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A few weeks ago, when I discovered a 3+ inch ingrown hair from my... ahem, bikini area, I decided it was high time I found something to help with my terrible case of ingrown hairs. I use an epilator as my down-stairs hair removal method (a razor everywhere else), so obviously, my ingrown hairs are a problem. Epilating and waxing seem to cause more ingrowns than anything.
To remove the huge ingrown hair, I actually had to lance open the skin (just a tiny bit) and work to remove it. Afterward, I was so stunned at the length that I kept the hair in a baggy and showed it to my sister and partner, claiming that I must have broken some kind of world record here. Never could figure out what the actual record for longest ingrown hair was, but I still have that hair! Ha Ha. I would post a photo, but I didn't want to gross some of you out.
Anyways, so my journey to help my serious ingrown problem led me to Tend Skin and I got my hands on a few sample bottles and here we are. I'm going to share everything with you guys.
The Tend Skin sample bottles come with .25 fl oz. each
Directions for use: Apply at night and again after shaving
until appearance improves. Do a test patch 1 hour on first use. Be sure to
change razor blades after 2-3 shaves.
Cologne/moisturizer can be applied over Tend Skin, once it
has dried.
The instructions, expiry date and other information is on
the label of Tend Skin.
It says Made in USA. The Tend Skin Company.
Warning: Flammable. Keep away from children and do not
ingest. Do not use if allergic to aspirin. Avoid eye contact. Also, don't use Tend Skin within one week of having a medical/salon strength exfoliant treatment (AHA's, glycolic and Accutane), any other prescribed topical treatments or depilatories unless otherwise advised by your dr. The combination of agents can lead to chemical burning of the skin or skin discoloration.
Tend Skin is a clear liquid just like rubbing alcohol. I
apply it by placing my finger over the hole on the bottle and dabbing it onto
my skin. I considered using a cotton ball at one point, but it would just
absorb the liquid instead, so you’re better to apply directly, using fingers.
Since it’s so runny, it’s easy to apply and Tend Skin dries very quickly on the
skin, so there’s no waiting before dressing or getting in bed.
Tend Skin is very easy to use and takes less time and effort
to apply than using a moisturizer.
 |
| Here you can see that theTend Skin product is a clear liquid (through the bottle) |
Tend Skin is also available in a roll-on applicator.
What Tend Skin Does:
“Tend Skin – The Skincare Solution for “unsightly” razor
bumps, ingrown hairs and razor burn for men and women.”
Those are the best things about Tend Skin – it’s effective
for both men and women and works to take care of razor burn, bumps and ingrowns.
A lot of times, when you have one of those problems (razor
burn, ingrowns or bumps) you tend to have all of them. I personally don’t have
such big troubles with razor burn or bumps as I do ingrowns and ingrown bumps.
This is because my hair removal method mostly consists of epilating (using an
epilator that basically plucks hairs right out). In my experience, when you use
a hair removal method that removes the entire hair from the follicle (waxing,
epilating, etc.) you have far more ingrown hairs than if you used other methods
such as shaving, which comes with razor burn and bumps! There always seems to
be a downside to any hair removal method. Since I epilate my entire bikini area
(I use a razor for other areas like my legs, arms and underarms), I have
ingrown hairs and bumps daily. It’s a never ending thing, really.
Plucking and digging ingrown hairs causes scars and little
scabs, which all leave marks. This is what my biggest struggle has been, so
I’ve been on a mission to try and at least reduce the number of ingrown
hairs I get as well as reduce the appearance of all the
discolored bumps and spots. However, I really appreciate an all-in-one kind of
product, so this led to my big interest in trying Tend Skin. Most of the
products I’ve used for these problems were either 100% ineffective and more
like “novelty” products sold by adult product manufacturers (for a little extra
cash) or products that didn’t give enough results for me to bother using it,
much less continuing to buy it. Yes, I’ve tried the drugstore versions with
very unsatisfactory results, so that’s when I started looking elsewhere and got
my hands on all those products made my adult toy manufacturers, which gave me
even less results and just angered me when I looked into the ingredients that
showed the products were little or nothing more than a simple moisturizer!
