Home Remedy for Ingrown Hairs on the Breast
While tiny breast hairs aren't a big deal to some women, others find them unsightly and annoying. Getting rid of them at home can be as easy as a quick shave, but that's not always the sharpest idea. Shaving tiny breast hairs can lead to ingrown hairs when the hair curves back into the skin as it grows out 1. Not only does this hurt, but it can irritate the skin and cause your breast to itch. You can remedy this hairy situation at home by releasing the hair with tweezers and treating the pore with rubbing alcohol and an oil-free moisturizer.
Wash the affected breast area with a hypoallergenic scrub to loosen the dead skin cells. Place a dollop onto your fingertips and gently scrub the area in small circles. This also helps soften the hair for extraction.
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Pat your breast dry with a clean towel. Refrain from rubbing -- this can cause irritation near the ingrown hair 1.
Hold the tweezers over the sink. Pour a tiny amount of rubbing alcohol over the tips. This sterilizes the tool to minimize the risk of infection during and after extraction.
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Saturate the cotton pad with toner. Swipe the pad over the ingrown hair 1. This helps remove traces of leftover scrub, prepares the skin for extraction and encourages cell turnover.
Poke the skin with the sharp end of the tweezers. Locate the hair and lift it up carefully with the tweezers. Grab the loop and swiftly pluck it in the direction it's growing.
Pour some rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad. Dab the area with the pad to help ward off any infection from the open pore.
Pump a pea-sized amount of oil-free moisturizer onto your fingertip. Gently apply the cream to your breast, making sure to cover the ingrown area. Choose a moisturizer with alpha-hydroxy acid, which can help loosen dead skin cells and prevent breast hair from getting trapped again.
Tips
Treat redness and irritation with a mixture of salt and sugar. Make a paste with some water and apply it to the area while in the shower.
Use a 1 percent topical hydrocortisone cream for mild inflammation as your skin heals.
Warnings
If ingrown breast hair is a continuous problem, visit a board-certified dermatologist for options on eliminating breast hair.
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References
- Medicine Net: Ingrown Hair
- Elle: Ingrowns
- The Merck Manual: Pseudofolliculitis Barbae
- Allure: The 10 Biggest Hair Removal Mistakes
- MedlinePlus. Acne.
- Cleveland Clinic. Ingrown hair. Updated February 28, 2018.
- Merck Manuals. Ingrown beard hairs. Updated October 2019.
- Cleveland Clinic. Ingrown hair: Management and treatment. Updated February 28, 2018.
- Ogunbiyi A. Pseudofolliculitis barbae; current treatment options. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2019;12:241-247. doi:10.2147/CCID.S149250
- MedlinePlus. Folliculitis. Updated October 8, 2018.
- Zaenglein AL, Pathy AL, Schlosser BJ, Alikhan A, Baldwin HE, et. al. Guidelines of care for the management of acne vulgaris. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2016; 74(5): 945-73. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2015.12.037
Writer Bio
Based in Los Angeles, Lisa Finn has been writing professionally for 20 years. Her print and online articles appear in magazines and websites such as "Spa Magazine," "L.A. Parent," "Business," the Famous Footwear blog and many others. She also ghostwrites for mompreneurs and business owners who appear regularly on shows such as Ricki Lake, HGTV, Carson Daly and The Today Show.