Are ingrown hairs causing your clients issues? Here are five facts on the annoying bumps (and how to give ingrowns the heave-ho).
They can happen to anyone
And they do. But an ingrown hair is more likely to occur in areas where there is course and curly hair, like around the pubic area and underarms, or on men’s faces and legs. They also tend to happen to people who have gone through, or are going through, puberty, rather than children.
They are embarrassing
We can all get them and we all know what they are, but that doesn’t mean we want them around. If you have a client suffering from ingrown hairs, suggest daily exfoliation with a buffing mitt such as Bump Eraiser Exfoliating Mitt and regular cleansing with an antibacterial wash designed to cleanse skin and remove excess oil, one of the big causes of ingrown hairs.
They can get infected
The number one rule is, don’t pick. If a client starts digging around in there with tweezers or fingers, bacteria can get in, causing a little red lump to quickly turn pussy and angry. A much better method is to use a concentrated medical cream or paste such as Bump eRaiser Medi Paste to heal inflamed spots. Ingredients such as salicylic acid and tea tree oil will draw out the infection without causing trauma to the skin. If a client’s ingrown hair is particularly angry, suggest applying a bandaid to speed up healing time.
It’s not just waxing that causes them
Shaving can trigger ingrown hairs too, as the sharp ends of hairs can curl around and grown back into the skin. Let your clients know that shaving too roughly or using a blunt razor can irritate hair follicles. Also make sure they know to follow up with a bump-erasing lotion (or a splash, for men who want to keep it simple) to keep skin cool, calm and clog-free.
Prevention is better than cure
Once a hair follicle is inflamed and sore, it will take a few days to go down – if it has become infected it could even scar. It’s much easier to keep the skin healthy and bump free. If you tell your client that, between waxes, she needs to treat her, um, private parts, as she would her face, ingrown hairs would soon be nixed. This means daily cleansing, regular exfoliation, and a daily mediated lotion – and it’s goodbye ingrown hairs
Have your say: how do you deal with clients’ ingrown hairs?