Field Notes · November 13, 2025 · 5 min · By Giselle Naranjo
How to prevent ingrown hairs when you shave
A handful of technique changes prevent most of them.
Most ingrown hairs are preventable with changes to how you remove hair, and the fixes are simple enough that they belong in everyone's routine who is prone to them.
Before shaving, soften the hair and open the follicles with warm water and a few minutes of preparation, and use a lubricating gel rather than dry-shaving. Shave with the grain, not against it, the closer, against-the-grain shave that feels smoother is exactly what produces sharp, ingrown-prone tips. Use a sharp blade and avoid going over the same area repeatedly, and rinse the blade often. Between shaves, gentle exfoliation, chemical exfoliants like salicylic or glycolic acid are kinder than harsh scrubbing, keeps dead skin from trapping emerging hairs. For an independent overview, see How to shave to prevent ingrown hairs.
After hair removal, a soothing, non-comedogenic moisturizer calms the skin. For waxing or plucking, the same exfoliation-and-moisturize routine helps. These habits will not change a curly hair's tendency entirely, but they prevent the majority of ingrowns for most people. When technique alone is not enough, typically with very coarse, curly hair, reducing the hair with laser is the next step rather than endless tinkering with razors.
Related reading: Ingrown hairs and the dark spots they leave behind.
A few principles hold across ingrown hairs and razor bumps. The cause is almost always a hair that re-enters the skin after it is cut or pulled, so the most reliable fixes reduce that friction: a sharper single blade, shaving with the grain, less aggressive grooming, and gentle exfoliation between sessions. What works for one person depends on skin and hair type more than on any single product.
Staging matters too. Most irritation calms over days once you stop traumatizing the area, while chronic, recurring bumps are better judged over weeks as the routine changes. For stubborn cases, reducing the hair itself with laser hair reduction or electrolysis is the durable answer, and a clinician can set out that plan, the expected recovery, and what to do if a spot becomes infected.
For independent background on this topic, see How to shave to prevent ingrown hairs, and review the full source list below. This article is editorial reporting and is not a substitute for a consultation with a board-certified dermatologist.