We bet that quite many of you have probably had this experience at least once in your life when you wear tight pants or socks (or tights), and then you feel that your leg hair hurts after you put clothes off! This isn’t an unbearable pain but still, it is an unpleasant feeling. Moreover, you might feel pain while wearing your tights or pants!
Have you ever wondered why it happens? Have you ever asked yourself a question: why does my leg hair hurt when I wear pants?
Today, we will do our best to explain that to you.
You will find out what can make your leg hair hurt and what can be done in order to get rid of that feeling.
Also, you will find out how you could get your legs ready for the cold season and constant wearing of pants/jeans. With the skincare tips, you will be able to avoid any uncomfortable experiences during the winter!
Why Does the Hair On My Leg Hurt?
Quite many of us, both men and women, have had this issue: you pull off your jeans, pants, or tights, and you suddenly realize that the skin on your legs hurts! Some people describe this feeling as being similar to sunburn pain, others say it feels more like your hair hurt. Nevertheless, it is rather unpleasant.
But why does it happen? Is there anything wrong with your clothes? Could that be the result of any skin issues?
Well, first of all, if you have had such skin pain, there is nothing wrong with your skin! Your leg hair may hurt because the fabric of your pants, jeans, or tights (or even your socks!) pulls on the hair.
See, our leg hairs have small muscles attached to them. So when the hairs spend a long period of time pulled in an awkward position by your clothes or socks, the muscles become sore because they suffer the traction too. This is the pain/discomfort you feel.
See, a lot of the discomfort you feel during winter is due to the fact that when you put on tight pants, leggings, tall socks, and tights, they are pushing the existent leg hair in the opposite direction of its natural growth. This means that your leg hair is forced to be bent “against the grain” most of the time!
To get the idea, imagine that you wear your hair in a high and tight ponytail all day. Of course, when you finally take it out, your hair might hurt. The same thing is happening with your legs: after being stuck in an unnatural position, your nerves and skin sensors start to act up.
But wearing tight clothes or socks is not the only reason for your leg hair causing pain. Below, you can read about a few other reasons that may also take place. Like that, you will have a few options to consider should you face this issue.
Why Does My Leg Hair Hurt When It Grows Back?
If you have ever had hairs that grow back or ingrown hair, you know that it can be quite painful. But why does it happen when you don’t even touch that area? The explanation is pretty simple. If you shave or wax your legs, the hair may grow back incorrectly.
But when your hair gets trapped under the skin, they cause inflammation and tiny bumps. This condition may be painful and itchy since the skin is not doing well and it is damaged.
It’s almost the same mechanism that works when you cut yourself. Your skin hurts! Luckily, ingrown hairs usually resolve on their own without specific treatment.
Why Does My Leg Hair Hurt When I Have a Fever?
This is another case when you might feel that your leg hair hurts. Not all people experience this, but if you do or did, you might be wondering why it happens. When you are ill or you have a fever, your skin is not damaged. So why would you feel that your leg hair hurts?!
In fact, the feeling of “aching hair” is a common symptom of flu! When you get the flu, your body temperature gets so high that you may start feeling as if your skin is aching, including your hair, both on your head and all over your body.
This is because the inflammation process is so intense that your skin becomes way too sensitive.
Ok, you may say now, but how can I solve this issue?
I can’t walk with bare legs during the winter! Of course, you can’t! And we won’t suggest you wear a kilt like Scottish men used to do centuries ago! Luckily, there are simpler and less extraordinary ways of solving this problem.
What Can I Do to Make My Leg Hair Stop Aching?
If you face this problem constantly, we recommend you check your clothes first of all! Make sure that your socks and jeans/pants are not too tight. If they are, the fabric will cause traction, thus leading to the development of the hair’s irritation and pain.
Also, here is a piece of advice for our sweet ladies: make sure the tights that you are wearing are not too tight! They should be of your exact size! If you wear them too tight (like size or two smaller than you actually need), your legs’ skin will suffer that irritating pain.
But even if your clothes is not a culprit anymore, you should still take a few tips and life hacks into consideration for the future. With their help, you will be able to avoid aching legs.
Exfoliate Your Skin
We mean the skin of your legs of course. As you definitely know, our skin is constantly regenerating. Old cells die and new cells are formed. But this process is exactly what makes the old layer of dead cells remain on the surface of our skin!
If you don’t remove it, it may cause skin irritation. Besides, old skin cells will prevent the new ones from growing, thus leading to the dull and unhealthy look of your skin in general. This is why exfoliation is a must (and not only during the cold season).
Choose your own way of skin exfoliation depending on how sensitive your skin is. We would not recommend you use salt because it is rather drying, but there are other options you can try out:
- One of the best approaches is the good old dry brush pre-shower! It genuinely feels awesome, gets your blood flowing, and is a good way of removing that dead, dry skin.
