How to Treat Ingrown Hairs

A woman with curly hair smiles while wearing sunglasses, sitting in front of a beach with ocean waves in the background.

Gillette Venus

Writer and expert • 29 Mar 2023

The best way of treating ingrown hairs is to avoid them, but if you noticed an increasing amount of skin-coloured, or red pimple-like bumps on your skin, don’t worry; There is an easy way of getting rid of them. Learn how to treat and prevent ingrown hairs.

Ingrown hairs appear after shaving. The cut hairs can curl back under the skin and start to grow beneath the surface. They can appear anywhere you shave, but most often they occur where your hair is thick, coarse and curly such as your armpits and pubic hair area. Ingrown hairs can be treated, it is quite simple. Learn how to treat and prevent ingrown hairs.

How to treat ingrown hairs?

In most cases, ingrown hairs will clear up without treatment. To help your skin recover faster, avoid touching the affected area. If you want to know how to heal ingrown hair you can also take steps to speed up the healing process.

Avoid shaving the area with ingrown hairs until they have time to heal.
Soak the area in warm water or apply a warm towel for a few minutes.
Try exfoliating to remove any loose dead skin, which can block the ingrown hair from breaking through the skin’s surface.
Apply a non-greasy moisturizer to help heal dry skin and remove any dead cells.
If you see the hair break through, try to gently pull it out with a pair of sterile tweezers.
See a dermatologist to get a prescription for an antibiotic if an ingrown hair gets infected.

Fit lady moisturizing her belly before shaving

How can you prevent ingrown hairs while shaving?

To protect skin from ingrown hairs, each area of the body requires some different steps when shaving or cutting hair, but below are the best practices to follow regardless of where you shave.

Woman shaving her armpit with a razor with built-in-gel bars

1. Change your razor blades frequently

Using dull razor blades causes skin irritation, razor burn and ingrown hairs. If you feel your blade pulling at your hair or if it feels rough on your skin, it is most likely dull and should be replaced.

Gillette Venus disposable razors placed in the bathroom

2. Hydrate your skin

Soak the area you plan to shave in warm water via a shower or bath for at least three minutes. Hydrating your skin helps the hair cut more easily.

Woman putting moisturizer on her bikini area after shaving

3. Exfoliate regularly

Since ingrown hairs are commonly caused by dead skin cells that obstruct the hair from breaking through the skin’s surface, exfoliating regularly will help remove these dead cells.

4. Always shave with shave gel or cream

Shaving dry skin can cause razor burn, irritation and ingrown hairs. Always hydrate your skin before you shave, use shaving gel and apply moisturizer post-shave to keep skin hydrated.

Dispensing a gel cleanser from a bottle into a hand, set against a blue backdrop, promoting a fresh skincare routine.

5. Be consistent

To better protect your skin from ingrown hairs while shaving, it’s important to be consistent and know how to shave each individual area.

A young woman in a green top and curly read hair is shaving her armpit in the bathroom.

Check these things off your list before you shave

Shaving, trimming, or cutting your hair can seem like a straightforward task, something you do often and without much thought behind it, but if you want to avoid razor burns, ingrown hairs, and skin irritation there is a list of things you should check off before each shave.