Those of us with BFRBs know that ingrown hairs can be a battle, whether you’re a picker or a puller. Many struggle with how to handle them and how to combat them. One of our CBSN members had the opportunity to ask someone who specializes in waxing and laser hair removal about ingrown hairs and these are the tips she suggested!
- A big helper, is to EXFOLIATE. Buy a cream or lotion with crushed apricot seed or some other semi-rough natural additive and put it on before you shower, or at least try to do it before you know your regular pull/pick sessions start. This sloughs off the dead skin and makes it easier for the new ones to come in. Less chance the hair is going to go wonky under your last layers of epidermis.
- Use a cream, cleanser or lotion that has Salicylic acid or Glycolic acid in it. This helps again, to slough off the extra dead skin and also unclogs the pores, which adds to the ingrown business. You could make all this a part of your shower routine. Maybe find a body wash that has the salicylic acid in it… I think spectral gel makes one.
- When you get the ingrown hairs, it might help to gently lift the hair out from under the skin, BUT DON’T PLUCK IT!!! If you do it’ll just grow deeper next time, giving a better chance for another ingrown hair. Trim them down, and maybe use a little witch hazel to sterilize them every once in a while. Don’t use alcohol, because it’ll dry up your skin and just add to the dead skin and poor clogging.
She also ackowledges that it can be difficult to control picking and pulling, but thinks that it is definitely important and worth a shot to give these things a try when it comes to ingrown hairs. Good luck!