As a rule, men survive troubles with the skin on their faces between 14 and 17, but sometimes this is not the end of distressing troubles and inflammations of their skin. This is no longer the role of hormones and inner rearrangements, this is the trouble of the grown-up bearded men – ingrown facial hair.
What Is An Ingrown Hair
The trouble of ingrown facial hair is very acute for many men, especially with the invention of the newest shaving devices possessing several blades and promising the satin-smooth skin. How come that be, you will ask. The answer is quite simple: the smoother you shave, the more troubles you have.
Ingrowing of hairs of your beard and mustache starts when the bristles that remain after the previous shaving begin to curve and pierce the deeper layers of your skin. Each skin, regardless of the type, has the top layer, which consists of small keratinous particles.
A growing hair needs to get through this layer in order to rise above the skin, but too often there are several reasons why it cannot grow straight. During the shaving, a part of a hair is being cut at a sharp angle, and as a result, the bristle gets pointed like a spear.
If it is curly by nature or gets curved due to the weakness, it is easier for this spear to pierce the deeper and softer layer of derma than to grow straight through the top keratinized layer. So, the bristles grow in the horizontal position causing inflammations, troubles and knobs on your skin.
Due to the natural curliness of hair on heads and bodies, African men can suffer from this problem much more often.
How To Prevent Ingrown Hairs
Now, let’s see how to avoid this trouble providing the ingrown hairs on your face are luckily not numerous or you have just started to notice them.
Before shaving, you should take a towel and moisten it with warm water. It has to feel as the warm shower water you usually prefer. Put this towel over your face for several minutes and let the bristles become softer and the skin pores open a little.
You should also use before and after shave creams and lotions. Due to the special vegetable and fruit acids, they assist you to peel the keratinous particles off the top layer of your skin helping the bristles pierce it and grow in the right direction. Ether oils help to reduce irritation, soften and moisturize your skin, making it healthy and smooth.
For example, you can use this Italian remedy – Proraso Pre and Post Shave Cream, which is good for all skin types and, with the help of eucalyptus oil, is able to cure your skin, if it already has the ingrown hairs and inflammation, or if it is just irritated with the very process of shaving, which invariably leaves micro scratches and unseen cuts on your face.
Some of those creams can help you hold back the growth of hair and this way have time to take all the preventive measures, which will save you from the troubles of the ingrowth and inflammation and keep your skin shining with health.
Proraso Pre and Post Shave Cream
Shaving Technique
Always shave your beard and mustache along the way the hairs grow. This is very important. It is not necessary to have mirror-smooth cheeks in order to look neat and well-shaved, but the healthy look of your skin will create a much better impression.
The point is that when you try to shave against the bristles, the follicles get turned in different directions right inside your skin, the hairs curve, and their pointed ends gladly pierce everything in their way.
While shaving, do not stretch your skin forcedly, even if you are trying to cut the hairs as close to the skin as possible. When you do so, the hairs get pressed out of the skin, and after such a shaving, their roots and the sharp remnants go back deep into the follicles, and have no other way but to grow inside the skin. A
nd do not use the shaving devices with multiple blades, if it is possible. They do the same: cut hairs too close to the surface of the skin, which can likewise cause ingrowth by the same scenario.
How To Remove Ingrown Hairs
If you have ingrown hairs, try to release them with these two options:
1. Take tweezers, for instance, like the Tweezerman – Ingrown Hair Splintertweeze.
Tweezerman – Ingrown Hair Splintertweeze
They are made of the stainless steel, have the utterly sharp tips, which will help you get the ingrown hairs from the knobs, and are comfortable in usage. Before you start doing anything, you should disinfect the area and the tips with alcohol and then operate gently and accurately, in order to avoid further traumas on your skin.
After you have revealed the hair, you can either tweeze it away or cut with scissors. The second variant is more preferable, as it does not affect the follicle and does not change the way the hair grows. The tweezers should better be stored with a cap covering and protecting the tips.
2. Use Tend Skin Liquid.
Tend Skin
Tend Skin Liquid is an effective exfoliant to remove ingrown hairs and reduce appearance of unsightly razor bumps. You can apply it with brush or cotton ball once or twice a day until your ingrown hairs are gone.
Apply the liquid after shaving, let it dry, and do not wash it. If you feel that your skin is too dry and peel, you need to apply lotion once the Tend Skin Liquid has dried. The liquid can also be used for necks and underarms.
If you have not yet experienced the dreads of the ingrown hair, cherish your skin and don’t let this disaster spoil your mood; if you have already, do not feel desperate, as there are means to make you feel well again.