# preventing ingrown hairs when shaving **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 7, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648 "2006-08-07T04:21:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/1 "2006-08-07T04:21:33Z")
One of the banes of my existence. I get ingrown hairs on my neck when I shave with a blade or electric razor. Normally I just shave with a pair of clippers to avoid this, but sometimes social or work requirements dictate that I be clean shaven. How the heck can I avoid this? I’ve tried moisturizing shaving cream, shaving after a shower to soften the hairs, using moisturizer after shaving. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/2 "2006-08-07T04:24:25Z")
Those in the know tell us to shave **with** the grain to help avoid these. I haven’t seen any since I started doing this, but they were rare enough before that I’m not ready to call it a 100% cure. You don’t shave quite as close with this method, but I’m guessing that’s actually why it’s supposed to work. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/3 "2006-08-07T04:28:51Z")
Not quite equivalent, but to prevent ingrown hairs after shaving my legs, I usually just scrub like hell with a loofah thingy in the shower to make sure I remove as much dead skin as possible to let the little hairs poke back out again as they grow instead of getting trapped. Not sure you want to loofah your neck, but that’s all I got. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/4 "2006-08-07T04:32:44Z")
There’s always the [Striaght(ish)dope on shaving](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mshave.html). ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/5 "2006-08-07T06:15:36Z")
This time, I was extra careful to shave with the grain, but it happened anyway. ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/6 "2006-08-07T12:45:13Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > …but to prevent ingrown hairs after shaving my legs, I usually just scrub like hell with a loofah thingy in the shower to make sure … > Not sure you want to loofah your neck, but that’s all I got. I don’t loofah my face or neck after shaving, but I do scrub my chest, stomach, and penis area after shaving (yes, all the way bald). And I scrub hard to the point that it hurts. It turns the skin pretty red for a few minutes, but it does prevent ingrown hairs. For my neck, I just pull those things out with tweezers when I get them. Not a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/7 "2006-08-07T14:38:46Z")
I’m confused…ok, so let’s say you have an ingrown hair, right…the way I know I have an ingrown hair is I get a big, painful red bump. How do you remove it at that point? I can’t see anything once it hits that point. Right now I have a big cluster of them on my jawline, it’s painful and I’d love advice on how to get them out of there. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/8 "2006-08-07T15:02:00Z")
Another girl weighing in: there is a product called Bikini Zone, which does a good job of getting rid of razor bumps. I’m not clear on whether those are inflamed follicles or ingrown hairs, but the stuff does work. ---
**Author:** ![holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/holmes)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/9 "2006-08-07T15:09:30Z")
Take a needle or a pin. Sterilze it under a lighter or match and stick it in the bump. If you’re lucky, the ingrown hair will pop out, along with any infection (pus). If not, you’ll have to fish around until you find the hair. Once out you should use a tweezer to pull the hair out, lest it curls up and goes back in. If the bump doesn’t look and feel better after a day, you may have more than one hair and will have to go digging again. I prevented ingrown hairs, by using an “old” fashion saftey razor. Make should you don’t pull the skin back as you shave, doing so exposes too much hair and when you release it, it’ll get trapped under the skin. ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/10 "2006-08-07T16:48:48Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > I’m confused…ok, so let’s say you have an ingrown hair, right…the way I know I have an ingrown hair is I get a big, painful red bump. How do you remove it at that point? I can’t see anything once it hits that point. Right now I have a big cluster of them on my jawline, it’s painful and I’d love advice on how to get them out of there. I just use tweezers and rub them back and forth really hard where the ingrown hair is at. This opens up the ‘bump’ and usually moves the hair out. From there you just pluck that bad boy out! Make sure you clean yourself afterwards so there is no infection. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/11 "2006-08-07T17:42:56Z")
One or two varieties of the Norelco rotary electric shaver claim to prevent shaving bumps (the early form of ingrown whiskers.) It might be worth looking into. I never had the problem, so I can’t vouch for their product. I think I’ve had one ingrown hair in my life, and it wasn’t on my face. ---
**Author:** ![username\_taken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c0e974/32.png) [@username\_taken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/username_taken)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/12 "2006-08-07T17:54:40Z")
I used to get ingrown hairs all the time. I started shaving only with the grain, and this eliminated about 90% of the problem. Also, I found that if I skipped a shave that I’d get ingrown hairs a few days after shaving again. A while back I switched to the Schick Quattro and now rarely, if ever get ingrown hairs (prior to this I always used Gillette razors). I even went back to shaving against the grain to get a nice and smooth shave. I even occassionally skip a shave without problem. ---
**Author:** ![DirkGntly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DirkGntly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DirkGntly)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/13 "2006-08-07T18:10:51Z")
I rarely get ingrown hairs any more, but I used to get them all the time. My previous regimen simply had me wetting my face, applying shaving cream, and shaving with a double-bladed razor, usually after my shower. I now rarely get them because I: 1 - Wash my face with fairly hot water and a liquid soap (Dial antibacterial, if you must know), and then rinse the soap away with a wet rag, leaving my face damp or even wet. 2 - I apply a “sensitive skin” shaving gel by Gillette. 3 - I shave with a Gillette Mach 3 vibrating razor - even against the grain (and man, it comes out SMOOTH). 4 - THEN I take my shower. If I go a couple of days without shaving, say, on the weekend, ingrown hairs sometimes show up, but generally only on the 1st day, and have popped out of the skin and are shaveable without problems by the end of the 2nd. ---
**Author:** ![rackman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d07c76/32.png) [@rackman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackman)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/14 "2006-08-07T19:20:39Z")
My neck was also very irritated anytime I shaved with a non-electric razor. I discovered shaving oil, and it has made a huge difference. I’ve tried both King of Shaves or Shave Secret and I find them both to be really helpful. I’ve gone from being unable to shave with a blade to now shaving every day with a blade with no problem, against the grain or otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-ingrown-hairs-when-shaving/367648/15 "2006-08-07T21:10:27Z")
Shave with the grain. Keep in mind that an unusually close shave makes the problem _worse_, not better. As a result of this, try to give your face a rest by not shaving on weekends, or by shaving every other day. If that’s not practical, try every day and a half (shave Mon morning, Tues night, Thurs morning, etc…).