So, here we are. Almost week into using Tend Skin. To start
off, I only applied Tend Skin to one side of my epilated area (bikini area) and
I did this a few hours after epilating and before bed. The next morning, I
noticed the skin I applied it to was softer and I had less of those tiny bumps
down the side of my bikini line. The other side that I did not apply Tend Skin
to, obviously was still red with little ingrown hairs and bumps. I wanted to
see up-close the difference, so this is why I only applied it to one side
before using it all over. I was happy with the results and was excited to see
more, so from then on, I’ve been using it all over the area – everywhere
needed.
The skin looks better and is softer. It also seems the hairs
come out slightly easier after applying it and allowing to dry. I’m not sure if
this is my imagination or if Tend Skin is helping during the removal process
too.
I’ve highlighted some
of the details in the informative papers I have from Tend Skin and thought was
important to include here.
Razor bumps
(pseudofolliculitis barbae) occur on the faces of men with wiry, curly hair.
50-80% of African American men and 15-20% of Caucasian men suffer from
this daily. Beard hair tends to curl as
it grows and can eventually burrow into skin adjacent to the hair follicle.
Shaving sharpens the
hair ends, making it easier to penetrate the skin. Razor bumps cause itching,
burning and make shaving impossible. When applied regularly, Tend Skin Liquid
effectively and safely reduces the appearance of unsightly razor bumps as soon
as it’s applied.
Ingrown
hair
Ingrown hairs form under after the hair has been cut or
removed below the skin’s surface. As the hair continues to grow it’ll curl over
within the follicles and fail to reach the surface. The result is a bump on the
skin. Women tend to get them after hair removal by shaving, waxing or electrolysis
on their legs, bikini lines and underarms. Men get ingrown hairs on the face
and neck. Regular application of Tend Skin Liquid will reduce the appearance of
ingrown hairs for both men and women.
Razor Burn Redness
Use TendSkin Liquid to reduce the appearance of redness after all hair removal
procedures.
Facials
You can use
Tend Skin Liquid for a daily facial. Tend Skin cleanses the skin better than
most cleansers and acts like a mild peel, and causes your skin to shine.
Foot/Underarm Deodorant
Tend Skin is
an extremely effective underarm deodorant in addition to helping reduce the
appearance of ingrown hairs and skin redness. Apply Tend Skin to feet before putting
on socks and shoes or when removing them.
Necktie Redness
Tend Skin
customers have reported using Tend Skin to reduce the appearance of “cherry
neck” caused from neckties rubbing the area and irritating it after shaving.
Tend Skin
can also remove ink from your skin.
For ingrown Hairs
Apply to
existing ingrown hairs to reduce the appearance within 48 hours. Apply daily to
determine your level of maintenance and adjust application accordingly. Tend
Skin recommends avoiding tweezing to reduce damage – increased ingrown hair
formation can result.
Shaving Razor Bumps
Apply before
bed and again after your morning shave to dry skin. After skin has cleared,
apply daily to determine your maintenance level and adjust application accordingly.
For razor
burn or tie-redness, apply after shaving to clear the skin, then daily to
maintain.
Waxing
Instead of
powder, use Tend Skin to keep the wax from sticking to skin. Apply before
waxing and allow to dry, then perform your hair removal.
After
waxing, apply another thin layer to treated skin to reduce the appearance of
redness and post-wax bumps.
Electrolysis
Apply before
procedure to clean and help protect skin during the procedure. After procedure,
apply another thin layer to soothe skin, reduce the appearance of redness and
to minimize appearance of next-day bumping. Apply several times weekly to
determine maintenance level.
Laser Hair Removal
After procedure, apply thin layer to reduce appearance of
redness and minimize appearance of next-day bumps. To ensure full penetration
of laser light, do not use before procedure.
Facials
Apply to
face to cleanse. For mild exfoliation, leave on overnight.
Tips: Make sure to use a new razor every
few uses. Blades are made of low-grade steel. If you use a dull blade Tend Skin
may not work to reduce appearance of ingrown hairs and razor bumps, so replace
the blade when it loses its new-blade feel.
