Ingrown hairs are common for many people, but when an ingrown hair becomes inflamed, it can be painful, embarrassing, and a trip to the doctor may be needed.
Ingrown Hairs
Ingrown hairs occur more commonly when the hairs have been shaved, waxed, or an epilator has been used. Keep in mind though, children can experienced ingrown hairs even if they have never shaved.
Ingrown hairs on the legs and underarms more than likely stem from shaving. What do they look like? You can tell if it is an ingrown hair by looking for small red bumps often topped with a small white dot. If the ingrown hair becomes inflamed, it can begin to grow, become extremely sore, and even resemble a mound.
Ingrown Hair Lookalikes
Be careful when diagnosing ingrown hairs, many other medical conditions can resemble them: eczema, heat rash, acne, abscesses, herpes, warts, chickenpox, psoriasis, and several others. Be sure to seek medical attention if you feel you are suffering from a serious condition.
Avoiding Ingrown Hairs
When you are experiencing ingrown hairs on legs and underarms, shaving or waxing is probably the cause. To avoid ingrown hairs follow these simple steps:
- always use a sharp razor
- use a loofah, dry washcloth or other exfoliant to remove dead skin before shaving
- switch to an electric razor
- use a single blade razor
- use a razor with a pivoting head
- shave with the direction of your hair’s growth
Your Hair’s Growth Pattern
How do you determine the direction of your hair’s growth? The hair on different parts of your body grows in different directions. To determine the hair growth pattern on your legs, start at your ankle and run your hand up to your knee. It feels prickly, doesn’t it? When you shave, you shave from your ankle to your knee. This is considered against the hair growth.
If you are prone to ingrown hairs on your legs, try shaving from your knee to your ankles. This is shaving with your hair’s growth pattern and can help keep ingrown hairs to a minimum. When shaving under your arms, your bikini area, or, for men, the face and neck, try shaving all areas with the hair’s growth to see if it helps.
How to Prevent Ingrown Hairs
- Be sure to brush your dry skin with a rough dry washcloth or a dry loofah before shaving to help loosen dry dead skin.
- If your razor is tugging at the hairs, you need to replace it with a new one.
- Never shave dry. Always use some sort of shaving cream, oil, soap, or other.
- Teach your kids from a young age the proper way to shave and inform them of ingrown hairs and how to avoid them.
If you are concerned about an ingrown hair, talk to your doctor as it could be a more serious medical condition.
