4 Tips & Tricks to Prevent Ingrown Hair! | Dr. Shereene Idriss

Summer is coming! For all you fuzzy nerds, here are my top tips to prevent ingrown hairs :)

PRODUCTS MENTIONED (in order):
EXFOLIANTS

HYDRATION
ISDIN: *USE CODE PILLOWTALKDERM15 FOR 15% OFF*
NECESSAIRE: *USE CODE DRSHEREENE10 FOR 10% OFF*

FOLLOW ME 💬 ✨

SHOP MY SKINCARE LINE (only if you want to 💜)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
#shereeneidriss​​​ #pillowtalkderm​​​ #dermatologist #skincare

[LuciKaede]

Love being called a fuzzy little nerd lol

[shmanda]

I decided not to care about the hair on my legs or pits anymore about 10 years ago and haven't thought about an ingrown hair since! Of course, not everyone would be comfortable with or want to grow out their body hair (I'm all for men and women having as much or as little as they personally chose), but making sure I was smooth and hairless at all times was such a source of stress for me that deciding to let it grow out was a huge unburdening of my mental load. My mom was genuinely concerned that I'd never find a partner that would look past my body hair enough to love me, and that my armpits were now unhygienic (despite never suggesting that my brother's much hairier pits were dirty 🤷🏻‍♀️). Thankfully, my now long time partner said that when he first noticed that I was a "hairy fairy" he was taken aback for a moment but decided he was too into me to care. Since then he said he doesn't even notice it anymore, and I don't either 😊 Anyways, shave, laser, and wax to your heart's content, but remember that just not is also an option!

[carlosgandolfo]

I would love a video on IPL home laser devices. I keep getting ads for them non stop.

[Kara-feathertututiara]

Can you do a video on keeping our hands and cuticles from looking like they're 1000 yrs old?

[nickisilverhorn]

Would love to hear your recommendations for people with PCOS. Unfortunately, some of us have to shave against the growth daily, so the ingrown hairs, razor bumps/burn are a huge issue. Plus, laser hair removal is a very costly option because it has to be an ongoing thing since our issue is hormonal and it will never go away (and yes, I’ve tried spirinolactone…couldn’t handle it). To add to that, most of us also have oily, acne prone skin. In my case, I also have super sensitive, aging skin…yay me! 😬 Would love to hear your thoughts on this as my dermatologist hasn’t been much help.

[pascalel-khouri]

Great video! Can you consider doing a video on laser hair removal/ what to look for or different types? Also best ways for facial hair removal. Is laser or electrolysis better?

[jessicapierson]

Do you have a recommendation for any of the at home laser hair removal products? Or do you think they’re all a bad idea? I’ve thought about getting one but I don’t know which one to get…

[mariana_nm]

I had really bad ingrown hair, to the point that it formed lumps inside my skin, i was really worried because i could feel “balls” inside my armpit. And yeah im guilty of trying to take the hair out without proper tools, so i have a lot os scars at a lot of areas. Anyways: my dermatologist recomended laser and it solved everything! I cant recomend enough! Love the video. Love from Brazil!!

[amberj]

Tips to treat:
Do not scratch ingrown hair with dirty nails, dirty tweezers, or any clippers that are dirty, only clean supplies in a slow and steady way.
Prevent: exfoliate regularly, amlactin otc daily to use on areas you shave and get ingrowns (smells bad), ok to scrub body-not face moisturize skin, shave with clean razors, shave single with gel and in direction of hair growth, consider laser hair removal minimizing the issue by prevention.

[chrisanndunn]

Urea, an under rated ingredient in my opinion. Can you educate us more on this Thanks.

[Wizker]

the 10 COMMANDMENTS for PREVENTING RAZOR BUMPS & INGROWN HAIRS

1. THOU SHALT NOT USE DIRTY BLADES!
Avoid shaving with dull, over-used razor blades. And be sure to keep your slightly used tools as clean as possible. Scrub the cutting heads of your tools with soap, hot water, and rubbing alcohol to destroy bacteria. Pro Tip: even brand new blades still need to be cleaned.

2. HONOR THY DELICATE SKIN!
Avoid too many blades! If you are prone to ingrown hairs then you don’t need 3 or more blades. More blades equal more passes causing the hair to fall beneath the skin and become ingrown. Plus, more blading the skin leads to micro cuts through which bacteria is more likely to enter and this leads to razor burn.

3. DO NOT TAKE PREP TIME IN VAIN!
Wash or steam the skin for 2 to 3 minutes with warm water. Then apply the shaving cream leaving it on for at least 2 minutes to really soften the hair.

4. THOU SHALT NOT GO AGAINST THE GRAIN!
Shaving against the grain (upwards) may get you a closer shave but doing so also increases ingrowns. Shave in the direction of hair growth…it’s usually downwards. Confirm this by doing a face/ body inspection to see which way your hair grows.

