No one wants to deal with ingrown hairs on their legs, but unfortunately, they can and do happen, pretty frequently for some people. Back in March, we gave an overview of ingrowns, why they happen, and what you can do to prevent them. But what about getting rid of existing ingrown hairs? In this blog, we’ll focus on what you should do to get rid of ingrown hairs on legs and include a step-by-step plan of attack to rid yourself of pesky and painful skin problem. A Quick Recap: What Causes Ingrowns Hairs on Legs If you didn’t catch our March blog that was written specifically on the cause and prevention of ingrown hairs on legs, then here’s a quick and painless recap. It’s in Your Genes We can’t pick and choose our genetic makeup, which means, for some of you curly-headed folks, you’re much more likely to get ingrown hairs. For people with curly hair types, hair doesn’t always grow straight up and out of the skin. Instead, hair can bend back into skin or grow sideways causing ingrown leg hair. You Have Clogged Pores Your skin is constantly shedding dead skin cells and those skin cells can clog pores, blocking the pathway for hair to grow out of the skin. But that’s not all that clogs pores. Dirt and debris, as well as pore clogging ingredients in skin care can also wreak havoc on skin. Regularly exfoliating your body can help mitigate clogged pores and ingrown hairs on legs. Hair Removal No matter how you go about it, hair removal can definitely be a cause for ingrown hairs as well. Although it provides a quick fix, tweezing hair can break off the hair just below the skin’s surface, causing an ingrown. If you’re an avid tweezer, then we recommend you tweeze after you shower, when skin is clean and soft, and always use clean tools. Waxing is another pesky culprit of ingrown hairs on legs since it can break off the hair right below the skin’s surface as well. Getting waxed with an incorrect type of wax (yes, there’s different kinds) or using wax that’s too hot, can cause a gamut of post-hair removal skin issues, not just ingrowns. However, probably the most common mode of hair removal for most people is shaving. So, if you’re looking for how to get rid of ingrown hairs on legs and not cause them, then please do yourself a huge favor and only use a sharp razor when shaving. Using a dull razor and no protective barrier like shaving cream is just asking for an ingrown disaster. Prevention 101: Preventing Ingrown Hairs on Legs You don’t have to suffer with ingrown hairs, in fact, there’s many ways to prevent them from cropping up in the first place. Cleanse & Moisturize Skin Keep skin clean by using a moisturizing body wash and then apply lotion immediately following a bath or shower to lock in moisture. We love our Rice Milk + Rose Body Serum with Hair Inhibitor because it not only deeply nourishes skin, but it also helps reduce and slow hair growth – ingrowns be gone! Exfoliate We always say that exfoliating skin is one of the most underrated and overlooked ways you can care for your skin. Exfoliating skin several times a week doesn’t just keep your skin smooth and radiant, it also helps expedite the skin cell shedding process. Try using our all-natural exfoliating body wash with alpha hydroxy acid to reveal clear skin and prevent ingrown hair on back of legs and other sensitive areas. Create a Protective Barrier Don’t forget to wet skin and apply a protective barrier before shaving to prevent ingrown hairs on legs, and razor burn for that matter. Whether it’s our best-selling rose shave cream, coconut shaving cream, a body oil, or a lotion, applying a protective barrier to skin will help your razor glide across your legs, get a closer cut, and prevent irritation. Just trust us on this one. Use a Sharp Razor Use a brand new razor when shaving to prevent ingrown hairs on legs. A dull razor can (and most likely will) cut or irritate your skin, not to mention a dull razor creates more friction on skin – ouch! Go With the Grain It may seem a bit counter intuitive, but shaving with the grain can actually help prevent ingrown hairs. Sure, you may get a closer shave going against, but if you’re also one who likes to pull your skin taut while shaving to really get down to the root of the problem, you might actually be causing the problem. Pulling skin tight, then releasing it can cause hair to retract back into the skin and it can become ingrown. Save yourself some skin troubles and go with the grain. Use Whish’s Ingrown Hair Serum Our Flawless Post Wax & Shave Ingrown Hair Serum is the perfect product to use to not only prevent but treat ingrown hairs on legs. Unlike drugstore brand ingrown hair serums, which dry out skin, this product moisturizes and soothes with all-natural ingredients that target ingrowns. This little bottle of magic is even formulated with hair inhibitor so you can be done with ingrown hairs once and for all! How to Get Rid of Ingrown Hairs on Legs Now that we’ve briefly re-capped the causes and prevention of ingrown hairs on legs, let’s talk about how to get rid of them! We’ve put together a step-by-step guide for safely eliminating ingrown hairs on legs. 1. Give It Time Most of the time, ingrowns will resolve on their own without further intervention. Avoid shaving the area where you’re experiencing your ingrown hair and avoid clothes that cause excessive friction on the area. Give your body some time to try and heal itself and remember, don’t stress! 2. Hands Off We know it can be tough, but try not to touch the ingrown hair on your legs or extract it with you fingers. Doing so can introduce bacteria into your skin and potentially cause an infection. Also, it’s unlikely that your attempt at squeezing your ingrown hair will actually work—it’s more likely that you’ll end up causing more irritation in the long run. 3. Make Sure You’re Squeaky Clean Cleanse the ingrown area with a gentle body gel and warm water. If you’re feeling really proactive, then consider lightly exfoliating legs with an exfoliating body wash like Whish’s Coconut Milk + Verbena Exfoliating Body Wash. This product has a green tea alpha hydroxy acid complex that helps buff the body to reveal smooth, radiant skin. 4. Give Your Legs a Steamy Spa Treatment One of the best ingrown hair on legs treatments is to apply a warm compress to the affected area. Just like with acne, a warm compress applied to an ingrown hair can help expose the actual hair causing the issue, as well as open the hair follicle to release any pus (glamorous, right?). At the very least, a warm compress will help relieve discomfort from the affected area and if you’re really suffering from a bad ingrown hair, then try using a compress several times a day. 5. Tweeze It…Or Don’t Many times the hair partially grows out of the skin and you can gently remove it with clean tweezers to help speed up the healing process. If you want to tackle ingrown leg hair removal yourself, grab a pair of sterilized tweezers and gently pull at the base of the hair (at the root) and pull it straight up and out. If you prefer to not remove the hair, it can also be beneficial to simply dislodge the curled hair with clean tweezers to allow it to grow straight up and out without completely removing it. If you go this route, then keep an eye on the ingrown site to make sure any discomfort and irritation resolves. Don’t forget to apply our ingrown hair serum to gently clean out your pores, prevent future ingrown hairs on your legs, moisturize, soothe, and restore skin to a beautiful look and feel. Start approaching common skin issues with powerfully effective naturals. Shop our all-natural and organic skin care products as seen on broadcast television and in publications such as People, Marie Claire, and US Weekly. Bump free skin looks great on you!