Ingrown hair in the armpits, what to do?

Waxing and shaving are common when you start to have hair under your arms. And while we find them unsightly, they are sometimes replaced by blackheads or small, equally unsightly pimples. These are the ingrown hairs! So, to find perfectly smooth underarms, discover how to prevent and get rid of ingrown armpit hair. First of all, to know how to act on it, it is important to understand how the ingrown hair is formed under the arms. Then in a second step we will then see what to do to fight against ingrown hairs under the armpits.

In this section:

How does an ingrown armpit hair develop?

What is an ingrown hair?

An ingrown hair is hair that has not been able to leave the skin barrier or that has deviated from its usual growth path; and which consequently continues to grow but under the skin. Ingrown hairs in the armpits, in addition to being unsightly, can also be painful, make you want to scratch and sometimes even become infected in exceptional and extreme cases. The ingrown hair on the armpits may appear as a small black dot in place of the hair. It can also in some cases appear as a small red or white pimple and cause a lump.

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

We are not all equal when it comes to ingrown hairs. Some of us see it developing a lot and in many parts of the body, while others will only experience 2 or 3 in our lifetime. We can then ask ourselves, what are the factors that will encourage the formation of ingrown hairs, and more particularly in the armpits?

The armpit area includes many factors conducive to the development of ingrown hairs. First of all, it is one of the most shaved areas of the body. The skin is therefore constantly stressed, which can dry it out. It will therefore lack elasticity and the pores will be more easily blocked by scales, which complicates the exit of the hair and tends to its incarnation. The hair will also have no respite and hair removal methods (shaving, waxing, electric epilator) will change the texture and natural growth of the hair, which will promote the arrival of ingrown hairs in the armpits:

When you epilate: a bad method of hair removal against the hair, that is to say in the opposite direction to the growth of the hair can cause ingrown hairs. Indeed, this process tends to promote hair breakage and encourages it to grow in a direction other than its natural growth. To top it off, in the long run hair removal tends to refine the hair. The finer the hairs, the more difficult it will be for them to penetrate the skin barrier. Finally, the epilator tends to break the hair rather than pull it out. The hair therefore remains under the skin and often grows back in the wrong direction.

When you shave: a bad shaving method can also disturb the hair and lead to ingrown hairs. Here too, shaving against the grain can thwart the hair in its natural growth and thus cause its incarnation. What's more, using a double or triple blade razor also promotes the development of ingrown armpit hair. And this is explained because this method of shaving consists of bringing the hair back through the first blade, and cutting the hair very short. As a result, the hair will remain in the epidermis and will have the annoying tendency to grow in a direction opposite to its usual direction.

ingrown hair armpits what to do

Certain genetic dispositions may also increase the risk of ingrown hairs developing in the armpits:

Curly, frizzy and / or fine hair will have a harder time piercing the skin.

Thick and / or dry skin. Regarding thick skin, it is difficult for the hairs to pass through, especially when you pluck them because they will be thinner and thinner. When it comes to dry skin, as we saw earlier, it lacks elasticity and the pores are clogged with dander. This complicates the exit of the hair.

friction on fabrics and clothing tend to curl the hairs, hinder their natural growth, and thicken the stratum corneum. Just as many parameters that are likely to lead to the appearance of ingrown hairs under the arms.

What solutions to get rid of ingrown armpit hair?

In order to prevent the formation of ingrown hairs in the armpits, the best solution remains prevention.

Prevention to fight ingrown hairs

In a way to prevent the appearance of an ingrown hair under the arms, Several solutions are available to you. You will then have to change certain habits and certain customary actions. But also that you choose products capable of acting on the problem.

Ingrown hair under the arms: good gestures and good habits

1 - Be careful not to shave or pluck your hair too often. In other words, you would have to wait around three or four weeks for the hair to grow again when you epilate and 2-3 days for shaving. Of course we know that it is often not conceivable to stop removing armpit hair. In this case, follow our recommendations below.