5. THOU SHALT NOT PRESS!
Avoid pressing too hard on the skin with the blade. If you follow STEP #3, then a gliding, light touch is all you need. The hair stubble should literally fall away with little or no pressure from the blade. Pressing hard is the main cause of shaving irritation! Be gentle so as to prevent the hair from being cut so low that it falls beneath the top layer of skin.

6. THOU SHALT NOT PASS, PASS, PASS!
Avoid too many quick passes with the blade. One pass per hairy area – going 1-2 inches downward at a time – will prevent ingrown hairs. Always shave like you might cause damage, not like you’re mowing the front lawn.

7. THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT OVER SHAVING!
Avoid shaving too often. This rule is hard to follow, especially if you have to be beardless for your job…but if you are prone to ingrowns, try hair removal with electric clippers (the barber kind of clippers). The results are not super close but no one but you will know the difference. Provided your skin can handle these alternatives try waxing, depilatory, lasering or an epilator.

8. THOU SHALT NOT CLOG!
Avoid using skin/pore clogging creams or lotions since they keep hairs from growing up. After a shave, keep your skin bare; let the tiny army breath, and allow those newly shaved, microscopic hairs to grow out just in time for the next shave. If your objective is smooth, bump-free skin following a shave or wax, then right after hair removal allow the skin to heal first. Promote healing by proper shaving techniques followed by 70% rubbing alcohol which kills any bacteria that may enter those micro cuts created from the shave and prevents the onset of razor burn. Sure your skin will be a little dry at first but this is a temporary tradeoff. Wait 2 hours then moisturize.

9. KEEP THY SMOOTH SKIN FREE!
At least for the first day or two, try to avoid tight fitting clothing around the Adam’s apple (neck) and/or below the waistline region. Newly shaved hair follicles need room to grow up.

10. REMEMBER TO EXFOLIATE!
Whether you shave, sugar, wax or epilate, not enough exfoliation to remove excess layers of skin can lead to ingrown hairs. There are two types: chemical exfoliation (AHA, BHAs) and physical exfoliation (beads, coffee scrubs, gloves, brushes). Physical exfoliators like the WIZKER brush have soft and firm bristles for the face, body, and sensitive skin. When you follow these 10 tips religiously, you’ll prevent razor bumps and ingrown hairs permanently!

[KJH]

Your videos have literally been life-changing in my approach to skin care. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I would love a video exploring at home micro-current devices- the best ones, best ways to use them, and their overall efficacy. Much love and appreciation from 🇦🇺 (which I’m hoping will soon be able to purchase you’re skincare line 🤞🏽) 💕

[daniellemorton]

Thanks for this info, I’ve tried almost everything but thanks to this video I might have some hope left and try some lactic acid. My ingrown’s on my inner thigh/bikini areas are so bad and leave me with scars, so I’d love this to be a bigger topic ❤

[zeynepozturk]

hey Shereene! Love your videos! Could you talk about face shaving? There are a lot of opinions on the internet.
Love from Sweden!

[vacationeyes]

Someone should make a body exfoliator with mandelic acid.

[Andrea-tfle]

Haha where was this when i was in middle school 😂 I used to get them on my scalp all the time and I remember my mom being super picky about getting them out.

I would love to see a video on the maximum amount of product the skin can actually absorb. I know the recommendation is to just keep skincare simple but is there actually a way to tell if a product is being absorbed or not?

Also, when two incompatible ingredients are used together, such as benzoyl peroxide and vitamin c, doe they just "cancel each other out" and waste the ingredient or does actual harm come to the skin come from combinging them? Benzoyl peroxide leave on is my absolute go to for acne management but I have a vitamin c toner that I typically use at night, I dont want to get a separate toner just for the morning. My skin is very resilient, oily acne prone skin so I'm not worried about irritation from strong ingredients. I just want to know of theres harm in using two ingredients that "cancel each other out"?

[MarianMechael]

Please, if you don’t mind can you do a review for skin care brands like perricone, murad, estee laudre .
Please please, can you do videos for morning steps and evening steps skin care . I know you did it before but can you do it again with your recommendation for different products.
Thank you so much again ❤

[aydahn]

Hello dear Shereene. Can you please make a video about dry brushing? Is it considered a physical exfoliation?

[alinalee]

I struggled with ingrown hair, irritation and inflammation in the past (tried everything: waxing, shaving, sugaring etc). Until, l invested in a diode laser treatment and it changed my life forever. No more hair, no more shaving, only smooth healthy looking skin.

[raquelmccole]

Hi there! Putting this here again. Would love to see a video on sulfates in shampoo. Have seen it demonized and products with it given one star, just because it contains sulfates. It’s gotten to the point I can’t find shampoo with sulfates. But my oily scalp really loves SLS. Thanks!