Shaving Rashes, Ingrown Hair, Lumps and Bumps: Prevention and Home Remedies
Removing Ingrown Hair
If a strand of hair has curled and grown into the skin, cover the area with a face towel soaked in warm water for 5 minutes and pull it out with a pair of tweezers.
Know Your Shaver
If ingrown hairs become a recurring problem, switch from blades to an electric razor or vice versa.
Single-bladed razors are less likely to cause ingrown hair as they don’t pull on the hair for a closer shave like double and triple bladed razors do.
Changing blades often or cleaning the blades with surgical spirit before re-using can help prevent infected follicles and ingrowth.
A Guide to Problem Free Shaving
It is a good idea to scrub the skin with a loofah or a face towel before shaving. Exfoliating removes the dead skin skills which are likely to clog hair follicles and also releases any minor ingrowths so that they can be shaved away easily.
Always shave in the direction of the hair growth and not the other way round. This might not give you the smoothest results but will keep your hair from going haywire.
Don’t stretch or tauten the skin while shaving. This causes the hair to slice off at a level below the skin’s surface and can lead to ingrowths.
Don’t substitute a good shaving cream or gel with soap lather.
Avoid using commercially available aftershaves. Rub some aloe vera gel instead.
Dealing With Shaving Rashes
100% pure aloe vera gel can help soothe the redness and burning.
Avocado pulp contains oils that can provide relief and hasten up the healing process.
Chilled Chamomile tea compressions reduce the inflammation.
Rub a slice of cool cucumber over the inflamed area.
Creams containing calendula oil are also helpful in treating skin conditions.
Dealing With Lumps and Bumps
Benzoyl peroxide can help flatten the post-shaving bumps.
Lotions containing AHAs (Alpha Hydroxy Acids) also work well but may cause skin irritation in some people.
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