If you routinely remove body hair, chances are you've had your fair share of ingrown hairs and razor bumps. And if you've had them, then you know just how damn tempting it can be to perform minor surgery on them in the privacy of your own bathroom. (No? Just me?) But, don't. Step away from the tweezers and pick up the sugar scrub, fresh razor, and salicylic-acid toner instead.
"The number-one rule for avoiding ingrowns is to exfoliate," says Nandi Wagner, lead esthetician at Bliss Soho spa in New York City. That's because ingrowns develop when hairs curl or fold back under the skin and cause inflammation, which is more likely to happen when dead skin cells are clogging the follicle and trapping the hair, according to dermatologist Jeanine Downie, MD.
The three-step routine that's your best bet for minimizing irritation? Exfoliating with a gentle scrub two to three times per week in the shower, shaving with a fresh blade (or getting waxed by a professional), and following up with lots of hydration. "You have to moisturize liberally...soft skin makes it easier for the new hair to grow out of the follicle," says Wagner. But if things still go awry, we've got your back.
Ahead, click through to shop our favorite ingrown remedies. Super-smooth skin, coming right up.
Use this all-natural oil (and the cute little finger mitt it comes with) to exfoliate ingrown and bump-prone areas in the shower, when your skin is damp. It's got coconut oil to soften the skin and tea-tree oil to clear pores (both of which are antimicrobial), along with soothing chamomile to take down the redness.
Fur Ingrown Concentrate, $25, available at Fur.
Apply this gel to skin immediately after shaving, and the trio of acids — glycolic, salicylic, and phytic — will work to get rid of bacteria on the surface, stopping ingrowns before they even have the chance to form. Most products this potent are drying, but we've found the exception in this formula.
Anthony Ingrown Hair Treatment, $32, available at Sephora.
I've been in the throes of a full-blown love affair with Oui Shave for a while now. The brand's safety razor has all but fixed my ingrown issues, but on the occasion that they pop up, this serum makes treating them feel almost chic. Plus, it gradually brightens dark patches and uneven tone and smells unexpectedly great, like pineapple and citrus.
Oui Bikini Body Ingrown Relief Serum, $22, available at Oiu Shave.
Ingrown hairs are annoying enough, so any little thing that makes treating them easier — like the fact that this redness-reducing astringent comes with a spray applicator — is a winner in our book.
SheaMoisture Honey & Black Seed After Shave Healing Elixir, $7.99, available at Ulta Beauty.
We tend to associate creams with being heavy and comedogenic, but this one absorbs quickly and is free of all the oils that can clog pores. It was developed in collaboration with NYC's Strip: Ministry of Waxing, so it's the ideal post-wax soother, but we use it after shaving, too.
Malin+Goetz Ingrown Hair Cream, $34, available at Malin+Goetz.
If you're packing a bathing suit for a trip, pack these easy, on-the-go pads, too. To avoid a stinging sensation, don't rub them over your skin sooner than 12 hours post-shave, and 24 hours post-wax.
Bliss Ingrown Hair Eliminating Pads 10-Pack, $10, available at Macy's.
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