Ingrowns, why do we get them?
‘Why am I breaking out so much?’, 'how can I get rid of ingrown hairs?’ or will ‘sugaring permanently diminish ingrowns?’, is a frequent topic of conversation in the S&S treatment room and on our Instagram.
As professional sugaristas and simply, womxn with hair, we know just how frustrating ingrowns can be.
The truth is, with any form of hair removal, ingrown hairs can be expected, no matter how much we try to avoid them. However, there are different factors that closely correlate to the severity of ingrowns. In today’s ingrown hairs blog post, we explain the reasoning behind ingrowns, why we get them, and how best you can prevent them post professional sugaring/hair removal.
What are ingrown hairs?
An ingrown hair is a hair that has curled or grown sideways back into the skin and become embedded under the surface. They look like raised, sometimes red, itchy spots on the skin.
What causes ingrown hairs?
Many factors can cause ingrown hairs to occur but the main culprit is inadequate extraction, lack of exfoliation and moisturisation, and friction.
Who is more likely to get ingrown hairs?
Anyone can get an ingrown hair. However, it is more common in people who have very curly or coarse hair. Curly hair is more likely to bend back and re-enter your skin, especially after it's been shaved or cut.
Those with hormone imbalances also tend to have more hair than usual, making them more likely to get ingrown hairs, especially after shaving.
Many people who have thick or curly hair get a type of ingrown hair called pseudofolliculitis. More commonly known as "razor bumps," this group of little bumps is common on the beard area of the face post-shave, wax, or tweeze. The hair that grows back has a sharper edge, so it can more easily poke back through your skin and get trapped under the surface, causing bumps to form.
Where can you typically find ingrown hairs?
Ingrowns are usually present in high friction areas such as the bikini line or armpits. Again, it is more common for those with curly or coarse hair. In these areas, it is likely that an ingrown will be inflamed, red, painful, and can even become infected.
How to avoid ingrown hairs?
Our first recommendation if you aren’t already is to start sugaring! We aren’t being biased (ok maybe just a tad), but in truth, sugaring is a great form of professional hair removal, if we do say so ourselves. The reason for this is that our intention for removal differs from other methods of hair removal. Unlike wax for example where the hair is extracted in the opposite direction, this can in turn cause breakage which can result in ingrown hairs.
With sugaring, we extract the hair in the same direction of hair growth. By removing the hair in the same direction, we are more likely to remove the hair directly from the hair follicle, causing minimal ingrowns.
Secondly, ensuring that you keep up with your sugaring home care routine is key, we cannot stress this enough. By following the home care advice from your hair removal professional, you will be saving yourself plenty of aggro. What does sugaring home care consist of? Exfoliating and moisturising regularly, and keeping the area as clean and dry as possible.
Exfoliate 3-4 a week and moisturise daily. Those who follow a good at-home routine will see visible results and less ingrowns.
Great home care products we recommend to use during treatments include: Tamara’s Bamboo & Enzyme Scrub (exfoliating)- can be used all over the body, S&S Exfoliate Mitt (exfoliating)- to be used all over the body except the face and used once a week, Lip Intimate Oil (moisturising)- for the intimate area and to be used daily, Tamara’s Tamanu Repair Balm (moisturising)- to be used for dry and irritated skin, can be used all over the body and as frequently as you please.
Thirdly, keep the area clean and free from restriction. In areas such as the intimate and underarm area, ingrowns tend to occur due to lack of ventilation, sweat, and bacteria. We recommend cleansing the area frequently with non-scented shower gels/soaps, dead sea salt compresses (if the area is irritated), and wearing loose-fitting, breathable clothing. For the intimate area especially, avoid wearing perfumed sanitary towels or panty liners and wear breathable underwear (change frequently if you tend to perspire a lot).
It’s important to note that if you are experiencing an ingrown breakout, refrain from exfoliating and focus on cleansing and healing until the skin has calmed down. Exfoliation will only cause more irritation!
So there you have it, a complete explanation and guide on ingrowns, and how to avoid them.
We hope you found this helpful. If you have any concerns, questions, or just want to express how helpful you found this post, please share, comment or drop us an email/DM :)
Speak soon sweet,
Team S&S
