Summer Ingrown Hair Remedies

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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