Wondering how you can prevent annoying, itchy, unattractive, and sometimes painful ingrown hairs? Well, for starters, you have come to the right place. Aside from just avoiding hair removal altogether, waxing instead of shaving is one of the best ways to prevent ingrown hair. When you remove your hair, it still continues to grow from the follicle. People get ingrown hairs when the hair growing from the follicle starts to grow back into the skin instead of growing away from the skin as it should. Shaving makes ingrown hair more common because of the way it cuts the hair, making it “sharper” and easier to poke back through the skin. Waxing on the other hand, pulls the hair directly out of the follicle. It will still grow back, but it grows back as it normally would.
Ingrown hairs are sometimes mistaken for pimples because they can become filled with pus (yuck!). You can even get a bacterial infection from an ingrown, which could lead to permanent scarring (yikes!) If all of that wasn’t bad enough, it turns out that the area around your most intimate parts in the most susceptible to getting ingrown hairs. According to SELF magazine, who interviewed the assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in NY, Gary Goldenberg, M.D., says “the hair on and around your vulva is particularly susceptible to becoming ingrown because it tends to be coarse and curly.” You can read that full article here.
It is possible to still get a few ingrown hairs here and there with waxing, but it is much less common. At Sweet Pea Waxing Boutique, we recommend keeping any area that has been waxed properly moisturized and also gently exfoliating on a weekly basis. We carry some great products right here at our North Hills location that will help too! Our SpaCells exfoliating sponges are super gentle and made from a naturally antibacterial and anti-fungal material. They are also eco-friendly, recyclable and come in a variety of sizes depending on what “parts” you are looking to use them on. In addition to the sponges, we also carry Vanish and Chromabright skin treatments that you can take home with you following your wax treatment. Our wax specialists can help you pick a product that is right for you.
Questions about waxing our ingrown hair treatments? We are here to help! Just ask!