Ingrowns, pluck or free-up

shaveC · Post by **shaveC** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 3:09 pm

So, is it better to pluck out an ingrown completely, or just free it up and shave it off at the base?

vespergo · Post by **vespergo** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 7:16 pm

i don't get ingrowns anymore (after a few weeks of shaving with a DE they dissappeared), but when i did, i just shaved as normal and they eventually dissappeared. i think with alot of picking around on the face things will get worse faster then they'll get better so i've just learned to shave daily and let my face and the razor settle things. with time you will likely have those suckers completely eliminated from your life. but that's my suggestion at least, shave as normal.

josh

teamccloud · Post by **teamccloud** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 8:12 pm

shaveC wrote:So, is it better to pluck out an ingrown completely, or just free it up and shave it off at the base?

I've heard that it's best to free it up. But I pluck and haven't encountered many problems. I find that proper shave preparation and technique has reduced the number of ingrowns to a fraction of what they once were.

FiReSTaRT · Post by **FiReSTaRT** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 10:07 pm

Ever since I went straight, I stopped getting them at all.

scoop · Post by **scoop** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 11:15 pm

Plucking effectively acts like cutting the hair below the skin and may lead to another in-grown hair. Better to free it, and shave as normal. Since switching to a DE my in-growns have all but gone. Straights are even better (as they will take off the overlying skin, so you can 'shave' the out - trick shown to me by a barber at Trumpers). If you have an adjustable DE, a similar effect can be achieved by exposing as much of the blade as possible - but be careful...

FiReSTaRT · Post by **FiReSTaRT** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 6:50 am

I heard that the Trumpers lessons include a good amount of sales pitch. What was your experience like?

shaveC · Post by **shaveC** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 9:43 am

Mine are all gone too, well kinda. Since I'm like most guys on this board, I like to experiment with different razors and different blades. Sometimes, there is a new learning curve involved and you end up with an ingrown or 2. Or sometimes you just have a poor shave due to tiredness, not paying close attention, etc.
I have been plucking them out, but really can't gauge whether or not this is the correct way. It seems that when you free them up and cut them at the base, the hair has memory and tends to lay tight to the skin, and the healing skin grows back over it.

scoop · Post by **scoop** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 5:46 am

Firestart - not too much in the way of sales pitch at all. Didn't try and sell me any particular product, but did discuss the pros and cons of soaps vs creams. They use the skin food pre-shaving, and suggest you do the same, but other than that it was just a nice relaxing shave. Getting someone else to shave you properly is a great way to treat yourself!

FiReSTaRT · Post by **FiReSTaRT** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 7:27 am

That's good to hear, scoop. If I'm ever in the UK, I may just go for one of those lessons, but there's no chance in hell I'll ever buy a pre-shave. Hair conditioner is more than good enough for me lol.

scoop · Post by **scoop** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 9:13 am

Forgot to mention - you also get a hefty discount off purchases made on the day. So if you use their products it's worth stocking up at the same time.

MrDink · Post by **MrDink** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:34 pm

Last year, I popped an ingrown hair that was on by neck for about a month, the lil bastard wouldn't open. One day at work, I was picking at the thing at my desk and the thing popped out of my face like a feakin jack in the box onto my desk!!! The hair was about an inch and a half long. Now I know how long my beard would be if I grew it out, but it was a really disturbing experience!!!

Ryan

FiReSTaRT · Post by **FiReSTaRT** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:27 pm

I had one surgically removed as it formed a fairly nasty cyst. Gotta love electric shavers lol. Fortunately the doc was nice and cut a starving student a break (I was in my 3rd year). Did it gratis.

Bargepole · Post by **Bargepole** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:58 pm

Pluck. Nothing - nothing - is more satisfying than when you get the little bugger in the death grip and tear it free, screaming like an uprooted mandrake.

Well, I say "nothing" but, gosh, getting that raspberry seed out from your bridgework is pretty good to. And the one where you're desperate for a -- no. Let's leave it there. Pluck it.

EL Alamein · Post by **EL Alamein** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 7:56 pm

I've been fortunate enough to never have had one on my face but I did have one on my leg once as I recall. I plucked it and would pluck any future ingrowns for the shear satisfaction of it. For some reason it feels very good to pluck them. I think it's partially due to the thought that once the hair grows back it will probably grow right and not cause any future problems.

Chris

SMF

Ingrowns, pluck or free-up

Ingrowns, pluck or free-up

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