How to get out an ingrown hair after shaving, tweezing or waxing.

By Tia Cristy


Recap: How to get out an ingrown hair after shaving, tweezing or waxing.



Problem:

I’ve
never had a problem with ingrown hairs up until now! I don’t know if my skin has changed or it’s just the season changing. Every time I shave or
pluck I get one. Do I need to wax instead? How do you make them go away? Anna, 30

 

Tip from Tia:

Ingrown
hairs…a problem that a large population has encountered if they ever
picked up a razor, tweezers or had even waxed some follicles. Those that
haven’t, consider yourself lucky. Ingrown hairs can be painful, itchy, swollen,
discolored and even run the risk of scaring. So how can you deal with the pesky
ingrown first before calling a professional?  This one is detailed so bare with me.

First, let’s understand some reasons why this happens. Skin and weather changes can be one cause like you asked. Skin
becomes drier with age, and with winter. When the skin is dry, the pores
try to hold any moisture it can and if a follicle gets trapped as a
result, an ingrown can happen. Just another reason to remember to moisturize your skin. In a lot of ingrown cases the razor is to blame, reason being, blade is too dull. The blade clips the hair crooked and irritates the skin to
plump up causing the remainder of the hair to go back under the skin and loop.
With tweezing and waxing, a somewhat similar thing can happen, but the loop is
from the root not being fully extracted and the new growth can loop. Of course
this is not the correct way hair should grow, so the skin becomes irritated and
all those side effects can happen.

First thing is first, if the area is infected that will need
to be taken care of first. If the area is painful, red and swollen, clean with an
antiseptic, then, apply an antibacterial cream. Once the infection is gone or
the area is healthy to begin with, we need to get the follicle to help push itself
out. Salt is a great extractor for the body. It withdraws many foreign objects
from the body when used properly. The best way to apply this salt soak is with
a cloth or piece of gauze saturated with warm water. Wet the patch and wring out excess water. Apply salt directly to the
cloth or gauze then apply the salt soak patch to the ingrown area. Leave on for
10 to 20 minutes. Pending on skin type sensitivity. Use a band-aid or tape to hold in place if you need too. Remove patch and lightly
scrub in circular motions. This process will gently break the skin, in the safest way possible. This will help grab the loop to become free. If the
hair does not come free, this process may take several attempts over a period
of days even weeks depending on how deep it is. Don’t pick, that can cause scaring and infection. After scrubbing gently, remove excess with
warm water and apply an antibacterial cream to the area, use a band-aid if
needed.

If salt is too harsh for you; granulated sugar has been recommended to
have the same benefits as salt, without being as crude. Remember this isn’t always an instant fix for a nasty
ingrown, it may take time. But, if the area gets infected or if the hair is not
coming to the surface, you may need to seek professional help.

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com  is trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good, from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip email me
!

By Tia Cristy