ingrown hair

Shaving Advice -
How To Avoid Ingrown Hairs

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Shaving Advice - For Wet and Electric Razors

Build up a tolerance for the razor by shaving in the direction of the hair growth.

Use an unscented antibacterial shaving cream soap to clean the pores, soften the hair, and create a barrier between the razor and the skin.

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Don't shave the same spot over and over again as this increases the chances of irritation.

Once a section is shaved, move on.

Soak the blade in alcohol 15 to 20 minutes before each use to kill bacteria and eliminate oxidation.

Use a blade no more than three times.

Do not stretch the skin taut to obtain a closer shave as it can cause "razor burns" and greatly increase the risk of ingrown hairs for those prone to them.

Avoid shaving powders and after shaves with a high alcohol or perfume content as they can dry out the skin or cause hyper-pigmentation of the lower face and neck.

For chronic trouble spots such as the neck try radically changing the shaving direction.

Before shaving, prepare the skin with a rich cream to avoid irritating the upper layers of the dermis.

Wipe freshly shaved skin with shave block, which stops any bleeding and disinfects and closes pores. Alternatively, mix a few drops of rubbing alcohol with baby oil and apply to the area to moisturize and fight infection.

Use shaving cream rather than gel or foam. Generous amounts of cream help the razor glide over the skin.

Practice shaving while wet, either in the shower or right after. The steam will open up the pores make shaving easier minimizing the risk of hairs getting cut below the surface of the skin.

Shaving in the direction of hair growth* will be close enough to remove the layer of dead skin cells but not so close so as to cause irritation and ingrown hairs.

If you have a bump from an ingrown hair, do not shave over it. This can break the skin and cause scarring.

Instead of using after shave, purchase "Tea Tree Oil Gel". It is a natural astringent, and the aloe vera will help to heal sensitive skin.

Extra Tips For Electric Shavers

Some believe electric shavers contribute to ingrown hairs more than wet shaving. To minimize the risk when shaving with an electric razor the following tips are important:

Shave after taking a shower as the heat and steam open up the pores in the skin.

Use an electric pre-shave lotion which prepares the hair for easy shaving minimizing the pressure you need to use and number of passes over the same area.

Some may choose to use an aftershave product that moisturizes and contains Tea Tree Extract.

When using an electric razor use a disinfectant clippercide spray to lubricate the blades and kill bacteria and oxidation.

Avoid rotary shavers which cut the beard hair at too many angles and directions thus aggravating the problem.

Recommendation: Use Ingrown Hair Treatment To Prevent and Eliminate Ingrown Hair After Shaving

Footnote:
While shaving in the direction of the hair growth works for some, one visitor to this site made these helpful comments which are published here with his permission and unedited:

"Your advice to shave in the direction of hair growth is erroneous as when hair is cut by shaving in the direction of growth, the hair shaft is cut obliquely; this causes a point similar to that on the end of a hypodermic needle to be formed. And as the hair shaft tends to curl towards the skin this point can, and often does, bury itself in the outer layers of the skin, leading to deeper penetration and final fully ingrown hair.

I discovered this 20+ years ago; now I suggest that the shaver using a safety razor does a 2 to 4 pass shave using shaving soap or baby oil; the first pass is against the direction of growth, the second pass is with the direction of growth, the third pass is across the directions of the previous passes, and the fourth in the opposite direction to the third pass.

These multipass shaving methods allow for variation in actual hair growth direction and ensure that the top of the shaved hair has been cut from a number of directions so that the cut hair has a faceted cut zone with no points present to commence an ingrown hair.

The net result is almost as if a wax had been done, but it does require to be done either daily or every second day to retain its smooth-skinned result.

In the past, where ingrown hair was a real problem, I would advise the shaver to let the hair grow to the point that the ingrown hairs were obvious; at that point they were advised to use a cotton bud dipped in tincture of iodine on the ingrown hair, to eliminate the accompanying infection, three times a day for a week. At this point the ingrown hair could be extracted from the skin and plucked from the follicle; as the hair had developed a "memory" for a sharp bend near the follicle, this tended to result in a straight hair later growing from the follicle.

Sometimes, where ingrown hairs reoffended, I would elevate the ingrown hairs using a needle and daily correct any tendency to in grow; alcohol was used on a cotton bud to protect the skin and follicle. When the hairs had grown to about an inch in length, the whole area was singed with a flame to burn the hairs down to skin level. This produced a very rounded hair end that would not become ingrown. By cycling this method a few times, the hair growth pattern stabilised and was the suitable for the 4-pass shaving method, using, of course, plenty of baby oil for the shave.

I hope these words of experience are helpful to anyone with major ingrown hair problems."
Derek O'Brien

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