• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Shop ModernMom
  • Become An Insider

ModernMom

The premiere destination for moms

  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Kids
    • Tweens and Teens
    • ModernMom Monday Videos
  • Cooking
  • Living Healthy
    • Breast Cancer
    • Health & Fitness
    • Body after Baby
    • Beauty
    • Relationships
    • Love
  • Lifestyle
    • Crafts
    • At Home
    • Education
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Decorate
    • Money
    • Brooke Burke
  • Celebrate
    • Holidays
      • Easter
      • Valentine’s Day
      • New Year’s
      • Christmas
      • Hanukah
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
    • Birthdays
    • Parties
  • Must Have
  • Contests
  • Entertainment

Top 10 Skin Care Treatments for Ingrown Hairs

September 28, 2010 by ModernMom Staff Leave a Comment

Sometimes, when you shave your legs or pluck your eyebrows, the small bit of hair that remains pushes itself back into your skin. When the hair begins to grow again, it does not grow out. Instead, it grows in. If you develop red or pink bumps on an area where you’ve recently removed hair, you most likely now have ingrown hairs. Coarse, thick or curly hair tends to grow inward. Several treatments exist for ingrown hair. You can choose one, based on the severity of your condition.

Salicylic Acid Cleansers

One way to treat ingrown hairs is to remove the skin around them gently. If you have a few ingrown hairs, you may want to try a cleanser with salicylic acid in it. Commonly used to clear up acne and pimples, salicylic acid exfoliates dead skin cells, which can free the ingrown hair.

Cleanser or Ointment with Retinoids

Retinoids, which come from vitamin A, also help remove dead skin cells when applied to ingrown hairs. According to MayoClinic.com, a retinoid cream may also help thin the skin and prevent hair from digging into the follicle. Retinoids can also help even the tone of your skin.

Corticosteroid Creams

An unfortunate side effect of ingrown hairs is irritated skin. While corticosteroids will not remove the ingrown hair, they can help calm inflamed skin.

Scrub with a Toothbrush

Another way to remove ingrown hairs is to brush the area gently with a toothbrush. MayoClinic.com suggests using a soft brush and a circular motion before you shave and before bed.

Chemical Depilatory

According to MedicineNet, you can treat ingrown hairs with a chemical hair remover. The depilatory will loosen the hair in the follicle, so that a tip of the hair sticks out of the follicle. If you choose to treat ingrown hairs with a chemical depilatory, do not use it every day. If you experience irritation, stop using it or treat your skin with a cortisone cream.

Antibiotic Creams

If your ingrown hairs become infected, you need to treat the infection as well as remove the hairs. Infected ingrown hairs usually become pus-filled. An antibiotic cream, such as erythromycin, will get the infection under control.

Products with Benzoyl Peroxide

Another way to treat infected ingrown hairs is to wash the area with a cleanser that contains benzoyl peroxide. Cleansers designed to treat acne often contain benzoyl peroxide, since it kills bacteria and removes excess skin cells.

Tweezing

You can attempt to treat ingrown hairs by removing them–one by one–with a pair of sterile tweezers or a sterilized needle. Tweezing or removing the hair with a needle will only be helpful if you have one or two ingrown hairs. If you have a great many ingrown hairs, you may make the problem worse by irritating your skin. Be extremely careful when you pull the hair out.

Hair Reduction

Some treatments will reduce the amount of hair that grows on your body, such as facial hair or hair on the bikini line. According to MayoClinic.com, eflornithine hydrochloride cream is a topical cream that slows the growth of unwanted hair, thus reducing the risk of ingrown hairs. Another hair reduction option is intense pulsed light, or IPL. According to “Fitness” magazine, IPL procedures can reduce the appearance of ingrown hairs by 90 percent.

Permanent Hair Removal

Getting rid of unwanted body hair for good is another way to treat ingrown hairs. Electrolysis removes hair from the body by destroying the follicles. If you decide on electrolysis, you may have to go several times before the process is complete. Then, your struggles with ingrown hair are over. Laser hair removal takes less time and prevents, but does not treat, ingrown hair.

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Fashion/Beauty

About ModernMom Staff

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Search

Tell a friend

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ModernMom Boutique

ModernMom TV

Featured

10 Things Nobody Will Tell You About Having A Baby

After reading "20 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Had Kids," I … [Read More...] about 10 Things Nobody Will Tell You About Having A Baby

Must Have

STEM-related Toys to Include in Your Child’s Easter Basket This Year 

April has arrived which means it’s time to pull out the food … [Read More...] about STEM-related Toys to Include in Your Child’s Easter Basket This Year 

Did you know?

how much weight should a baby gain

How Much Weight Should a Baby Gain?

Cravings & the Sex of the Baby

Cravings & the Sex of the Baby

signs of pregnancy

How Long Does It Take to Show Signs of Pregnancy?

Tell If You Are Pregnant While Breastfeeding

How to Tell If You Are Pregnant While Breastfeeding

Cures & Remedies for Head Lice

Cures & Remedies for Head Lice

Clean the Smell From the Inside of a Leather Jacket

How to Clean the Smell From the Inside of a Leather Jacket

Do You Have to Refrigerate Glazed Donuts?

Do You Have to Refrigerate Glazed Donuts?

Footer

  • About Us
  • Contact ModernMom
  • Advertise With Us
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contributors

Copyright © 2023 Modern Mom. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this website only at the express permission of Mom, Inc.

The information provided on ModernMom is for educational use only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.