Hey guys in this week's video we're going to learn all about ingrown hairs, we're going to learn what
they are firstly then we're going to learn how you can prevent them what to do about them and when to
seek medical advice about them now as i always say in every single video this is going to be
quite a long video jam-packed full of information so if at any point you want to find any specific
information then click in that description below find the chapter that you want and watch it
because i know you're a busy guy just like me but i would highly recommend you watch the whole video
and learn everything about the topic okay so first of all what is an ingrown hair it's very simple
it's exactly what it says in the name it's a hair that hasn't popped out of the skin so it's growing
underneath the skin so it's ingrown it hasn't grown out yet now one of the most common causes
for this can be dead skin we can get dead skin forming on top of the skin which doesn't allow the
hair to grow out and instead it grows horizontally so in terms of signs of symptoms to be aware of
for an ingrown hair it's pretty simple the most common symptom that you've got to look out for
is a bump on the skin where there's no hair coming out now usually in that bump it's dark it's dark
in color because your hair follicle is stuck in there it hasn't come out and sometimes it can get
infected as well and become filled full of pus as well this can happen as well now the most common
places to get an ingrown hair are usually places where people shave or cut hair so for example
your face your hair if you're getting a fade for example if you're getting a really low grade cut
if you shave any of your body anywhere on the body hair that you potentially shave with a razor
they can all be at risk of getting an ingrown hair okay so now that we know all about the science to
look out for for an ingrown hair the next question is how can we prevent it happening in the first
place so we're going to go through some tips and see what we can do now one of the most common
causes of an ingrown hair come from shaving from that shaving and cleaning the hair very close or
if you've got curly or coarse hair it can then cause the hair to kind of flick and retract
underneath the skin when it gets underneath it's then very difficult for it to get back out so tip
number one is all about warming that area before shaving now you may have seen at the barbers
sometimes if you're seeing a wet shave being done they get a hot towel and warm the area and this
is a perfect example of warming up that area to help this not to happen so preventing it from
happening by keeping the skin moist and warm it's going to prevent the hair follicles from getting
blocked also keeping the area moisturized as well is going to help tip number one it's all about
warming up the area before you shave and also moisturizing the area moving on to tip number
two it's all about shaving in the direction of the hair if your hair is growing this way
shave in that direction don't shave this way yes it's going to get a closer shave if you
shave backwards but you're just putting yourself at a higher risk of getting ingrown hairs and if
you're someone who's quite prone to them and that's probably why you're watching this video
then that is the best thing that you can do to prevent it from happening moving on to tip number
three it's all about keeping that razor clean so for each stroke that you do
clean the razor wash it with water so that the blades are nice and clean
to prevent ingrown hairs from occurring moving on to tip number four it's all about again using the
least number of strokes as possible you don't want to be constantly getting your razor and going up
and down on the same area this is just going to put you at higher risk of getting an ingrown hair
also once you're done shaving you need to cool down the area potentially with a cool towel just
to cool down your skin and help it retract and lastly make sure that you're using a new razor
each time that you shave you don't want to be using a dull blade dull blades can again increase
the risk of getting an ingrown hair so these are the tips that you need to be doing to prevent it
happening in the first place now one last thing before we move on to treatments of an ingrown hair
some people are just at higher risk of getting ingrown hairs because their hair is curly because
they have thick hair for example you commonly see razor bumps on certain people who have
thick beards who are using a razor unfortunately razoring might not be the best option for someone
who has a thick beard like that because it's all it's going to do is help that skin get under the
skin and get trapped causing those razor bumps also known as pseudofolliculitis so it might
be where speaking to a healthcare professional as well about different treatments that are available
for example maybe using a cream to remove hair or also maybe getting laser therapy to get that
hair removed on those certain regions that are very very thick okay so we now know all about
preventing ingrown hairs but what are you gonna do if you do have an ingrown hair well tip number one
which is probably one of the best things that you can do is all about getting a small little
wash towel putting it in some hot water make sure it's not too hot that you burn yourself of course
