Ingrown hairs getting me down

I am at the end of my tether with ingrown hairs on my bottom leg (ie from my knee down to my ankle). I've tried various hair removal techniques - waxing (hurt a lot, especially once the hair growth restarted and I could actually feel the hairs coming through my skin, especially hurt when cold), shaving (was good but would need to be done everyday due to fast hair growth and I would be left with black hair dots on my legs), epilator (was good to start with but made my ingrown hairs terrible). I don't know what to do. My legs never tan either so are horribly white. This then makes the problem of black dots or ingrown hairs on my legs even worse cause they're more visible. I no longer show my bare legs as it's too much of a hassle. I exfoliate everyday but this doesn't seem to lessen the problem. I also moisturise, have tried various products, but it's still as bad as ever. Please, any help would be greatly received.
Elzo.

[jdesouza]

Hi,
The best treatment for ingrown hairs is prevention and it sounds like you have tried a lot of options. When prevention doesn't work it may be time to get rid of the hair. You can use depilatory creams for a short term solution and electrolysis for a more permanent solution.  You are fortunate that shaving works for you as for many people it can aggravate it.
Good luck

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Folliculitis and ingrown hair are common even after waxing. If you go in for waxing ,then apply cold compresses(ice cubes wrapped in a towel) on the area after waxing and take some antihistaminic like benadryl or claritin. You can also apply calamine lotion on the area . It will help in soothing the skin. The next day exfoliate with a mild scrub.

Also you can go in for laser hair removal which causes permanent reduction of hair and does not cause folliculitis also. Please consult a good cosmetologist/dermatologist for that. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.