Photo: RK Schaefer / Flickr

If you shave, wax or pluck any part of your body, then you might have suffered from ingrown hairs at some point. Ingrown hairs are hairs that have been shaved or plucked out only to regrow through the skin surrounding the follicle instead out of the follicle itself. This often causes skin irritation and sometimes painful inflammation. There are a number of ways to not only remove ingrown hairs but also to prevent them, using healthy, natural methods.

Prevention is better than cure

Exfoliation is one of the most important steps before and after your hair removal routine. It removes dead skin, allowing your skin to ‘breathe’ and ensures that the hair is correctly exposed and growing properly out of the follicle.

Natural exfoliants are an excellent choice. Look out for tea tree oil, fruit seeds and fibres, grain powders, nuts and seed meals, oil and wax beads as well as sugar and salt mixtures. Aloe vera has very good healing properties, and should also be considered.

You can also never go wrong with a good body scrub using an old fashioned loofah sponge, either.

Mother Nature’s got your back

Whatever product you choose, or make at home, discuss it with your dermatologist and ensure it contains as high a percentage of aloe vera as possible. You should apply it twice a day for about three days before you begin to see an improvement.

Quick recipe for a sugar mask

Squeeze half a lemon into a bowl. Add a cup of sugar, one and a half teaspoons of cornstarch and a quarter cup of honey. Heat it on medium in the microwave for two minutes and stir thoroughly. Let the miyture cool down. Dust some cornstrach on the area to be treated so that the oil on the skin surface will be absorbed. Now spread the mixture evenly over the same area and leave for 20 minutes. Rinse it with warm water. You should wait at least three days before another application.

You’ll feel a difference after a few days and if you keep to a healthy skin care regimen, you’ll also notice that you have fewer and fewer ingrown hairs.

Tags: exfoliation, moisturiser, Shaving, Waxing