Ingrowing hairs on men

[rouge]

I wonder if any of you can help me out here.
One of my male clients is having a big problem with ingrown hairs on his beard area. They're so bad that he only shaves twice a week because of them. Does anybody know a way to help him with this?

He's Asian (don't know if that makes a difference) and in his early 20's. He's got a good skincare routine going - Nivea for Men facewash, tone (alcohol free) and Nivea for Men Q10 moisturiser. He shaves using a good quality shaving gel and exfoliates each time before he shaves. His skin type is slightly dry.

Any ideas from anyone would be much appreciated.

 

[GreekNails]

I would recommend the "Phyto-Gel Wash" by Nimue - I sell it in my salon and my husband uses it. He loves it.

It is designed a "pre shave" treatment and releases up the ingrowing hairs and opens pores for cleasing.

Hope this helps

Eva

 

[rouge]

Thanks Eva. I'll tell my client about that.

 

[huberella]

PFB Vanish is a great product for men to use for ingrown problems on their face. Comes in a bottle with a roller top... easy to use... works great.

 

[rouge]

I'd read a lot about PFB Vanish on other threads but wasn't sure if you could use it on the face. It seems to get good reviews from everyone.
Thanks very much, I'll pass that on too!

 

[weezie]

This may seem the obvious thing but is he sure he is shaving in the direction of hair growth? It may be his technique is wrong.

 

[BABSann]

Ingrow go is very good,can be used by men or women for ingrown hairs.

 

[huberella]

I'd read a lot about PFB Vanish on other threads but wasn't sure if you could use it on the face. It seems to get good reviews from everyone.
Thanks very much, I'll pass that on too!

PFB VANISH, "The first line of defense for ingrown hair," is a unique, cosmetically elegant roll-on gel formulated for ingrown hairs, razor burn, and bumps resulting from shaving, waxing, tweezing, electrolysis and laser hair removal. PFB VANISH contains exfoliating and moisturizing ingredients to maximize your results.

Directions: Use on face, neck, underarms, legs, back and bikini areas. For maximum benefits apply daily after waxing, shaving, tweezing, electrolysis and laser hair removal.

Precautions: Avoid contact with eyes and mucous membranes. Do not ingest. Do not use if allergic to aspirin. KEEP OUT OF CHILDREN'S REACH.

Ingredients: SDA-40B, Isopropyl Alcohol, Purified Water, Acetyl Salicylic Acid, Propylene Glycol, Cylomethicone Glycerin, Hydroxypropylcellulose, Camphor Oil, Salicylic Acid, Glycolic Acid, Lactic Acid.

 

[Axiom]

A few tips for battling ingrown hairs, which revolve around minimising irritation and reducing the closeness of your client's shave:

1. First rule: shave after showering. The hot water softens the beard and makes the whole process easier.
2. Your client is right to use a facial scrub a couple of times a week, which helps to lift the beard hairs and remove any dead skin cells that can contribute to ingrowns - try exfoliating on days when he doesn't shave, however. Reason being, if he exfoliates immediately before shaving he'll get a really close shave, which is fab for most chaps but will actually contribute to ingrown hairs if your client suffers with them.
3. For the same reason, he might want to switch to a double-blade or even a traditional single-bladed safety razor. The multi-blade razors get a close shave by lifting/pulling the beard hairs and then cutting the hair progressively shorter with each blade - some hairs actually get shorn to just below skin level, which makes irritation and ingrowns far more likely.
4. Try a shaving cream, applied with a shaving brush - the bristles of the brush will help lift and coat the beard hair to get a good shave without irritation, and creams tend to be kinder than foaming gels. There are some good creams available from Boots for under a fiver and Lush also do a couple of fantastic products - drop me a PM if you want some recommendations.
5. Shave in short strokes with medium pressure, rinsing the blade often, always in the direction of hair growth. Shaving against the grain does get a closer shave (see points 2 and 3 above for why this is bad!) but also results in more irritation. Bizarrely enough, the beard doesn't always grow downwards on every chap, so a few extra minutes examining the direction of hair growth can literally be a face-saver.
6. Keep up the moisturising, this will help keep the skin supple and make it easier for hairs to grow through, but don't overload the face with heavy products.
7. As Babsann and Huberella suggest, a targeted ingrown hair treatment containing salicylic acid is an excellent idea and can really help. PFB Vanish gets my vote, but most products work in the same way with varying degrees of success - I don't like Tend Skin, however, which in my experience is far too drying. Your client may also want to consider an AHA cream for the days he doesn't shave, which will gently exfoliate the skin chemically to help prevent and free trapped hairs.
8. As a last resort, some chaps find electric razors reduce ingrowns as the shave isn't as close (personally I hate them).

Hope that helps (and hope it makes sense, as I'm just on my way to bed and am half asleep, lol!).

Andy x

 

[rouge]

Many thanks to everyone for your replies. So much helpful information! It will all be passed on to my client.:hug: Hopefully he'll find it useful.
By the way, Weezie, yes he does shave in the direction of hair growth. He told me about his technique and it sounded fine to me. Maybe it's as Andy suggested, he may be getting too close a shave from his razor. Will have to wait and see what results he gets from everyone's suggestions!