Epilators: Tend Skin advises against these
devices. They say epilators cause injury to the skin that is than razor blade
scraping. They also say tweezing can
damage follicles and make ingrown hairs worse – this is true. I say that from
experience. I’ve tweezed for years (bikini area) and it does make my ingrown
hairs far worse, but I’ve learned to catch them early and dig them from
underneath the skin, which is a real pain!
Loofah Pads: Tend Skin also recommends against the
use of abrasive scrubbing. They say it can lead to an increase of ingrown hairs
and works against the product.
There is a scent to Tend Skin. It smells just like rubbing
alcohol, but the odor (not unpleasant anyways) dissipates soon after applying.
It doesn’t leave my skin smelling of alcohol and even more important, it
doesn’t leave any residue behind! Now that is something I love. I remember in the past using a product that
promised to “inhibit hair growth” so I bought the cream and used the
spray-liquid version too. Both left behind a slimey residue and the spray left
me somewhat sticky and I dreaded that feeling down stairs every day I used it!
I expected Tend Skin to leave my skin dry since it smells of rubbing alcohol,
so it was a lovely surprise to have seen no dryness, but my skin was replaced
with a softer texture rather than the usual rough-like texture from so many
years of hair removal.
PS. Tend Skin care’s brochure says “You will see results in
24 hours.” I mentioned above the softer skin, a few reduced bumps/redness I seen the
first time I used it (the next day.)
USE
I apply Tend Skin to my bikini area after epilating. I apply
it to my underarms after shaving and on other “problem areas” where I
experience bumps or burn.
As I said, I use it mostly on my bikini area, but I avoid
getting it… you know, in any overly-sensitive areas such as the inner labia. I
imagine it may burn there, so I wouldn’t encourage doing that. Not to mention,
and this is really strange/interesting to me, but I never have ingrown hairs or
razor bumps on the inner labia minora! The worst area for me is the vulva –
very top and around my legs/bikini line. So the good thing is, I don’t need to
apply it in the inner parts.
Instructions
Test a small area before and again
after hair removal. Allow 1 hour to test for a reaction. Proceed with full
application if no reaction occurs.
In all instances of use, only a thin
layer of Tend Skin Liquid is needed. Use a cotton ball (or your fingers, if you’re
like me). To prevent unwanted peeling of skin, wash hands immediately after
contact. Apply only to dry skin.
Ingredients:
Water, Glycerin, Polyquaternium10, Dimethicone Copolyol, Polysorbate 20, PVP/VA Copolymer, Parometachloroxylenol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Mehylparaben, Propylparaben, Chloroxylenol, Fragrance, FD&C Blue #1.
*You might want to avoid use if you are sensitive to parabens and artificial coloring or other ingredients listed.
You can use moisturizer or cologne over
Tend Skin, once it dries.
More information that's included in the papers (note: I've not included every detail, but have focused on the information on Tend Skin Liquid) is troubleshooting, which I thought was a really nice bit of info to add. Here is what it says:
For ingrown hairs that don't want to lift:
If ingrown hairs have been present for several months or longer, the product will need more time to show results. Ingrown hairs will continue to grow even though they are under the skin. People have reported finding ingrown hairs up to an inch or longer -- like me! Like I said earlier, less than a whole month ago, I had one that was about 3 inches!!
To remove these hairs, Tend Skin recommends using tweezers near the end of the hair and gently "teasing" to expose the hair from under the skin and then pluck it.
This is something I deal with daily -- removing my ingrown hairs. When I had the 3 inch long ingrown, I actually had to cut the skin a little bit to get to the hair and remove. I applied some aloe to prevent infection or bacterial (aloe vera is a natural anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and even more) and the thing healed up in no time with no scarring.
What I usually do for my ingrown hairs is basically what Tend Skin says. I use my Tweezerman's (these are great tweezers! You can find knock-offs similar. They have a sharp, slanted tip and are amazing for ingrowns.) Then, I try to locate the end of the hair that's under the skin, not the top where it grows out of the follicle. Then I use the tip of the tweezers to scrap in an upward motion and it usually causes the end of the hair to protrude from the skin quickly and with no injury or blood, although I have had bleeding in some cases. Once the hair is showing, just pluck that sucker!
