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Unsightly and difficult to remove, ingrown hairs are the bane of many women, but also of many men. They can appear in many places on the body, but often some areas are more at risk than others. And this is the case with the torso, which will tend to accommodate a few. And although they are rarely dangerous to health, they can quickly become bothersome physically and mentally. So, what to do to fight ingrown hairs on the chest? In this article we will first see how ingrown hairs develop on the torso. Then, we will see the preventive solutions and tips to get rid of ingrown hair on the chest. 

How do ingrown hairs appear on the chest?

By the way, what is an ingrown hair?

An ingrown hair is a hair which has failed to pierce the skin barrier or which has been diverted from its natural direction of growth; and which therefore grows under the skin. Ingrown hairs on the chest, in addition to being unsightly, can also be painful, make you want to scratch and sometimes also become infected in rare and extreme situations.

Le ingrown hair on the chest can be manifested by a small black point which is in the usual place of the hair. It can also sometimes appear as a small red or white pimple and create a swelling.

What causes the arrival of an ingrown hair on the torso region?

The appearance of ingrown hairs is not the same in people. Some of us see them appear in many and several parts of the body, while others will see only a dozen appear throughout their existence. We can then ask ourselves, what are the factors that will encourage the manifestation of ingrown hairs, especially on the torso?

• The torso is an area of ​​the body where many rubbing take place with fabrics and clothing. These frictions tend to curl the hairs, interfere with their usual output, and thicken the stratum corneum. Just as many parameters which lead to the arrival of ingrown hairs on this area. 

• If you shave your chest, poor hair removal technique against the grain, ie in the opposite direction to hair growth can promote hair breakage and encourage it to grow in another direction, taking it out of its usual orifice. As a result, your hairs are more likely to take shape in the torso. To top it off, hair removal refines the hair. And the finer the hairs, the more difficult it will be to pierce the skin. Finally, the epilator will sometimes break the hair without being able to pull out the hair follicle. The hair then continues to grow under the skin, but often in a direction other than its natural growth.

• If you shave your chest hair, a bad shave may again be responsible for the development of ingrown hairs. Indeed, here too, shaving the hairs in the opposite direction can thwart the hair in its natural growth path and thus cause its incarnation. In addition, be aware that using a double or triple blade razor also causes the development of ingrown hairs on the chest. And this is explained because this method of shaving consists of bringing the hair backwards using the first blade, and cutting the hair very short. Thus, the hair will remain under the skin and will have the annoying tendency to grow in the opposite direction to its usual exit.

• Certain types of hair are more at risk. If you have the hairs curly, frizzy and / or fine, know that the latter have more difficulty coming out of the skin.

• Certain types of skin: thick and / or dry skin. Thick skin is difficult for the hairs to pass through, especially if you are using the depilation method rather than simply shaving because the latter will get thinner and thinner. As for dry skin, it naturally lacks elasticity and the pores of the skin are often cluttered with dander, which makes it difficult for the hair to come out.

What to do to fight against ingrown hairs on the chest?

To prevent the appearance of ingrown hairs on the chest, the slogan "prevent rather than cure" is quite relevant. Indeed, removing an ingrown hair is not recommended because it can cause infection. The best will therefore be to opt for prevention methods that have been proven to prevent their occurrence. 

How to prevent them?

To prevent the arrival of an ingrown hair on the chest, many tips are available to you. It may involve modifying certain habits and certain actions. But also you will have to choose the right products.

Ingrown hair on the chest: good gestures and good habits

1 - The best prevention is to avoid white shaving or plucking the hair too often. In other words, it is a matter of waiting 3-4 weeks for the hair to grow again in the event of epilation and three or four days for shaving. If you don't want to decrease or stop epilating, follow our recommendations below.

2 - Exfoliate your skin so as to eliminate dead skin, refine the skin texture and leave the way free for the hairs to grow in a natural and normal way on your chest. Different techniques exist to exfoliate:

• a horsehair glove or a kessa glove will allow you to peel your skin and thus prevent the formation of ingrown hairs on the chest.

Our selection of exfoliating gloves:
- Kessa scrub glove in natural fibers from the brand Simplement Argan
- Kessa Grain scrub glove medium from the brand Karawan

• a scrub which may be in the form of a specific cream for the scrub, exfoliating soap, or powder.

The exfoliating products that we recommend:
- Bodyminute scrub cream
- Exfoliating soap from the Savonnerie du Regagnas brand
- Karethic brand exfoliating powder

We recommend that you do this exfoliating ritual on a weekly basis and 1 or 2 days before waxing. Be careful, remember to hydrate your skin well after each exfoliating ritual in order to avoid drying out of the skin.

3 - remember to always hydrate so as to give it flexibility and fight the scales which obstruct the exit of the hair. This is especially important if the skin on your torso tends to be dry. Use an oil or moisturizer on the skin every day.

4 - Hair removal and razor: try to alternate between the two hair removal methods to fight against ingrown hairs on the chest. Hair removal makes hair thinner over time, which can make it difficult for the hair to break through the skin. The concern when using the razor is that the hairs grow back much faster, which is why you need to shave more often. Consequently, it makes the skin much drier. The most recommended solution will therefore be to alternate between the use of a razor blade and hair removal (preferably with wax).

5 - Shave or epilate in the natural direction of hair growth. For chest hair, it involves waxing or shaving from top to bottom. Even if it seems more restrictive and longer, this technique allows not to create a twist of the hair, and to prevent disturbing its growth.

What products are effective against ingrown hair on the chest?

1 - Use a razor with a single blade or electric. These types of razors avoid interfering with the normal path of the hair. Thus the probability of seeing an ingrown hair forming on the chest will be much lower. On the other hand, try to clean and disinfect your razor right after each use.

2 - Wax or electric epilator? The best choice is wax. The electric epilator can sometimes break the hairs without removing the follicle. In addition to being broken, the hair also undergoes traction which can deviate it from its normal and usual path of growth. As a result, the hair will grow back in the wrong direction and it will be willing to incarnate.

3 - Permanent hair removal with pulsed light or laser remains the best solution to permanently get rid of ingrown hairs on the chest. These hair removal methods make it possible to permanently and permanently get rid of the hair by destroying the bulb, responsible for regrowth.

How can you remove an unsightly ingrown hair?

To remove ingrown hairs on the chest, the best still is not to touch it and to wait until the body ends up evacuating it by its own means. You can obviously try to save time on the process by using exfoliating treatments in a gentle manner and only on uninfected ingrown hairs.

Do not try to remove your ingrown hair with your fingers or with tweezers. Especially if your hair is painful or swollen. However, if the ingrown hair is present below the surface of the skin and is not bumpy or painful, you can try to remove it by following the procedure below:

• The day before, exfoliate the area where the ingrown hair is located.
• Just before removing the hair, plan a hot shower or put a hot compress on the area to be treated to dilate the pores of the dermis as much as possible.
• Pinch on one side and the other of the ingrown hair so that it can extract itself from the epidermis. However, be careful not to press too hard. Also, if you can't get the hair out, try again and wait a few days.
• Using disinfected tweezers, remove the hair.
• Disinfect your skin.

Finally, a very effective solution is the application tea tree essential oil. The latter improves healing and accelerates the expulsion of ingrown hair from the torso. To use it, pour a drop of this essential oil daily, and once a day on the ingrown hair. He will eventually come out on his own.

Which healthy and pure tea tree essential oils to adopt? :
- Tea Tree essential oil - 5ml from the brand Mycosmetik
- Tea Tree essential oil - 30 ml of the brand Bioflore