ingrown leg hair

im a 19 year old girl, and ive been shaving my legs for a while now with no problems. about 4 months ago i epilated my thighs and this is where it all went horribly wrong!
i started getting ingrown hairs and even when i shave the hair underneath the skin is still very visible and its a bit bumpy and red. i havent epilated since, but how can this be, after 4 months? surely the skin and hair follicle wouldve repaired itself? if i wax them is it likely that the ingrowns will grow back as ingrowns? ive done all the things your meant to do: warm compresses, exfoliating, moisturing...what would be the best thing to do? apart from laser (which im saving up for...but in the meantime...)
please help!!! its been driving me mad!
thanks :) x

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
If your skin is prone to folliculitis and ingrown hair, then waxing and epilation will aggravate the condition. Folliculitis and ingrown hair are common even after waxing. If you still want to go in for waxing and epilation, then apply cold compresses(ice cubes wrapped in a towel) on the rash and take some antihistaminic like Benadryl or claritin. You can also apply calamine lotion on the rash. It will help in soothing the skin. A mild corticosteroid cream like dermacort will also help.

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.