Ingrown hairs are not only a ghastly sight, but they’re also quite a pain. If you’re constantly struggling with ingrown hair problems, here’s how you can get rid of them and even start avoiding them before they happen the next time you shave.

Any sort of shaving puts a person at risk of developing an ingrown hair problem. When a hair begins to grow back in after shaving, it may curl around and actually grow back into your skin, instead of away from your skin.

Ingrown hairs can also be caused by dead skin cells that block the hair follicle from growing straight up, forcing it to grow sideways, into your skin, instead.

If you’re currently dealing with some ingrown hairs, here’s what you can do to get rid of them.

Exfoliate the area with a store-bought exfoliator, or make your own at home with baking soda, raw honey, and ground nutmeg. Exfoliating will help remove dead skin cells in the area, but this particular home remedy will actually also help reduce the inflammation of your ingrown hair bumps and bring your hair closer to the surface of your skin.

Apply gentle heat to the area with a hot compress. This will further bring your ingrown hairs to head and open up the pores, making it easier for the hair to come out more smoothly. Press the hot compress on your skin for about ten minutes.

Clean a pair of pointed-tip tweezers with rubbing alcohol and carefully pull out the ingrown hairs. Be sure you get the entire hair – root and all – or the problem will only persist. If the hair is still too short to be pulled, it’s better to wait until it grows out a little longer to avoid prolonging your suffering.

Reduce the inflammation and calm your skin. Even though you’ve removed the ingrown hair, the tweezing process will also have irritated your skin. Use an aftershave treatment – preferably one that has added anti-inflammatory ingredients and vitamin E to help soothe your skin.

Once your skin has healed – and the hair has inevitably grown back, you will have to face the prospect of shaving again.

This is how you should practice shaving to avoid another lengthy extraction process:

Exfoliate the areas where you shave as often as possible to avoid having dead skin cells cause more ingrown hair problems. Only shave when your skin is wet and after applying a lubricating shaving gel, and in the direction that your hair grows. Use a sharp, clean razor and rinse it between each stroke. Soothe your skin after shaving by pressing a cool washcloth to the area.

Most importantly: Always replace your razor regularly.

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