Removing body hair can be boring enough, but dealing with lumps and painful patches on your legs and underarms is even worse. If you shave regularly, chances are you get ingrown hairs quite often. While properly moisturizing and exfoliating your skin can help combat ingrown hairs, there are more things you can do to finally forget about those painful red bumps.
We too have suffered from ingrown hairs and have put together some tips and tricks that can help keep them at bay.
Wear loose clothes.
While tight clothing can enhance your body shape, wearing it every day is not the best option for your health. And if you’re familiar with pesky ingrown hairs, tight jeans and ill-fitting underwear can only make the problem worse.
Your skin is happier when it can breathe, and tight clothing creates friction and puts pressure on your skin, causing your hair to get stuck and start growing again. To give your skin more freedom, opt for loose-fitting underwear made from natural fabrics.
Avoid applying deodorant directly to an affected area.
While your favorite deodorant smells great and can effectively hide any unpleasant body odor, the ingredients that make it smell fresh aren’t doing your skin any favors.
The chemicals and fragrances in deodorants can irritate your skin, cause itching, and painful lumps, and even trigger allergic reactions. Shaving often leaves skin red and itchy, and applying deodorant directly to ingrown hairs can further irritate them.
Consider another hair removal method.
While waxing is the fastest and easiest way to get rid of unwanted hair, it’s also the most likely to cause ingrown hairs. When you shave, hair can curl up under the skin and begin to grow under its surface, causing annoying and painful bumps.
If you want to keep body hair at bay, try switching to laser hair removal, as this method targets the root of the follicle and prevents it from producing more hair.
If you do stick to shaving, rinse your blade after every stroke.
Shaving is most effective when you hydrate your skin properly, and the easiest way to do this is by rinsing your razor regularly. Helps add lubrication and prevents hair from clogging the blades, making shaving easier.
Choose the right gym outfit.
Being active is one of the best things you can do for your health, but you may want to consider the type of clothing you choose to exercise. Since tight gym clothes don’t allow your skin to breathe, this can contribute to irritating ingrown hairs that aren’t always easy to remove.
Opt for a razor with fewer blades.
Despite what the ads tell us, more razors don’t necessarily mean a better shave. In fact, more razors can even increase your risk of developing burns, cuts, and ingrown hairs. It is obvious that 6 blades can cut more skin than 2 blades, and it can be just as effective to use a simple razor with fewer blades.
Do you get ingrown hairs often? Do you know any tricks to get rid of them?
Preview photo credit Peter Dazeley / The Image Bank / Getty Images, Shutterstock.com
