Did you know that female hair removal dates back to ancient India between 4000 and 3000 BC? While hair removal methods have immensely evolved, women are still dealing with ingrown hairs. An ingrown hair is a hair that has curled back into the skin rather than emerging from the surface of the skin. Let’s dive into this topic a bit further and learn how to prevent ingrown hairs.

When Do Ingrown Hairs Occur?

Ingrown hairs appear after the hair on the legs, back, arms, bikini area, armpits, upper lips, chest, and other areas is removed through various methods, such as waxing, shaving, plucking, or threading. Ingrown hairs are most common on the legs, bikini area, underarms, and beard.

Signs of Ingrown Hair

Signs of ingrown hairs include tiny swollen bumps, a stinging sensation, itching in the area, and bumps surrounded by darker skin. After getting waxed, it’s important to look out for these signs in the areas where hair was removed.

Causes of Ingrown Hair

The first cause of ingrown hair is blocked hair follicles. A lot of dead skin cells on the surface of the skin can block hair follicles. A blocked follicle will prevent the hair from growing out of the skin and it curls back inwards instead. The second cause is improper hair removal. If you don’t get waxed by a professional, then hair that is improperly removed will curl back inwards. This happens if the hair is shaved or waxed against the direction of growth. The third cause of ingrown hair is friction. Friction is caused by wearing tight clothes or by a body movement that can cause hair to push back into the follicle.

How to Prevent Ingrown Hair

Here are five ways to prevent ingrown hairs from developing:

• Switch to waxing to remove hair instead of shaving. Waxing is a much better hair removal process for preventing ingrown hairs.
• Exfoliate the skin regularly to reduce ingrown hairs. We recommend exfoliating every 3 days and using our Prevent which is a chemical exfoliant formulated with glycolic acid.
• After your wax, use our Repair serum to soothe the skin. The salicylic acid in it helps clean out your pores and gets rid of dead skin cells that build up around the hair follicles and cause ingrown hairs and blemishes. This can be used as a spot treatment for any bumps or ingrown hairs as well!
• Take a warm shower before coming to your wax to open up your hair follicles.

Advantages of Waxing Over Shaving

Here are a few benefits of getting waxed over shaving to consider if you’re dealing with ingrown hairs:

• Waxed hair takes longer to grow back compared to shaving. Waxing removes hair from the root, while shaving removes hair at the surface level.
• Waxed hair is finer and not stubbly like shaved hair. This will reduce the itchiness caused by shaving.
• Waxing removes dead skin cells and grime, leaving the skin smooth and clean.
• Over time, with regular waxing, hair will become sparser and less coarse.

Getting waxed can help you prevent ingrown hairs! The next time that you need to remove body hair, contact Brazils Waxing Center. Our team of professional waxers can provide you with more information regarding ingrown hairs and available treatments. Call us today to set up your appointment!