2 - Exfoliate your skin in order to eliminate dead skin, refine the skin texture and unclog the passage of hair so that they can grow normally under your arms. Different methods exist to exfoliate. Here they are :

a horsehair glove (for areas with thick skin because it is very rough) or a kessa glove (for normal and sensitive skin). These gloves will allow you to massage and exfoliate your skin and thusprevent ingrown hairs in the armpits.

Which exfoliating gloves to adopt? :
- Kessa scrub glove in natural fibers: jute, linen and cotton from the brand Simplement Argan
- Kessa Grain medium viscose scrub glove from the brand Karawan

a scrub which may be in the form of a special scrub cream, soap, or powder.

The exfoliating products that we recommend:
- Bodyminute brand intense exfoliation cream
- Natural exfoliating soap from the Savonnerie du Regagnas brand
- Exfoliating powder with organic and vegan shea shell from the brand Karethic

We recommend that you perform this exfoliating ritual once a week and 1 or 2 days before waxing. Remember to always hydrate your skin well after each exfoliating ritual to prevent dryness of your skin.

Ingrown hairs in the armpits the solutions to get rid of it

3 - hydrate your skin to be able to soften it and fight against the dead skin which obstructs the exit of the hair. Keeping your skin hydrated is all the more important when the skin in your armpits tends to be dry. Apply a moisturizer (cream or oil) to the skin every day.

4 - Alternate between shaving and waxing to fight against ingrown hairs in the armpits. Indeed, by dint of epilating it makes the hairs finer in the long run, which can upset and block the exit of the hair. The problem with shaving is that hair grows back much faster, so you need to shave more often. And as a result, it makes the skin much drier. The best solution will therefore be to alternate between shaving and waxing (preferably with wax).

5 - Shave or epilate in the natural direction of hair growth. For the skin of the armpits, you will therefore need to shave or epilate from the bottom up. Although it seems more restrictive and longer, this method makes it possible to prevent the twisting of the hair, and to prevent disturbing its growth.

Ingrown hairs in the armpits: which products to use to fight them?

1 - An electric or single-blade razor. These types of razors make it possible to avoid blocking the path of the hair. As a result, the probability of seeing an ingrown hair appear under the arms will be less. Also, remember to clean and disinfect your razor after each use.

2 - If you choose epilation as your method, prefer the use of wax rather than the electric epilator. Indeed, the electric epilator can at times cut the hairs without tearing them. The hair, in addition to being broken, also undergoes traction which can deviate from its natural path of growth. As a result, the hair will continue to grow but in the wrong direction and it will be ready to incarnate.

3 - The most radical and effective hair removal against ingrown hairs under the arms: permanent hair removal with pulsed light or laser. These hair removal techniques make it possible to get rid of the hair in the long term and permanently by destroying the bulb, responsible for the regrowth.

How do you get rid of an unsightly ingrown hair?

To remove ingrown armpit hair, the safest solution is to wait until the hair ends up on its own. You can of course try to advance the phenomenon by doing exfoliating care in a gentle way and only on the ingrown hairs not infected and not painful. Avoid removing the ingrown hair with your fingers or tweezers. Even more so when your hair is painful or swollen.

However, when the ingrown hair is present just below the surface of the skin, and it is not bumpy or painful, you can try to remove it by following the procedure below:

One or two days before depending on the sensitivity of your skin, gently exfoliate the area of the body where the ingrown hair is located.
Before removing the hair, take a hot shower or put a hot compress on the area to be treated so as to open the pores of the dermis as much as possible.
Pinch both sides of the ingrown hair so that it can rise to the surface of the skin. However, be careful not to press too hard. If you can't get the hair out, try again a few days later.
Using disinfected tweezers, remove the hair.
Disinfect your skin.

Finally, a 100% natural method that works very well istea tree essential oil by applying it to the ingrown hair. This oil improves healing and accelerates the outflow of ingrown hair in the armpits. To do this, pour a drop of this essential oil once a day on the ingrown hair. He should eventually evacuate on his own.

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

Caution : You should never shave or wax the part of the body where the ingrown hair is located when the latter is infected, painful or swollen. In addition, in some individuals, although it remains rare, the ingrown hair can turn into a cyst or abscess. In the event that you find that vour ingrown hair under the arms is growing, promptly consult a dermatologist or doctor.