UrbanUpdate

You can have the nicest razor, the slickest shaving cream, the cream of the crop when it comes to facial hair removal tools, but it doesn’t matter—at some point, you’re going to have to deal with an ingrown hair. The pimple’s even uglier younger brother, ingrown’s are apt to appear on any swath of skin that you’re trying to keep clean. Be it your face, your back, your chest or (heaven forbid) your balls, any area worthy of a clean shave is in jeopardy. Lucky thing is, there are definitive ways that you can reduce the risk of them popping up.

Just Stop Shaving

Fact: ingrown hairs are primarily caused by your razor. Sure, a few occur naturally, but more often than not, it’s the blades that pass over your skin, irritating the base of the hair or pointing the tip in an odd direction, that result in the inflamed pustule that is an ingrown. Thus, if you’d just stop shaving, you’d have less to worry about. Or maybe more, depending how you feel about beards.

Fresh Blades Forever

Besides giving you a closer shave and nicking you way less often, another upside of using fresh blades in your razor is that they’re less prone to mess with your skin. And when you’re skin’s happier, it’s way less susceptible to trapping hair underneath the surface.

Refresh Your Post-Shave Routine

You might not realize it, but every time you drag a razor across your face, you’re not only getting rid of hair, but a bit of skin too. So it needs a little help healing. Aftershave balms do a good job of that, moisturizing, soothing irritation and making sure that your face heals up post-razor. If you’re particularly prone to irritation, ingrown-specific treatments are also available, using glycolic and salicylic acids to help release trapped hairs and fight the bacteria that come with them.

Exfoliate Daily

We talk about dirt and oil messing with your skin a lot around here, but you know what clogs your pores more than anything else? Skin. Well, dead skin, technically. Which is why it’s so important to rub that skin away whenever you get the chance. A good face scrub is one way to do this. Another, GQ-approved, option is the Clarisonic Alpha Fit, a handy little tool that’ll not only clear dead skin but soften the hair on your face for a smoother shave.

Let Your Skin Rest

Every time you shave, your skin’s going to be irritated and inflamed for a while afterward. Make sure that you do everything in your power to minimize additional chafing on the area. For your face, that might mean loosening your tie during the day, so that your collar doesn’t sub up against those hairs at the base of your beard. For below the belt, well, do whatever you normally would to avoid chafing.

Wait It Out

Inevitably, despite your best efforts, you’re going to get an ingrown, and you’re going to want to yank that sucker out the moment you notice it. Don’t. Give the skin some time to deal with the problem on its own, forsaking razoring in the meantime so you don’t make things worse. If the ingrown’s still there after a day or two, you can try using a pair of sterilized tweezers to pull it out. Just don’t go at it too hard—the more you mess around, the worse the blemish will appear after you’ve given up.

See A Professional

If things get out of hand, just suck it up and call a dermatologist. They’ve got tools in their arsenal that make ingrowns quake in their boots.

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