If you haven’t read my previous blog post on what causes ingrown hairs, be sure to check it out! Now we’re gonna tackle these ingrowns head on! Ingrown hairs have many causes but luckily the measures and ingredients you will read about later in this blog post will definitely help to prevent or reduce your chances of getting them.

Sugar Those Hairs Away!

Yes, Sugaring hair removal is one of the best temporary hair removal methods that can help in reducing ingrown hairs. It is better than waxing and obviously shaving and depilatory creams. Sugaring helps to reduce ingrown hairs due to the fact that it results in less hair breakage (hair breakage is a leading cause of ingrowns), and is a great mechanism for exfoliating the skin.

Vajacials--Show the Kitty Some Love!

Intimate areas are one of the most hard-hit areas for impacted hairs. Doing monthly professional Vajacials ideally 10-14 days after you wax/sugar can give an extra punch in dealing with this condition. (If you shave or use hair removal creams—which I hope you stop--1-3 days after, you can do a vajacial). Vajacial treatments help in killing bacteria on the skin that leads to inflammation, it exfoliates dead skin cells and treats hyperpigmentation to help you obtain smoother, brighter, healthier skin. If you have ingrown hairs under your arms, there are Armpit Facials to help with this also and they are recommended to be done in the same manner as vajacials.

The next few steps move away from the treatment room and discuss at-home measures to take care of your skin, because doing professional treatments once monthly is not going to be enough. It takes a combination of both to make the dream work.

Exfoliate, Exfoliate, Exfoliate!

This is so important. Doing this helps decongest the follicles by sloughing away the dead skin cells on the surface of the skin making it easy for the hairs to grow through. Exfoliating 2-3 times a week is ideal with a scrub (physical/mechanical exfoliation). Exfoliating/massage gloves combined with a scrub or maybe with just shower gel can work. (I personally find the gloves work better with a scrub...but you can play around and find out what works for you). Some scrubs may have tea tree oil which is very effective at killing bacteria as well. A sugar or dead sea salt scrub (sea salt has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties) works extremely well, however there are coffee and bamboo scrubs all of which are effective in general.

Salt Smoothie, Sweet Cheeks and Exfoliating Gloves

A chemical exfoliant can also work. The results of chemical exfoliants are usually not as instantaneous as a scrub, but these really do get down into the pores. These products usually combine ingredients such as glycolic acid, salicylic acid, mandelic acid, lactic acid and even benzoyl peroxide to help digest dead skin cells and keep away bacteria from the skin. Some scrubs may even have these ingredients, but the granules are usually much gentler on the skin (you may barely feel it). Combining a chemical exfoliant with a physical exfoliant is great...however do not use both on the same day! You can alternate between the two on different days, but everyone’s skin is different so employing this method is not a one-size-fit-all, you need to also experiment with this to find out what works for you.

Hydration Baby!

It’s weird, but throughout my career being an Aesthetician, I find that people do not moisturize their skin enough. It is even worse with intimate areas. Yes, you also have to moisturize your private parts ladies and gentlemen. It is skin too, and it suffers a great deal if you don’t care for it! The skin needs to be moisturized twice daily to keep it hydrated and soft so that the hairs can grow out freely. Dry skin impairs the skin’s protective barrier making it susceptible to bacteria and infections and exacerbates ingrown hairs and keratosis pilaris among other skin conditions. Ensure that the moisturizer is non-comedogenic and preferably water-based and unscented (Restore Lotion). Phenomen-all is also a client favourite and definitely helps to keep the skin soft and supple, helping to repair the skin and reduce scarring from ingrown hairs.

Detoxify ‘Dem Ingrowns Honey!

Mud masks such as the Hungarian Wellness Mud Mask  are excellent in drawing out impurities from the skin that lead to inflammation, acne and ingrowns. Mud masks such as the one mentioned also helps to unclog pores, absorb oil, they have excellent antibacterial properties and helps the skin look brighter, clearer and more refreshed. Get you one! It works!

Care for your entire body just like you care for your face. When you start showing it love, it will be reciprocated. Unfortunately for some, due to the fact that ingrown hairs are caused by many different factors and everybody's skin is different, there are some persons who may still get a few. The only way to have ABSOLUTELY NO run-ins with ingrown hairs is to only trim or employ permanent hair removal methods such as laser or electrolysis. However, employing the methods discussed above is sure way of preventing and reducing ingrown hairs and definitely will be helpful for all persons despite the causes. So, there is hope. There are even some lucky ones who don’t get any at all especially after taking the necessary steps to care for their skin! So, what are you waiting for? These are easy, do-able things for the improvement of your skin that you can even begin right now at home...so get cracking babes!