Do you shave down there in order to look neat and feel clean and confident? Then you may be at risk of having an ingrown hair on your bikini area, which is a quite common phenomenon if shaving is your method of choice in getting rid of unwanted hair, be it hair on your pubic region, armpits and legs.

Worry not if an ingrown hair on your pubic area, which can be unsightly and painful, strikes because it’s nothing serious — although there are instances in which the trouble spot ends up infected, which can cause some complications.

There are many different things that you may perform at home in order to deal with an ingrown pubic hair, and some of the best ones you will find below. And later on in this article, you will also come across a few tips and tricks on how to prevent an ingrown hair from marring your bikini region.

Apply Warm Compress

Fill a small jar halfway with hot water, and then put on the cap and wrap in a clean dish towel. Place over the ingrown hair on your pubic area for about 1 to 2 minutes at a time. Keep on doing this until the water in the bottle is no longer hot.

What makes the application of warm compress work is it increases blood flow to the area, thus making all of the pus and toxins in the red and swollen bump to come to the surface. At the same time, oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood is supplied to the problem area, thus facilitating and speeding up the process of healing.

Gently Exfoliate the Trouble Spot

If the bump produced by the ingrown pubic hair doesn’t hurt and look nasty that much, then you may exfoliate in order to encourage the embedded hair to point to the right direction, which is away from your skin.

For this particular home remedy for an ingrown hair in the bikini region, you may gently scrub a washcloth over it that’s soaked in warm water. You may also scrub it with baking soda paste, which you can easily whip up by placing a few drops of water to a teaspoon of baking soda.

Rely on a Pimple-Fighting Toner

Do you have a bottle of toner designed for fighting off pimples and acne? Check out the list of ingredients — if it has salicylic acid in it, then you may employ it for eliminating that ingrown pubic hair.

Once or twice a day, use a cotton swab in daubing a little of that salicylic acid-containing product that you use for zits. You may also get your hands on a small bottle of salicylic acid at the local pharmacy. Just make sure that you apply it carefully and according to the directions on the packaging.

Pluck the Ingrown Hair

Finally, you may have the ingrown hair plucked out with a pair of sterilized tweezers (dunked in boiling water for a few minutes and allowed to cool completely) in order to commence the healing process.

After getting the pesky ingrown hair out, immediately wash the area with antibacterial soap and water. Dry thoroughly and apply a little povidone iodine, which is a powerful antiseptic, on the area and let it stay there. Or you may also daub a little skin antibiotic in order to keep an infection from happening.

Other than knowing how to deal with an ingrown pubic hair, it’s also a good idea for you to know some tips and tricks on keeping one from showing up again and again.

Consider shaving after taking a bath or shower when pubic hair is at its softest. 

Use a new razor each time, especially if you are prone to having an ingrown hair on the bikini area. 

Don’t skimp on shaving cream — apply generous amounts of it. 

In case you ran out of your favorite brand of shaving cream, use your shampoo. 

Remember to shave in the direction of the growth of your pubic hair. 

Look for another way of getting rid of your pubic hair, such as waxing and laser hair removal.