Ingrown hair, how annoying are they? They’re itchy and cause redness and all you can think about when you see them is how to get rid of them. Sometimes they can even cause an infection which will form a wound that looks like a pimple. Ingrown hairs can occur more often with people with course or curly hair. Beauty Insider will let you know how to get rid of them the right way with some of these home remedies.

Get Rid of Ingrown Hairs The Right Way

Wash The Area

The first step to removing ingrown hair safely is to wash the area. Pick up your favourite soap, preferable a mild one, and wash the ingrown hair area with warm water. The warm water will help expand your pores and open the follicle.

Cover The Area with a Warm Cloth

Soak a cloth or a towel in warm water and cover up the hair area with it. Leave it covered for a minute or two before you remove it. This will further help open the hair follicles and allows it to drain.

Tweeze Out Ingrown Hair

Now that the hair follicles are open and drained, use a sterilised tweezer to pull out the hair. Remember, just pull it gently and release it, don’t pull it out right away from the tip. This is because you may cause the hair to break and you won’t be able to pull out the entire hair. Once the entire hair is out and visible, use the tweezers and grab the hair near the roots and pull it out. Pulling it near the root will avoid breakage.

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Wash Up

Now that the hair is pulled out, wash the area and apply a warm cloth or towel over it once more. This will help sooth any irritation that you may feel after the hair is pulled out. Voila! You’re all done.

It is important to note that you should not pick out the hair that is still under your skin. Doing this may cause an infection. It may also lead to pushing the hair deeper into your skin which will take it longer to heal. You wouldn’t want that would you?

Prevention is Better Than Removing Ingrown Hair

The saying is true, prevention is better than cure. Therefore, we’ve got some tips on how you can avoid ingrown hair altogether and not worry about getting them out.

Exfoliate Your Skin

Exfoliating your skin 2 to 3 times a week will help get rid of dirt, oils, and dead skin cells. These can cause your hair follicles to clog and removing them will help you prevent ingrown hairs forming on your skin and causing all that irritation.

The best time to exfoliate is before shaving. Scrubbing your legs or arms before your shave with an exfoliating scrub, loofah, or konjac sponge will do the trick by remove dirt and other unwanted things on your skin. Exfoliating may also help to pull ingrown hair out of the skin allowing it to grow correctly.

If you need suggestions on some good scrubs to try out, click here.

Shaving In The Right Direction

You may be wondering, what is the right direction? Shave in the direction of your hair growth. If your hair is growing downwards, shave downwards. Doing this will help prevent ingrown hairs because when you shave in the wrong direction it will cause your hair to have sharp tips. This will allow them to penetrate the skin and grow inwards.

Use a Shaving Cream

Trust us, you don’t want to shave without a shaving cream or gel. Shaving creams or gels will help keep your shaving session smooth and easy. It will add moisture which will reduce the friction of the razor on your skin. Using a shaving cream or gel will also help you avoid inflammation, irritation, and those nasty razor burns that will leave redness on your skin.

This will especially help if you have sensitive skin. So don’t leave out that shaving cream!