Why do you have ingrown hairs?

The short answer is: Because you shave. There’s more to it than that, of course (isn’t there always?) because the likelihood of being plagued by the pesky things increases when you have curly hair and especially when you also have dark skin – the darker the skin color, the more prevalent the problem.

This applies to both sexes although more men shave more hair, so it is particularly pertinent to them.

Let’s work backwards here and start with the darkest skins. Why them? First, because they tend to be the most sensitive skins of all. Second, many of the men with very dark skins have naturally curly hair.

That’s two out of our three reasons right there. They also shave. There you have it – three of the main causes of ingrowing hairs.

What makes a hair grow back into your skin?

That’s a question with several possible answers. Consider first the man with very dark skin and naturally curling hair. We’ll leave the shaving out for now. Tightly curling hair has a natural tendency to keep on curling as it grows out of its curved follicle. That means it will continue that curve, curling right back to the surface. Add a little pressure (your razor is more than sufficient for this) and the tip can be pushed into the nearest opening, one of your pores. If it should catch under the rim of the cell, it could stay there and continue to grow. Later passes of your razor will push the hair shaft more and more in the direction it is headed… back into your skin.

At the other end of the spectrum there is a guy whose hair is just as straight as sticks. How come he has a problem with ingrowing hairs? For him the issue is entirely about shaving.

It’s all about how you shave

Skin researchers discovered clear evidence that shaving incorrectly results in sharply pointed hair shafts. When these have been cut off right at the surface of your face or even a fraction below (in an attempt to get a really smooth shave) it takes very little pressure to force them into skin tissues. Just the weight of an electric razor moving over them is often enough to do this.

Studies of shaving also found that the more tiny blades a razor has, the more likely it is to chew up the hair shafts, breaking them off with sharp ends. When you have a tendency toward ingrown hairs, your best bet is to ditch that expensive WhizzBang 50-Blade Razor in favor of your great grandpa’s safety razor. That old thing is much kinder to your beard.

The most important finding is that how you shave matters most of all. Whatever implement you choose to use, make certain that you shave “with the grain”, in the direction your whiskers naturally grow. And you were taught that you could get a much closer shave if you drew the blade against the grain….? Well, forget that. Science has plenty of evidence that it does more harm than good.

By understanding why you have ingrown hairs you are better prepared to handle them in a way that will improve the situation and your appearance.