How can I avoid getting red, bumpy, awful ingrown hairs when my hair regrows after shaving or a bikini wax? It makes me self-conscious.
EXPERT
First, it's important to remember that ingrown hair problems are mostly caused by pressure and/or friction. As someone who performs bikini waxing services almost every day all day long, I've seen the most intense ingrown hair problems occur during two fashion periods - low rise jeans and skinny jeans. Why is this?
The skin reacts to being constantly rubbed and pressed on by creating something else for the offender to rub and press on instead. The nice, warm environment "down there" is a haven for bacteria that normally live inside pores which are now being swelled up from inflammation caused by the pressure and friction, so the bacteria thrive. Sometimes excess oil production also comes into play to create a kind of slip leading to impactions of blackhead material, other times it's just inflammation creating swelling and nothing else. In both cases, hair is prevented from growing out of the follicle properly.
Prevention comes in the form of properly cushioning the skin. This means... hate to be the barer of bad news ladies... NO thong when wearing denim, tweed, twill or any other type of textured material. It also means NO LACE and no mesh underwear. E-VER. There must be smooth, non-textured, 100% cotton underwear covering the entire affected area at all times. Many of my clients have enjoyed a great deal of relief from their ingrown problems just by changing completely to boy cut, or boy short, 100% cotton underwear.
Treatment includes manual plus chemical exfoliation to loosen skin cells and impactions so hair can start to come out of blocked follicles, such as an acne face wash with exfoliating spa gloves. Salicylic Acid gels or liquids can indeed be a bit drying. Inflamed ingrown hairs benefit from the anti-inflammatory properties of Sal Acid, but again, the drying aspect can be a problem. What I have found works well are these products, that I sell on my web site :
Step 1) The exfoliating spa gloves I mentioned before, using something like Neutrogena Body Clear Body Wash or PanOxyl 10% BPO wash.
Step 2) an AHA lotion in conjunction with a Benzoyl Peroxide lotion, using the BPO first, OR, a cooling gel designed to calm irritation and redness while hydrating the skin so it releases dead skin cells more easily.
Step 3) After exfoliation and hydration, to really prevent as well as treat an existing ingrown hair problem, a revolutionary, anti-inflammatory, moisture absorbing body powder called FerroRosa FrictionFixTM is indispensable. This amazing powder is applied all over breakout areas before getting dressed each morning, and again before working out or sitting for long periods. Inflammation and even itching is relieved, while skin is protected from friction and pressure by absorbing moisture and oil. Also works great for razor burn.
What do you think, Beautiful? Love, Something Beautiful
