Best Body Scrub for Ingrown Hairs: Top 5 Exfoliators for Waxed or Shaved Hair

One of the sheer pleasures of shaving and waxing is having skin that is smooth and soft. But nothing ruins all that effort like ingrown hairs. These can range from mild rough spots and discoloration of the skin, to large, inflamed bumps, and can be a painful and unpleasant problem. So, how do you prevent ingrown hairs from both breaking up the smooth texture, and causing you pain when they grow back? You can start with an exfoliating body scrub for ingrown hair. Here are our picks for best body scrub for ingrown hairs!

Table of Contents

• Best Body Scrubs for Ingrown Hairs: What Is the Best Exfoliator for Ingrown Hairs?
• What are Ingrown Hairs, and Why Do We Get Them?
• How to Prevent Ingrown Hairs
• Best Body Scrub for Ingrown Hairs: A Recap
• FAQs

Best Body Scrubs for Ingrown Hairs: What Is the Best Exfoliator for Ingrown Hairs?

Best Exfoliator for Ingrown Hairs on Legs: GiGi No Bump Body Scrub with Salicylic Acid

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Body Scrub Highlights

• Exfoliates both with a physical scrub, and with salicylic acid, for twice the effectiveness
• Rinses clean without clogging pores
• Anti-inflammatory and non-irritating
• Can be used before or after waxing for lasting smoothness and hydration
• Vegan, eco-friendly, and free of synthetic ingredients
• Has a gel-like texture that some people don’t like

First on our list of best exfoliating scrub for ingrown hair is this salicylic acid body scrub.

The GiGi No Bump Scrub gives you both physical exfoliation with the buffing action of fine grain crystals, and chemical exfoliation with salicylic acid.

This exfoliating body scrub is also full of antioxidants that fight and repair skin damage, and is free of sulfates, phthalates, parabens, and synthetic dyes. It rinses clean, without clogging pores, and is a great way to smooth skin. This scrub will slough off and remove dead skin cells all over while preparing your legs for shaving.

This eco-friendly, cruelty-free, vegan formula is made in the USA, and will leave you with soft, smooth, bump-free skin.

(For even more ways to prevent ingrown leg hair, check out our guide to exfoliating your legs!)

RELATED: Best Salicylic Acid Toners

Best Body Scrub for Ingrown Hair on the Bikini Area: Completely Bare Bikini Bump Blaster Pads

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Body Scrub Highlights

• Gentle exfoliation for the bikini area
• Exfoliates with both salicylic and glycolic acid to remove dead skin cells
• Soothing and non-irritating
• Prevents ingrown hairs and bumps, but also tones, soothes, and balances skin
• Dermatologist tested
• May be too harsh a chemical exfoliant for sensitive skin
• Does not help with hyper-pigmentation

Everyone wants a good bikini line. The bikini area is usually too delicate for aggressive scrubbing, so we love these Bikini Bump Blaster pads from Completely Bare. These gentle pads exfoliate with salicylic and glycolic acids to smooth the skin and strip off dead skin cells. More importantly, they prevent ingrown hair. It also has green tea extract and witch hazel to help cleanse, tone, protect, and balance the skin, while Drago-Oat-Active reduces irritation.

These pads are vegan and cruelty-free, without any sulfates, parabens, mineral oil, synthetic dyes, or other ingredients that may irritate delicate skin. They can also help soothe irritated skin by stimulating the surface gently.

They are dermatologist tested to reduce the appearance of ingrown hair and bumps in the bikini area. You’ll be one step closer to your desired bikini line!

Best Body Scrub for Ingrown Hair on the Face: M3 Naturals Himalayan Salt Scrub

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Body Scrub Highlights

• Light, souffle-style texture
• Natural sea salt scrub
• Infused with collagen and stem cells for rejuvenating effects
• Balances pH and minimizes pores
• Cruelty-free and made in the USA
• May be too harsh a physical scrub for sensitive skin on the face, and should be used gently
• May not soothe irritated skin for some people, so it’s best to perform a patch test before use
• Natural hydrating oils may bother people who want it to rinse clean

The face is another delicate part of the body, and should be exfoliated with care. This Himalayan Salt scrub is infused with collagen and stem cells, so you can exfoliate and prevent ingrown hairs, while also firming and nourishing the skin.

The light souffle texture has lychee fruit and sweet almond oil to help cleanse and detoxify the skin, while collagen and stem cells promote a youthful appearance. This all-natural formula also minimizes pores, fights acne and blackheads, balances pH, and can reduce the appearance of cellulite and stretch marks.

This scrub is made in the USA from natural, cruelty-free ingredients.

Best Body Scrub for Ingrown Hair and Sensitive Skin: CeraVe Body Wash with Salicylic Acid

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Body Scrub Highlights

• Gently exfoliates dead skin cells while protecting delicate skin
• Contains ceramides that restore and hydrate skin
• No environmentally damaging microbeads
• Nondrying, non-irritating, noncomedogenic
• No artificial fragrances, parabens, and other irritating ingredients
• Dermatologist tested and recommended
• Doesn’t work on every case of keratosis pilaris or body acne

For people with delicate skin, who want great exfoliation without using a scrub, the CeraVe Body Wash with Salicylic Acid exfoliates the skin while protecting and nourishing it, without any harmful microbeads or harsh ingredients. The gentle formula doesn’t clog pores and doesn’t dry or irritate skin.

Essential ceramides help to restore and protect the skin, with long-lasting smoothness and 24-hour hydration.

