How to Stop Ingrown Eyebrow Hairs
Whether you trim, wax or tweeze your eyebrows, as the hair grows back in, an ingrown hair may cause an unsightly, irritated bump. The hair follicle becomes swollen if the hair is growing in the wrong direction, leading to ingrown hairs. Prevent ingrown hairs by removing them properly, and then learn how to coax an ingrown hair to your skin's surface to make unsightly bumps on your eyebrows a thing of the past.
Heat your eyebrow area before tweezing or waxing to prevent hair breakage 2. Take a hot shower; dry off, and tweeze or wax immediately afterward. Hairs that break underneath the skin rather than pulling out at the root are more likely to become ingrown hairs. The warm steam from the shower will open your pores, allowing you to pull eyebrow hairs out by the root.
How to Treat Ingrown Hairs on the Scalp
Learn More
Avoid shaving the eyebrow area. Shaving cuts the hair into sharp angles, making it easier to grow underneath the skin.
Be gentle. Pulling vigorously at stubborn hairs will cause breakage, even if you have opened the pores with heat in advance. When using tweezers, pull the hair in one strong motion that will keep the hair intact as you pull it out.
How to Dislodge Deep Ingrown Underarm Hair
Learn More
Warm ingrown hair bumps to soften the area and open the pores. Place a washcloth that has been soaked in warm water over an ingrown eyebrow hair to loosen it from the skin. After soaking, the hair should reach the surface of the skin and can be pulled out more easily with tweezers.
Apply a solution of aspirin and water to an ingrown hair. Crush two aspirin tablets and place the powder in a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of water and mix thoroughly. Then apply directly to the afflicted area. Leave the solution on for 10 minutes, and then rinse off. After several days of applying the aspirin solution, the hair will rise from the skin and you can remove it with tweezers.
See a dermatologist for a severe situation. An ingrown hair can become infected if it does not emerge from the skin. Rather than picking at the hair or breaking the skin, consult a dermatologist to extract the hair to prevent infection.
Tips
Apply witch hazel to the skin after tweezing or waxing to prevent irritation.
Warnings
Use extreme caution when using tweezers near your eyes.
Avoid getting the aspirin and water solution in the eyes.
Related Articles
References
- Eyebrowz: Mens Eyebrow FAQ
- Hair Boutique: Hair Tweezing Tips
- Oprah: A Man's Guide to Grooming
- 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
Megan Smith has been a freelance writer and editor since 2006. She writes about health, fitness, travel, beauty and grooming topics for various print and Internet publications. Smith earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in writing from New York University.