Innocuous yet disgusting health issue. What works for you?

[Antisocial_Worker]

Notice: Because this is not in any way a serious problem, and because there are myriad home remedies or solutions for it, I thought it might be alright to ask for suggestions about it. And now...

As some who have read my posts know, I am a manly man who is absolutely covered with hair except for about a two-inch gap between my chest hair and the lowest levels of my neck beard. I also have the family curse of bad skin, and it is June, rapidly approaching July in the South.

What does this mean? Long story short, combine hair, bad genes, heat, humidity, and -- especially -- pressure, and I am a wonderland of ingrown hairs. They're particularly prevalent this year in any area that is sealed off to sweat by itself, and which is under pressure. I refer, of course, to what I will call the behindular, and well as the crotchular, regions. Some of these things hurt. some of them itch. They're all hideous, and some are leaving scars. The only bright side is that with some of them, I'm mining enough wax to start a lucrative candle-making venture if I could only figure out the marketing aspect of it.

Anyway, that's my story. I have ugly ingrown hairs, especially all over my butt. Butt acne. I don't know what to really do about it. How does anyone else deal with mass follicle malfunctions?

[iradney]

I generally find that exfoliating regularly helps a lot. Applying tea tree oil to the area helps as well.... Ditto the loose cotton boxers, and maybe ask a pharmacist if there is an OTC ointment you can apply to help the issue?

[sms001]

I'm assuming you've tried most of the 'drier-outters' like talc, anti-monkey-butt, cornstarch, etc?

[Antisocial_Worker]

I'm assuming you've tried most of the 'drier-outters' like talc, anti-monkey-butt, cornstarch, etc?

Thanks for the suggestions so far, but this is the one I wanted most to address. I haven't had much luck with these, mainly because no matter how much or little I seem to use, I still have puffs of it coming out of my pants or shorts. This is especially bad when wearing black shorts, naturally. What's the key to finding the amount that won't puff out the legs of my shorts?

[Food Lady]

I have had to deal with this on top of heat rash. I think the humidity encourages bacterial growth in the hair follicles. Powders and ointments don't help. For any kind of rash/lesion that acts like athletes foot, the cream for that does help. It's available at dollar stores. For the ingrown hairs, salicylic acid will open up the follicle. To save money, you can use plain, uncoated aspirin. I know it sounds weird, but it works. You can use it several ways:
--grind in a food processor and add water to make a paste. Use as a mask for 10 to 20 minutes and wash off.
--allow a tablet or 2 to dissolve in 8 ounces of warm water. Sponge on problem areas 1 to 2 times a day. You can add a teaspoon of frozen pineapple juice concentrate for the enzymes, but if you do, make about 1/5 of the solution rubbing alcohol so it is shelf-stable. This is actually what I use as a facial toner because it keeps my pores clean and keeps aging at bay.
--make a serum. Crush a couple of tablets and dissolve in warmed glycerin or coconut oil (6 to 8 ounces). Coconut oil has antimicrobial properties to boot, and absorbs into the skin nicely.

If you have citric acid on hand, adding a pinch to any of these recipes helps. I buy it in bulk because I use it for many of my homemade toiletries and cleaning (descaling coffee pot and accessories, adding to baking soda and water to clean jewelry), but it's available with the canning supplies in the grocery. It works as a chemical exfoliant. http://www.cooking.com/product_38270...-001b2166c2c0/

[Aethian]

You might cringe at this thought but.... What about a spa that offers men's services and get the offending hair removed so that all these lovely skin ideas can work? I know of two male professionals that once a week get a "groom treatment" which has hair cut, shave, other hair removal, manicures, and pedicures.

[Food Lady]

That's a fantastic idea. Start fresh and then try to prevent it. Men who go to salons are not un-manly; take it from a single gal.

[Mishi]

Rugz has this problem too, it has lightened up considerably since he's now working with less chemicals (changed from being a mechanic to being a spare parts interpreter) and has changed his at-work diet somewhat (less preservatives/additives). He's also drinking a lot more water than he was and is in air-conditioning most of the day. So the less preservatives/additives thing might be worth trying, along with showering as soon as you get home from work. I also second the cotton idea, it helps Rugz as well.

[Antisocial_Worker]

That's a fantastic idea. Start fresh and then try to prevent it. Men who go to salons are not un-manly; take it from a single gal.

That actually seems to be what set it off... A few months ago I went hairless, mainly just for funsies, and as it grew back I was covered with ingrown hairs. Then the hair was all grown back, and the ingrown hairs continued. Then summer came and now they're hurting and leaving scars.

[Seshat]

Instead of drying-out treatments, try barrier creams. Barrier creams work by protecting the skin from the moisture, rather than trying to dry up the moisture or absorb it.

The best ones I know of are either baby 'nappy rash' creams, or ones tattooists recommend to their clients to protect new tattoos. Sometimes these are the same thing!

At any rate, I can't offer brand names (cause mine won't be where you are): the one that works the absolute best of all I've tried contains Dimethicone.

[Food Lady]

I forgot about this: baking soda scrub. Just make a paste with water or soap and go to town. Rinse off and you'll have smooth skin, and it will help loosen the ingrown hairs.

[LillFilly]

I get ingrown hairs where my elbows/thighs rub. I use a body scrub (sea salt works well) to try and exfoliate the areas and loosen dead skin trapping the hairs. To help with heat pimples/rashes I'll use a generic anti-dandruff shampoo as a soap; it really helps sooth irritated skin. You could even try using a generic facial pore-cleansing scrub on the buttocks area; I've used that too - it also has cooling properties and helps dry-up the pimples. Remember to moisturize after. Hope some of this helps you!

[BlaqueKatt]

felted soaps are gently exfoliating, and wool(unless you're allergic), is naturally antimicrobial. if you can't find them locally there are tons of etsy shops that sell them with a huge variety of soap types(usually handmade) and scents.

[Koalio]

My husband, who is a nurse, has heard of this problem and has a solution for you. He says to go to any grocery store/pharmacy and go into the ethnic shaving/hair care section. There is an ingrown hair treatment for, excuse me, black people called something like "no bumps" that he says works miracles. It is gentle enough for that area.

[Marlowe]

Honestly, I'd take all the hair off and start afresh. If you do the proper aftercare for your manwax, then the hairs shouldn't be AS likely to become ingrown... but but but DON'T USE A RAZOR! You're just asking for trouble. Get a gentle depilatory cream and be careful to wash it all off after so your skin doesn't get more irritated.

Other than that, I recommend Sudocrem cream, or Eucerin. Sudocrem is for nappy rash, and Eucerin is what I used on my tattoos... all eight of them

There's a possibility all that nastiness is infected, because that happened to me once on my arms - a small spot got infected and I got a horrific rash all over my forearm. A bit of Fucibet cream sorted that (hydrocortisone 2% with an antibacterial/antifungal thing in.) Plain old hydrocortisone could work if it's just eczema-type rashes.

Natural fibres. All the natural fibres! And where practical - go pants/underwearless. Clothes are only going to irritate it more. When my friend Lissa grew back her lady hair for the first time in years, she didn't wear underwear for two weeks (although as a girl she could wear skirts - maybe consider discovering some Scottish roots you can honour by wearing a kilt?)

Carefully sponge down the sore area a few times a day, and make sure you pat it completely dry after, because dampness is once again just going to make things worse. Once it's less inflamed, and when the hair starts to grow back again, exfoliate regularly - but watch out for stuff with artificial perfumes and stuff in, because that's just yet more irritants...


I'll ask Lissa if she has any ideas from when she had all the regrowth fun. She's from South Africa, so she's used to dealing with the heat too