Whether you shave daily to keep your face smooth or once every several days to achieve that rebel-without-a-cause-type five o’clock shadow, you’ve probably experienced the dreaded ingrown hair problem at least once or twice.

While in no way life-threatening, ingrown hairs on your face can irritate, annoy, and potentially make your life miserable. When ingrown hairs occur, you’ll experience raised, red pimple-like bumps — and sometimes painful sores can form. It can occur on your neck, chin, cheeks, and anywhere else you might happen to shave.

There are various causes of ingrown hairs. For instance, dead skin can block hair follicles, which could force hair to grown into the skin as opposed to upward. But oftentimes, your shaving technique — or lack thereof — can play a role in determining if you get ingrown hairs.

If you wait long enough, ingrown hairs usually clear up on their own, but that will leave you having to deal with the itchiness and discomfort as the situation gradually improves. Even so, prevention is better than cure, so consider these 5 shaving tips to prevent ingrown hairs face issues.

1. Exfoliate Regularly

Exfoliating is actually an important part of the shaving routine if you want to prevent ingrown hairs from developing. As mentioned, dead skin cells can actually block up your hair follicles, which can cause the hairs in these follicles to grow in such a way where the ends grow down and pierce into the skin to cause ingrown hairs. However, if you regularly exfoliate, say once per week, you can prevent dead skin cells from clogging your follicles.

2. New and Clean Razor

It’s important that you use quality razors and that you don’t reuse the same blades too often. Definitely steer clear of, or at least limit use of, disposable razors. They might be okay once in awhile such as if you’re away from home for a few days, but they were not manufactured for long-term use, so the blades will get dull much sooner than would the blades of quality razors.

Whether a quality brand or a disposable brand, you need to be sure not to use the same razor blades for too long since dull blades will lead to bumpy, uneven cuts, which can create the sort of conditions that lead to ingrown hairs. As well, an overused blade can become a breeding ground for bacteria, which can lead to skin irritation, and this can worsen ingrown hair issues. So, definitely invest more to get good razors and be sure to change the heads regularly.

3. Wet Your Skin

It’s a good idea to use warm water to soften your facial hair before you apply good shaving cream. This will help to provide lubrication you need to conduct an effective shave that reduces the chances of irritating your skin or experiencing the ingrown hairs face problem.

4. Don’t Skimp On Shaving Cream

Using quality shaving cream is also important. Shaving cream provides moisture that allows the blade to move smoothly, lifts the hair on contact to facilitate a close-to-the-skin cut, soothes your skin by reducing friction, and lengthens the life of your razor blade since softened hair is easier on a razor blade than is dry hair.

5. Post-Shave Routine

After you’ve given yourself the perfect shave, you still have another step to consider — and that’s post-shave care. There are products you can use to, among other things, soothe sort skin and relieve any after-shave irritations you may experience.

If you follow these five shaving tips, the ingrown hairs on your face could potentially be a thing of the past!