Shaving or waxing underarm hair can be said as a must routine, especially for women. It will be really embarrassing when you wear a tank top or a bathing suit for a day in the sun and unintentionally your grown underarm hair exposed. After shaving you will get that smooth and hair-free look for a while, but after a few days later you might feel itchy and get red bumps in your underarm area. These skin problems usually are caused by ingrown underarm hairs. It can’t be avoid as it happens as a result of shaving underarm hair. Then how to deal with such problem? Here are some tips to take care of ingrown underarm hair.
Ingrown hairs are most often shown after you shaved. They are strands of hair that begin growing but stay rooted in the skin or twist over and turn back into the hair follicle. Although ingrown hairs are not harmful, they can cause infection and cause pimples or even scars. The most certain effect is the un-comfortableness you may feel. To deal with ingrown hairs, it is better to prevent it rather than curing the bad effects. You can avoid ingrown hair by applying some cream or gel on your underarm skin before shaving or eliminating dead skin cells away and moisturizing after shaving using body lotion. However, there are also some medications and other methods for treating the irritation for ingrown underarm hair before it cause further harm.
Medications
Antiseptic or antibiotic will be a help for preventing harmful effects of ingrown hair. Applying antiseptics on your underarm skin will kill germs and bacteria. it reduces any chance of your getting skin infection. You can get antiseptics on any drugstore and it usually includes ingredients such as hydrogen peroxide, isopropanol, iodine and povidone-iodine.
Treatment
If you notice ingrown hairs, DON’T pick at the skin to pull the ingrown end out because it will likely cause more harm to your underarm skin. The best way is to soak your skin in warm water or salt-water for about ten minutes. This way will soften your skin and make it easier to remove the hair gently. If you’re using any tools or devices, make sure that it is sterilized and hygienic.
If you are afraid that chemical substances on antibiotic and antiseptic will have side effect on your skin, you can use white vinegar instead. Use a washcloth soaked in diluted white vinegar with water and place it under your arm.
NOTE: avoid using deodorant when your skin get irritated.
