Ingrown hairs may appear after shaving, waxing, or any other hair removal method. The first line of defense (on the body, not the face) is using a loofah or buff cloth to exfoliate. On both body and face, the solution is about the same as for acne: exfoliate to clean out the pores and medicate to stop the bacteria. Benzoyl peroxide will fight the infection itself and do some exfoliation, and a glycolic acid lotion (for body or face) will help to keep the pores from closing and trapping the hairs.

See Md Formulations or Jan Marini for glycolics and other hydroxy exfoliators and BPO. But if you have serious ingrown hairs, there is TendSkin, which is salicylic-acid based. It is made especially for ingrown hairs and is really the only thing out there with good success in this area.

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