Removal of hair

Ingrown hair can be a problem. Here's how to prevent and treat it.

When you wax or shave your legs, you want them to feel as smooth as a highway. But some people get annoying bumps on the way. These 'bumps' are ingrown hair.

Avoid wearing tight clothes to reduce ingrown hair

Sometimes a hair shaft fails to grow out of the follicle and stays embedded in the skin. It then starts growing back into the skin. Ingrown hair is nothing serious, but can be painful and an ugly sight. And if left untreated they can become infected.

Ingrown hair, often called razor bumps, occurs most frequently on the beard area, or in other frequently shaved regions. They typically look and feel like small pimples or cysts and may contain pus. They can cause skin irritation and are more common in individuals with curly and coarse hair.


* Dry skin.

hair removal* Build-up of dead skin cells in the pores and on the surface of the skin.

* Genetic predisposition.

* Improper shaving technique; mainly reverse shaving or shaving the hair too closes.

* Hair-removal methods such as shaving, waxing, tweezing and electrolysis often irritate the hair follicle. This results in a boil which traps the hair, and leads to its growth inside the skin.

* Wearing tight and fitting clothes also results in ingrown hair. If the surface of the clothing is too close to the skin, it changes the direction of hair growth leading to in growth.

Prevent and treat ingrown hair

The most effective way to get rid of ingrown hair is to banish unwanted body hair! A laser treatment is an effective and permanent way of hair removal. The most commonly used laser for this purpose is the NdYAG laser. While it usually takes 5-6 sessions of this treatment to get rid of the hair permanently, the problem of ingrown hair can be addressed in just 1 or 2 sessions. The coarse hair becomes much softer and finer in a couple of sessions.

Exfoliating with a pumice stone eliminates ingrown hair

There are some short-term treatments as well:

* Your parlor staff advises you to rub your skin with pumice stone while bathing to reduce in growth of hair. It is a long-term method and does not always give desired results. If you exfoliate after waxing or shaving, it will remove the thin layer of the topmost skin and set the ingrown hair free.

* Wear loose clothes. After shaving, tight clothing is the most frequent cause of ingrown hair, particularly on the legs. Try wearing looser pants, skirts or shorts, and see if the problem goes away.



Removal of hair Shave right

O Exfoliate before shaving

O Shave on wet skin. Use lukewarm water to soften the skin

O Foam up with shaving foam. Regular soap will not do

O Use a razor with lubricating strips and pivot heads

O Shave along the direction of hair growth, not against it

O Avoid shaving too close or shaving the same spot more than once

O Always applies oil or a moisturizer on the shaved surface after a shave. This will soften the coarse hair and it won't easily grow inside the skin

* Shave correctly.

* Unclog your pores. Use an exfoliating product or an acne cream containing salicylic acid.

Manual removal of ingrown hair

Apart from the above methods, you can also try to remove the hair manually. Remember this is a tiring and time consuming procedure and you need to be very careful.

* Apply a warm compress on the skin to make the hair visible and bring it closer to the skin surface.

* Use a sterile needle or tweezers to gently tease the hair out of the skin. Doesn’t pluck the hair out completely; just make sure that the ingrown end is out of the skin?

There may be inflammation after this procedure. If that persists for more than a few days after the hair has been freed, consider visiting a dermatologist. Oral antibiotics should be taken in case of pus boils.