wring it out make sure it's the cloth is warm and apply it on the area let's say for example
i have an ingrown hair here okay i'm going to apply it to the area let it get nice and
warm for a bit okay so continue keep it on there for a couple of minutes let the
skin get nice and warm and then rub it in a circular motion okay this is really gonna help
get that ingrown hair to come out of that hole and pop out of the skin it's a bit of a time consuming
process but it can work really really well so warm washcloth bring it out keep it on the skin let
the skin get nice and warm and circular motions and moving on to tip number two if this doesn't
work you can also get a very very soft toothbrush for example or a very very soft brush and again
rub it in a circular motion on that area this will eventually hopefully get that
hair follicle to come out and come out and become exposed and stop being ingrown now these are the
two top methods for getting an ingrown hair to come out the safest methods that are available
but remember one of the main things that you need to do if someone is prone to getting ingrown hairs
you really need to look at what is that cause what is causing it because all you're gonna do
for example if you're constantly shaving with a razor it's just going to aggravate and keep
on increasing those ingrown hairs and keep on increasing your risk of potentially getting
infected and have any problems so you really need to reflect and think to yourself well
i'm doing this and it's making my ingrown hairs worse what are my other options could it be that
i start trimming my hairs instead you know or if you're constantly getting waxed and then it's
causing your own hairs could it be that you trim instead or try a different hair removal therapy
now another good idea is to wear looser clothing if you're wearing tight clothes that can also
increase your risk of ingrown hairs remember how we explained how it can go into the skin
and then not come out so tight clothes can also do that they can rub and cause that friction
and potentially get more ingrown hairs and more problems for you so looser fitting clothes are
also a good idea if it's anywhere on your body now in certain situations this is the only situation
i would ever advise using a steroid tweezer if you see that the hair follicle has come above the skin
line so it's there it's above the skin line so you're not damaging the skin you can then use the
tweezer to sort of grab the tip of it and pull out the remaining ingrown hair this is the only time i
would recommend doing this i wouldn't recommend using the tweezer to go into the skin to almost
surgically go in and get the hair follicle out this is a definite no-no and all it's going to do
is potentially cause you infections and many different problems now another tip that might help
as well is removing those dead skin cells remember we spoke earlier we said dead skin cells are
causing those ingrown hairs as well it's stopping it from able to come out so one tip is exfoliating
but you don't want to be exfoliating too much maybe once a week or even twice a week maximum
and that's just to get rid of that dead skin cells that are on the area if it's somewhere you're more
prone to getting it you know maximum twice a week preferably once a week will do now if the ingrown
hair is becoming a nuisance it's not coming out it's stuck there the last thing you want to do
is doing anything sort of surgical and trying to get it out specially healthcare professional
there's many different options available one of them is that they can use something sterile
to get it out or for example they might give you some different forms of treatments they
might give you certain creams they might give you certain steroid creams to use in the area
or they might give you some antibiotics because it might even be infected so there are many different
options that your healthcare professional can do but don't do it on your own because you're
just putting yourself at risk now in terms of seeking medical advice sometimes like i said
the ingrown hairs can get infected so what are the signs to look out for so for example
if the area of the ingrown hair is getting red it's hot to touch it's angry it's getting worse
it's spreading these are all signs of infection also if there's any puss in it there's pus
coming up these are definite signs of infection so this is what you need to be looking out for
so if you're struggling with any of some sort of symptoms you need to speak to your healthcare
professional because if you don't get that treated you can just become worse and worse and cause you
many different problems so i really hope you found this information helpful you now know all about
ingrown hairs what they are what causes it how to prevent it in the first place which is probably
one of the most important things when we're trying to get rid of ingrown hair what to do about them
when to seek medical advice so you're a bit of an ingrown hair pronoun i really hope that this
information helps you let your friends know let your family know let whoever knows that might
be suffering with ingrown hairs as well or just share them this video whatever's easier for you
always remember you're awesome and i will see you next week do a hot hot tub
now now now hopefully okay hey guys thanks for watching this week's video make sure
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