- You can also ppt for a sugar-based scrub. It often contains coconut or almond oil so it provides you with both exfoliating and moisturizing
Also, the frequency of your exfoliation sessions will depend on the same nuance (meaning your skin’s sensitivity). For example, you can exfoliate as often as every day (every few days if your skin is reactive).
Keep Your Skin Hydrated
Proper hydration is another must-do if you want to get rid of that overly dry skin during the winter months and avoid leg skin irritation and hair ache. In winter, our skin is affected by the dry air in our homes and in our offices. Also, wearing pants and/or tight most of the day doesn’t make it feel better!
So your major task will be to keep your skin properly hydrated. Do it in the morning before you get dressed. Do it again at night before going to bed. Do it after you shower! Of course, shaving is also mandatory.
But if your leg hair grows too fast, or if you are a guy who doesn’t tolerate the idea of shaving legs, here is another option for you: condition it.
Yes, you got it right! We have just recommended you condition your leg hair! It doesn’t mean you should apply your hair conditioner to your legs, but you can use any other product that has a conditioning effect and can be used on your legs.
Like that, you will make your leg hairs softer. As a result, when you are wearing tight leggings or pants, your hair won’t be causing any pain.
Remove Your Hair
This is the last on this list but not the least factor that matters. In fact, this is the very first thing that should be done! By shaving regularly, you will remove the very cause of irritation and pain.
Of course, this recommendation will be more useful for the ladies since men do not always tolerate the idea of shaving legs! But anyway, no matter your gender, consider shaving or totally removing your leg hair! Luckily, there are tons of alternative methods for doing this today.
Like that, now you know why your leg hair might hurt during the cold season and what can be done in order to get rid of this feeling. As you can see now, there is nothing wrong with the skin of your legs if you feel pain while wearing tight leggings or pants.
The cause is in the tight clothes and the condition of your skin. Once you fix those two issues, the unpleasant feelings will be gone!
Why Wearing Tight Clothes Is Not Good?
Since a painful feeling in your legs may often occur because of wearing tight clothes, we would like to pay more attention to this issue. See, it can not only cause light pain in your leg hair! In fact, constant wearing of tight pants, leggings, tights, or even socks may lead to quite serious health issues!
What could be so dangerous about wearing tight pants, you may ask?
There are a few issues that you will be quite surprised to learn about! They are actual for both men and women, but of course, ladies are more predisposed to wearing way too tight outfits.
Skin Irritation
Wearing clothing that is too tight can cause problems with skin irritation, especially in areas where the skin is more sensitive. Those areas typically include:
- the areas around your bikini line
- under your breasts
- under your arms
Tight panties, bras, tops, as well as pants/jeans, and leggings can rub your skin a lot. As a result, if you don’t do anything to it, it will sooner or later cause redness and irritation. And if the skin is irritated constantly, it can lead to infections.
There is another factor that might also lead to your skin irritation: we mean the lack of breathability. For example, moisture can be more prevalent around the areas where you have tight clothing, thus preventing airflow, which can contribute to infections.
Circulatory Interruption
Wearing tight clothes often can lead to the interruption of proper blood flow. If your clothing is too tight in certain areas, it can reduce blood flow to other areas of your body. For instance, if you wear jeans that are way too tight around the waist, it can reduce blood flow to your lower extremities.
Of course, if you wear such clothes occasionally and short term, this would not be a problem or health threat. However, it could be risky should you wear such clothes for long periods of time!
Problems With Your Stomach
Who would think that wearing too tight clothes can affect your stomach?! But it can! Wearing clothing that is extremely tight against your stomach can cause a certain level of gastrointestinal upset.
Let’s say, if your pants are too tight, it can push stomach acid back up through the esophagus and cause uncomfortable symptoms of acid reflux.
Of course, it is important to dress in a way that makes you feel confident and comfortable. But we recommend you to make sure that looking good is not causing any threats to your health!
So, now you know what tight clothes can do to your health. This is why we would suggest you choose clothes of a more loose design for the cold season (for example, warm winter sport suits, loose pants, etc.).
Of course, such garments might not look very stylish, but at least they won’t cause any harm to your health!
Ingrown hairs can be painful. E.g. if an infection is left untreated, it may cause pain. Use shaving creambecause it helps to soften hairs, making it easier to remove them close to the skin's surface. Try using formulas that contain hydrating vitamin E, olive oil, lanolin, or colloidal oatmeal. Since our estrogen levels drop as we reach middle to later age, body hair growth becomes thinner, too. In fact, most people will see a significant slow down in the production of leg and arm hair.Frequently Asked Questions
⭐Do ingrown hairs hurt?
⭐How can I soften my leg hair?
⭐Does leg hair stop growing with age?
