• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Ingrown facial hair...

Eric

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2003
Messages
291
Reaction score
0
I got what I guess is an ingrown hair under my chin that is really bothering me. I know you shouldn't pick at it, but I do anyway (don't you itch an itch?)

Aside from going to a Dr. (I have no insurance) how might I alleviate myself of this ailment?

Eric
 

Dakota rube

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Jan 14, 2005
Messages
13,306
Reaction score
237
My father used to take the filmy skin out of the inside of an eggshell and place it on the ingrown hair. Somehow, as it dried, it seemed to draw the hair out.
 

globetrotter

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
Messages
20,341
Reaction score
422
my wife plucks them out of me with a pair of tweezers. not a lot of fun, I might add.
 

JBZ

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2003
Messages
2,247
Reaction score
17
I suffered from ingrowns for years (and still get them on occasion, usually along my jaw-line). Â They're really annoying and sometimes moderately painful (like a large pimple that takes 4x as long to go away). Â I've managed to cut down on them significantly. The first thing I did was switch to a single bladed razor. Â I use a Merkur safety razor, but I started with a simple single bladed disposable (others feel that disposables are horrible, but I don't think the blade quality is any better or worse than what you get on a Mach III or Sensor). Â Also, don't go long without changing blades. Â With a disposable, I would change to a new razor after 4 shaves. Â With the Merkur (which takes the old-fashioned double-edge razor blade), I get about a week from each edge. Â A dull blade can fray the hair, rather than cut it cleanly. Â This can lead to ingrowns if the hair slips below the skin. Use a shaving cream for sensitive skin. Â I personally shave with a mild face wash, but you may not want to do this. Â There are a number of creams out there for sensitive skin. Â You may have to experiment. Â Avoid anything with menthol, benzocaine, or any other numbing agent. Â My understanding and experience is that these can make an ingrown hair problem worse. Â I used the Lab Series cream for a couple of weeks and ran screaming from it. I also shave in the shower. Â I find this is when my beard is most receptive to a shave. Â I think this is fairly common advice. Also, in lieu of an aftershave, I use a product called Tendskin, which is specifically designed to combat ingrown hairs, razor bumps, and razor burn. Â Do a google search for "tend skin", and you should find their website. Â It's not cheap, but an 8 oz bottle lasts me at least 6 months, if not more. Also, try this website. Â This company has a few products which are designed to help with ingrown hairs and other sensitive skin problems (including an alternative to Tend Skin that I haven't tried). Â They also sell the merkur razor and razor blades to go with it. Â I've ordered from them in the past and the service is really good. Â They have a forum, and the company owner posts there on a regular basis. Â He seems like a down to earth guy. I hope this helps. Â Good luck.
 

Andrew V.

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Messages
402
Reaction score
1

Renault78law

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2003
Messages
2,125
Reaction score
69
surely, a doctor wouldn't recommend this, but i find that it will take FOREVER to go away by itself, so I try to 'free' the hair with some tweezers. it hurts, and there's a chance of infection (like any sore), but I find that it works the best.

as far as prevention, at the very least, stop shaving against the grain wherever you get in-growns. if that doesn't work, you might want to try the single blade razor that JBZ recommended.
 

Eric

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2003
Messages
291
Reaction score
0
Thanks, I'll try switching to single blade razors. I used to have a shower mirror and shave in the shower, but since I've moved I haven't got around to getting another one, I'll have to pick one up sometime soon.

Part of the problem may be that I don't change the blade of my mach 3 enough.

Eric
 

auto90403

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
Messages
448
Reaction score
1
i'm prone to ingrown whiskers. my dermatologist advised me not to pull them with tweezers. instead she says i should use a pin to lift them out of my skin before shaving.
 

Stu

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2002
Messages
2,323
Reaction score
16
I got what I guess is an ingrown hair under my chin that is really bothering me.  I know you shouldn't pick at it, but I do anyway (don't you itch an itch?)

Aside from going to a Dr. (I have no insurance) how might I alleviate myself of this ailment?

Eric
slab some Vicks on there at night before you go to bed, and on days you are just hanging around and not planning to go out. The peppermint essential oils in vicks really work well to cut down the swelling and dry it out.
 

regularjoe

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2004
Messages
276
Reaction score
0
You can try a facial scrub - they're supposed to help clear dead skin and can aid in coaxing the ingrown out.
 

Tokyo Slim

In Time Out
Timed Out
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
18,360
Reaction score
16
belt sander... nobody will even notice the ingrown hair if your whole face looks like hamburger.
 
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
Originally Posted by Eric
I got what I guess is an ingrown hair under my chin that is really bothering me. I know you shouldn't pick at it, but I do anyway (don't you itch an itch?)

Aside from going to a Dr. (I have no insurance) how might I alleviate myself of this ailment?

Eric


Try using a sterilized needle or tweezers to gently pull the hair out of the bump or swollen area. Be careful to not remove the hair entirely, as this could cause the ingrown hair to reappear.

Here are two products that you can use to also reduce the size.

3-in-1 Post Shave by Lab Series - http://www.themensroom.com/shaving/r...roblem-solved/

The Cool Fix by Shaveworks
 

auto_pilot

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
53
Reaction score
0
I found a good facial scrub every other day did wonders for reducing my ingrown hairs. Jack black and Anthony make a decent product. I use one with sea salt as it intensifies the exfoliation. The goal here is to remove as much dead sking off of the face as possible to prevent ingrown hairs before they happen.

The other thing I find that helps is an after shave splash. I say splash cause its not like a lotion, its a liquid (not skin bracer). Kiehl's makes some toners that can substitute for after shave balms. I'd make sure to have one that cools the face to reduce the pores after shaving.

As for your current predicament, make sure the hair comes out with the folicle. Good luck.
 

HomerJ

Distinguished Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2007
Messages
4,476
Reaction score
60
I bought this Anthony Logistics but keep forgetting to use it and now have a couple of nice ingrown hairs
facepalm.gif
Anthony-Logistics-Ingrown-Hair_259EF9F8.jpg
 

Unbreakable

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2008
Messages
472
Reaction score
1
I switched to a saftey razor also and rarely, if ever, get ingrown hairs. Unless of course I go out of town somewhere and only take my mach 3, then sure enough a few days later I'll have 2-3 ingrown hairs.

I like many others use tweezers to pluck them out or if they are very stubborn I'll use a pin/needle to lift them out then pluck them. But yes change up the razor and see how that works.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 36.7%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 59 39.3%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 15 10.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 26 17.3%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 26 17.3%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,147
Messages
10,578,744
Members
223,877
Latest member
brendascheerer
Top