CeraVe is a dermatologist-developed, dermatologist-recommended brand, and this formula soothes and smooths ingrown hairs, as well as the bumps of keratosis pilaris.

(Check out our post on exfoliants for sensitive skin!)

Best Scrubbing Brush for Ingrown Hair: Exfoliating Brush For Razor Bumps and Ingrown Hair

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Body Scrub Highlights

• Versatile system gently scrubs the whole body, with body scrubber and two facial scrubbing pads
• Can be used wet or dry, with a wide range of washes and skin care products
• Reduces bumps and ingrown hairs
• Lightweight and durable, easy for travel or years of use at home
• Backed by a money-back guarantee
• Doesn’t lather well when used with foaming washes

If you already have a body wash you love, you may want to physically exfoliate with a brush instead of a scrub. This exfoliating brush from Dylonic can be used wet or dry, with just water or with your favorite cleanser or body wash.

You can even pair it with a chemical exfoliant like the CeraVe Body Wash for double the exfoliating action.

A physical brush is a great way to exfoliate, without harmful microbeads, and without the need to buy a new body scrub product every few weeks. The soft, fine bristles gently scrub away dead skin cells without irritation, reducing ingrown hairs and bumps. Gently massage your skin with this brush to help achieve the skin texture you want.

It comes with a pair of silicone scrubbing pads that are even more gentle, for use on the face, to cleanse and tighten pores. These scrubbing brushes and pads will last for years and are backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

What are Ingrown Hairs, and Why Do We Get Them?

An ingrown hair is a hair curls or grows back into the skin, instead of growing outward and away from the skin. They usually have the appearance of a small, raised bump, a lot like a pimple. It may sometimes be accompanied by inflammation of the hair follicle, but not always.

Ingrown hairs tend to be associated with the legs, beard, or bikini area, but can appear anywhere on the body. The hairs curling pierces the skin, causing it to be itchy and irritated, sometimes painful. You may not see it with your naked eye, but up close you can really see how the hair curls back into the skin. Yikes!

What Causes Ingrown Hairs?

Ingrown hairs are typically caused by one of two things:

Shaving, Trimming, Breaking, or Cutting the Hair Very Close to the Surface of the Skin

Because both hair and skin are elastic and can shrink or stretch, it’s easy for a very short hair to slip beneath the surface of the skin, and then start to create a bump as it tries to push its way back out. Shaving and cutting hairs leaves them with a sharp, blunt edge, so they can cause irritation as they push against the skin from beneath.

Dry or Tough Skin

If the skin is particularly thick, dry, or tough, it can form a hard surface over follicles. With hair removal methods that remove the hair from the root (like waxing or tweezing), the new growing hair can become sealed beneath the surface of the skin, and cause irritation or inflammation as it tries to grow out.

Coarse and curly hairs are particularly susceptible to becoming ingrown. Curly hairs are more likely to not grow straight out of the follicle, but to curl inward instead, and coarse hairs irritate the skin more as they grow. This means that certain hair types are more likely to experience ingrown hairs, and why beard hairs or hairs in the bikini area are more likely to form irritating bumps.

How to Prevent Ingrown Hairs

Because everyone’s hair and skin are different, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all method of preventing and treating ingrown hairs. But no matter what body part is affected, or your preferred hair removal method, there are three important steps to preventing ingrown hairs.

Exfoliate

Exfoliating helps to remove tough, dead, dry skin that may block your hair follicles and cause ingrown hairs. Apart from stripping away dead skin and other skin debris, this also helps unclog pores because you’re opening up the surface of your skin. You can also use a body brush to help with this, to get smoother skin. Regular exfoliation also encourages soft skin as well as relieving clogged pores from dead skin buildup and other unpleasant things that stay on the surface.

Lubricate

Properly preparing the skin with a shave cream or lubricant helps keep hair from slipping beneath the skin and causing ingrown hairs.

Moisturize

Moisturizing after hair removal helps to soothe the skin and prevent the skin from toughening and drying and causing ingrown hairs. You can use a body lotion or, if you wanna go the natural route, a natural oil like coconut oil to hydrate your skin.

Click the link for more detailed information about preventing ingrown hairs.

Laser Hair Removal

And of course if you want to get rid of hair permanently, there’s the cosmetic procedure of laser hair removal. The pulses from the laser kills the hair follicle, which means no more hair growth, and no more ingrown hairs.

Remember to do your research and consult a professional before doing this to make sure you’ve got all your bases covered!

Using a facial scrub or any one of our picks for best exfoliating body scrub for ingrown hairs is a fantastic way to exfoliate the skin before hair removal of any kind. Using a best body exfoliator for ingrown hair also helps to prevent ingrown hairs. Using any of the product recommended in this post will help prevent your ingrown hair problems!

Best Body Scrub for Ingrown Hairs: A Recap

Whether you shave, trim, wax, epilate, or tweeze, preventing ingrown hairs is all about proper skin preparation. No matter what different skin types we have, adding exfoliating to your shaving routine helps to remove dead and dull skin, making your hair removal more effective, and preventing irritation and ingrown hairs.

Use any one of our picks for best exfoliating body wash for ingrown hair and enjoy smooth, bump-free skin all over.

Check out these related posts on our blog:

• Best antibacterial soaps for body odor
• Best shea butter bath bombs
• Best Moisturizing Antibacterial Hand Soaps
• Can I Wash My Face With Hand Soap

How do you treat ingrown hair? Do you have a pick for the best body wash for ingrown hairs? What exfoliating scrub for ingrown hair do you prefer?

FAQs