The Skin Nerd: Tips to stop ingrown hairs ruining your skin this summer

These pesky red, inflamed bumps can be a result of shaving and waxing

It’s important that you shave with the grain to prevent ingrown hairs

Ingrown hairs are the dreaded aftermath of removing unwanted hairs. Shaving, waxing, plucking, threading – they can all cause ingrown hairs. They don’t crop up every time you try to de-fluff, but it’s super annoying when they do.

The cause of ingrown hairs is actually pretty simple. They occur when the hair grows downwards or sideways back into the skin and gets trapped. This can happen when there’s a buildup of dead skin cells clogging the hair follicle, which causes the hair to grow abnormally. Ingrown hairs can appear anywhere, but men tend to suffer from them on their beard area, neck, chest and back, whereas women will find that their hotspots are on their legs, underarms and bikini area – basically anywhere they choose to remove hair.

Are some more at risk? Annoyingly, yes. You’re more likely to experience ingrown hairs if you have curly hair because of the hair’s natural growth pattern. Friction from tight clothing can also increase the likelihood of ingrown hairs cropping up, which is why it’s super common for them to appear along your bikini line after hair removal.

Thankfully, there are steps you can take to help prevent these pesky red bumps appearing when you’re aiming for smooth, fuzz-free skin. For starters, you should always remove hairs in the direction of growth – that goes for waxing, shaving and sugaring. If you choose to shave, never use a blunt razor and try to use as few strokes as possible to avoid irritating the skin.

Another top tip would be to regularly exfoliate. I recommend using a salicylic acid-based cleanser like Skingredients Sally Cleanse (€27, theskinnerd.com) 24 hours before waxing or shaving. Salicylic acid is a beta-hydroxy acid (which exfoliates the skin and removes dead skin cells to prevent hair follicles from getting clogged). It’s a powerful active ingredient, so please be careful when using the product around the bikini area.

Of course, there’s always the chance you still fall victim to the odd ingrown hair (or two). If this does occur, use a product with an alpha hydroxy acid to remove dead skin cells and release the trapped hair. I adore the REN AHA Smart Renewal Body Serum (€39, theskinnerd.com) because it contains lactic acid to gently exfoliate and shea butter to nourish the skin. Wear loose clothing to avoid irritating the skin further and keep the afflicted area hydrated with a rich body cream like Seavite Intense Moisture Body Cream (€32, theskinnerd.com), which contains seaweed extract to soothe and hydrate the skin.

Ingrown hairs tend to be pretty harmless, but they can be severe enough to cause post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) after they’ve healed. These marks commonly occur if you’ve picked or scratched the ingrown hairs – so keep your mitts off. If you do end up with PIH, I would use a vitamin A product on the area to help regulate cell turnover and gently exfoliate the surface of the skin. The Gilda Liljeblad Regenerating Vitamin A Retinol Cream (€79.90, theskinnerd.com) contains retinyl palmitate, which is a gentle form of vitamin A, to speed up cell renewal.

The Nerdie Pick

REN V-Cense Revitalising Night Cream (€48, theskinnerd.com)

If you’re looking for a night cream, I wouldn’t look any further than the REN V-Cense Revitalising Night Cream. It’s formulated with vitamin C to stimulate the production of collagen and elastin – two structural proteins that are responsible for giving skin its bounce and plumpness. It also contains boswellic acid, an acid that you might not be that familiar with, to lift and tighten the skin for a youthful result. The night cream also contains antioxidants for much-needed protection against free radicals that can degrade healthy skin cells and accelerate skin ageing.