New
swimsuit, check. New sandals,
check. Wide-brimmed hat, check. Electronic ticket, check. If only you could check off getting rid of those
pesky things on your bikini line, but there they are, staring you right in the
face! Check. Mate.
“Why
me?!”
Some
people are more prone to ingrown hairs on the bikini line than others. The type of ingrowns you get makes a significant
difference when it comes to how to get rid of them. One remedy does not fit all!
How do
you get ingrown hairs?
Ingrown
hairs are basically caused by three things:
- Skin being pulled while shaving, which causes your hair to point in the wrong direction once you let go of the skin you’re pulling.
The hair begins to grow into the skin, or scratches the wall of the follicle as it grows out, so now your body thinks it's an invader. It reacts by sending the same artillery as
when you have an infection; blood for added heat, lymph to bring ammunition to
kill the invader, and if things get bad enough, white blood cells (which are
what make up that awful white head) and boom, you get a major zit with a hair
inside.
- Friction from clothes that have any kind of texture, like denim jeans, and lace or mesh underwear.
As you walk around or
exercise with these constantly rubbing against you, your pores respond. Hair gets obstructed because of the resulting
swelling from the irritation. Some of
the worst cases of ingrowns I've seen have been on people who went commando
with jeans. Remember low rise
jeans? Skinny jeans present the same problem. Pressure from such tight clothes, whether
you're in a car for long periods of time or cross-legged at your desk,
can cause terrible ingrown hair breakouts.
- Skin's propensity to overproduce oil and dead skin cells, creating blackheads, which catch hairs as they grow out of the follicle.
I've seen these even among first-time waxing
clients, including those who've never shaved, which means they have them
regardless of whether they’re removing hair or not.
What are
the different types of ingrowns, and how do I make them go away?
In
the case of irritation, the problem will be small or large red bumps with (or
even without!) a hair inside. These are
the ones that hurt like hell whether you squeeze them or not, and they very
often get infected as they swell enough to let all the oxygen out of the pore,
allowing the anaerobic bacteria inside to thrive.
The
remedy for these angry buggers is to calm the skin with a combination of
Mandelic Acid, daily use of my anti-inflammatory healing powder FerroRosa FrictionFix® invented specifically for this problem,
and only wearing smooth, 100% cotton underwear that covers all affected areas
at all times. Hydrocortisone-based creams and ointments thin the skin over time,
plus they can be quite pore clogging, so these are not advised. Also avoid any products that contain talc,
which is highly pore clogging and possibly unhealthy.
Ingrown
hairs that appear like large blackhead-looking bumps occasionally get red, and
don't always hurt when you squeeze them. The stuff that comes out is actually blackhead
material along with a hair.
The
remedy for these bumps is a combination of Benzoyl Peroxide (BPO) which you can
experiment with in either a wash or a topical lotion, exfoliating during every shower with a pair of
exfoliating spa gloves, Alpha Hydroxy Acid in either a gel
or lotion form in a
concentration of 10-15% (remember: only 10% or less can be used on the face),
and wearing only smooth cotton underwear that covers all affected areas at all
times.
A
kit of FerroRosa FrictionFix®, Mandelic-Lactic Acid serum and spa gloves is now
available in two sizes on my web site for your convenience. Please
contact me for guidance on the other products discussed in this post as
well, and together we will address your particular ingrown hair issues!
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