best. Tight underwear's elastic rubs against the skin, trapping hair as it grows back and causing painful ingrown hairs.

Put on a pair of baggy boy shorts or 100% cotton undies.

How to Treat Ingrown Hairs

Ingrown hairs usually just disappear with time, but if you don't have that time or patience, that beach day isn't going to wait for you either. Follow these four steps to treat ingrown hairs.

• Stop plucking!

Yes, you heard me. You are not a thanksgiving turkey. Stop plucking at your hair. Do not shave wax,pull, pluck or do anything of that nature in the area where the ingrown hairs are. And squeezing them out will do you no good, yes, I'm looking at you, stop that right now.

Doing that only makes your skin angry and prone to infection.

• Exfoliate the skin

Get a washcloth, soak it in warm water, and gently massage the irritated area for 10-15 minutes. It feels good, doesn't it? This should soften your skin and allow you to make circular motions for 10-15 seconds to gently exfoliate. If it starts to hurt or irritate your skin, you should skip this step.

• Remove the ingrown hair.

Only do this if you see the ingrown hair growing into your skin. Do not dig for gold in your skin! It's in bold. Read it again. Doing so can cause dark spots or scarring, and then we'll have a whole new problem on our hands. If you can't see any heat, skip to the next step.

If you can see the hair, grab a pair of tweezers and pull at it. When you free it from the skin, and that's done, gently drag everything else out. Use a  pointy tweezer that can get the job done in one go.

You don't want to do this over and over again. If the hair doesn't budge, let it be. It will be ready soon. Once the hair is free, the redness and swelling should reduce, and you should be good to go.

• Use an oil that is exfoliating as well as antimicrobial.

Apply a topical exfoliating oil to the skin after removing the ingrown hair to calm and soothe your skin while also avoiding future aggravation.

Conclusion

Ingrown hair is something that we all want to avoid and through this article, we’ve learned what causes them and how we can treat them. We’d love to hear your thoughts and experience in managing ingrown hairs.

Share your stories with us in the comment section or you can message us on our Facebook or Instagram account.

See you in our next article!