Ingrown hair is generally already hugely annoying, but what about when it's literally in your face? Right, even more annoying. If you've ever had ingrown hairs, you know exactly the discomfort it brings. Ingrown beard hairs can be felt when you smile, talk or move your face at all. Not nice, but it is common among all men who shave.
The results of these unwanted bumps can get a lot more grim: swelling, inflammation and even scarring (on your face). Obviously you want to avoid this, but is there anything we can do about it? Well, fortunately they can be prevented and properly removed. Before we get started, it's important to know what ingrown hairs are and how they happen.
How do ingrown hairs occur?
When talking about ingrown hairs, there are actually two different types. You can divide them into ingrown hairs and razor bumps.
Ingrown hairs
When shaving, your skin is under a lot of tension. When you shave, you may find that the hairs are pulled, creating a "slant point. This bevel can puncture the wall of the hair follicle, blocking its exit. The hair cannot exit and continues to grow under the surface of the skin. The main causes of these ingrown hairs are:
- Shaving against hair growth
- Using a blunt razor
- Too many dead skin cells on your skin
Razor bumps
In razor bumps, the hair grows out, but then goes back into the skin. This is common in men with curly hair. These types of ingrown hairs actually have the same causes and solutions.
How to prevent ingrown hairs
Prevention is better than cure. Fortunately, preventing ingrown hairs is not at all difficult. In fact, these changes will greatly improve your skin condition.
1. Shave in the direction of hair growth
We understand that you want a smooth result, but shaving against the direction of hair growth significantly increases the risk of ingrown hairs. Even when shaving in the direction of hair growth, you can still achieve a very smooth result. With a safety razor, for example. More on that later.
2. Stop using a blunt razor
Admit it, you've shaved with the same blade too many times. The duller the blade, the more resistance it creates and the more it will pull on the skin. So an ingrown hair will then be able to occur very quickly. Always use sharp razor blades. Do you use disposable blades? If so, use those only once and then throw them away. We often hear the comment that it is so expensive to replace your blades so quickly. But is that really true? Then maybe you should switch to a cheaper and much better alternative. You'll read about that in our next point.
3. Shave with a safety razor
A safety razor uses only one replaceable blade, which, by the way, is much sharper than the blades from a disposable blade or cartridge system. It cuts hair better and the result is smoother. The replaceable blades of a safety razor are called "double edge blades" and are many times cheaper than disposable blades. Buying a safety razor is often quite a bit more expensive. But it is a one-time investment that lasts a long time. Due to the savings on blades, you often have that investment paid off within 3 months. In the list with our top 10 best safety razors you can filter on your needs and price range. There's a good match for everyone!
4. Warm your skin before shaving
Make your skin warm and moist before shaving. Your skin and hairs will become softer and your hair follicles will relax. You can do this by rinsing well with warm water in the shower or placing a warm wet towel on your face for 5 minutes.
5. Shave wet rather than dry
By wet shave we mean using a good shaving soap or shaving cream. No shaving foam as they often dry out the skin more than necessary. The foam you create with a shaving soap or cream softens the hairs and puts a nice smooth protective layer on your skin so that the blade can glide smoothly over it. Wet shaving is a pleasure in itself.
6. Use a pre shave
A preshave is actually a special oil or gel that you apply before using shaving soap or cream. It provides an extra layer of protection that softens the skin, protects it from irritation and ensures an even smoother shave. Thus, you further reduce the risk of ingrown hairs or irritation in general. To make it easier for you, we have already created a top 10 best preshaves with our favorites.
7. Regularly remove dead skin cells with an exfoliator
Ingrown hairs can also be caused by dead skin cells blocking the exits of the hair follicles. So once a week, use a scrub from our top 10 best facial scrub for your face to remove dead skin cells. It will also give you a beautiful face.
8. Use a cream specifically for ingrown hairs
If you often suffer from ingrown hairs, we recommend using a special cream that prevents ingrown hairs, red bumps and irritations. Use these treatments after shaving and before applying a day cream. We are very fans of the formulas from brands such as Malin + Goetz and Anthony.
9. Use a balm or day cream after shaving
You want to condition and moisturize your skin as much as possible. This will soothe your skin after shaving and prevent irritation or inflammation. Hydrated skin is less likely to develop such problems.
10. Use Alum
You may have never heard of this, but we consider this mineral stone to be the "holy grail" of shaving products. Alum is disinfecting and will help prevent ingrown hairs.
What can you do about ingrown hairs?
If you already have an ingrown hair then of course you want to remove it. You can best remove an ingrown hair with the following ways.
Loosen them with a cotton swab
If you gently pinch the skin around the ingrown hair, you can use a cotton swab to wipe over it against the direction of hair growth. This will often loosen the hair.
Remove them with tweezers
Can't do it with a cotton swab? Then try it with tweezers. Especially useful with razor bumps where some of the hair can be seen above your skin. Grab the hair and pull it out. Always disinfect the tweezers though to prevent inflammation. It sometimes happens that you pull the whole hair follicle with it. So always disinfect the skin well after pulling the hair as otherwise inflammations can easily occur.
Visit a specialist
We ourselves are sometimes good at thinking we can do everything. But when it comes to your skin, you don't want to mess around, especially when it's on your face. If you don't want to deal with it yourself, call a beautician or your doctor. They specialize in this and have different equipment than we do. Then at least you can be assured that you won't do any permanent damage.
Goodbye ingrown hairs
With these tips, it should be doable! Ingrown hairs will be a thing of the past and those irritating lumps of stubborn hair will disappear. If you still have questions, please know that you can always contact us. We're going to try to help you the best we can, whether it's shaving techniques or products that can help. That's what friends are for.
Good luck!
Your friends, The Alpha Men