3 Ways To (Safely!) Remove Ingrown Hairs

By Jessica Chia

Ingrown hairs are big, red, and painful—exactly the kind of thing you don’t want cropping up during bathing suit season. But eliminating them without pain or infection requires a little finesse. Dermatologist Monika Kiripolsky explains in three steps:

SCRUB. Remove dead skin cells with an exfoliating scrub.

Related: 11 Bad Hair Habits You Need to Break 

APPLY HEAT. Using a warm washcloth, put gentle pressure on each side of the bump for 2 to 3 minutes twice a day until hair emerges.

PLUCK. When (and only when) the hair is at the surface of the skin, you can grab it with sterilized tweezers.

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Your Head-to-Toe Hair Removal Guide