An ingrown hair is a situation where a hair on the human body grows or curls completely under the skin. It is often caused by different shaving practices and sometimes accompanies razor bumps. Ingrown hairs can vary in size and can appear anywhere on the body, causing scarring, redness, or swelling. With ingrown hairs, both ends of the hair follicle get trapped under the skin, either growing sideways or bending and curling. The medical term for the condition is Pseudofolliculitis barbae or PFB.
When a hair is broken off short or pushed under the skin but not removed during shaving, an ingrown hair is the result. Often a hair may be passed over and not removed, or cut properly but pushed sideways under the surrounding skin, causing the hair to remain ingrown and not emerge through the outer layer of skin. When shaving, pressing too tightly on the skin for a closer or cleaner shave can result in an ingrown hair. When the skin is pulled, sometimes the hairs are pulled sideways into the face instead of trimmed. An ingrown hair often causes a pimple-like bump, and may redden or swell if not treated. The spot may develop a rash or itch, and sometimes becomes infected or collects pus if the hair is not removed.
The ingrown hair can be removed with sharp cosmetic tools such as a pin or tweezers. The hair can be removed from its ingrown position by puncturing the swelling skin with a sterilized pin and pulling the ingrown end out through a small abrasion of the skin. The ingrown hair is then exposed as normal, and can be shaved or plucked with tweezers. An ingrown hair can also be prevented by shaving in a different direction, keeping the skin exfoliated or moisturized, maintaining clean pores, or something as simple as leaving a hot washcloth over the face.
Hair that is cut short and close to the skin creates a sharp tip that can more easily pierce the skin to cause an ingrown hair. Improper shaving techniques are the major cause of ingrown hairs. Other hair-removal methods, including waxing, as well as common friction from tight clothing, may worsen the situation. Although an ingrown hair is primarily caused by improper or aggressive hair removal, it sometimes occurs naturally as too much dead skin debris blocks the hair follicle opening, causing the hair to grow sideways.
Nearly everyone will have an ingrown hair at some time. Overall, teenagers and adults are more prone to ingrown hairs. African-American individuals with thicker, coarser hairs tend to have the highest rate of problems with ingrown hairs.
Symptoms include itch and tenderness at the ingrown hair area. An ingrown hair can lead to a localized foreign-body inflammatory reaction, which causes the pinpoint red or pink bumps on the skin. Some of the bumps may be slightly red or have an accompanying light-red halo indicating inflammation. Sometimes, the curled hair can be barely visible at the center of the bump. Small pus bumps or dry red bumps are often scattered over an area that has been shaved recently. Often the bumps start a few days to weeks after hair removal and get worse as the hairs grow back. Acne whiteheads, called milia, may also be in the same areas as ingrown hairs.
Individuals who have ingrown hairs may experience a painful acne-like eruption after shaving. The upper skin layers may have some dilation of the small superficial blood vessels, which gives the skin a red or flushed appearance. Pustules and rare abscesses may form on the ingrown hair sites due to the infection with common skin bacteria, such as Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas.
You can try to go to your Esthetician or Doctor to tease the tips of any ingrown hairs out of the skin with the point of a needle or sharp scalpel.
The best solution is to let grow the hairs: When the hairs are longer, they do not curl back and puncture the skin.
Shaving in the same direction helps to train the hair to grow out straight, thus preventing it curling back into the skin.
Afterward a damp warm towel can be applied for a few minutes to further soothe and soften. Shaving closely with multiple razor strokes should be avoided.
Also, you can use depilatory creams, less aggressive for your skin.
If ingrown hairs are still a problem after making sure that the shaving process was completed in such a way that more occurrences are prevented, then you must remove the plug of hardened proteins that are blocking the hair follicle with exfoliation products so that the hair may grow outward.
Beta hydroxy acids (such as a salicylic acid) are best for this because they penetrate deeply into the plug of hardened proteins and slowly dissolve the plug. If the inflammation has progressed to the point of serious infection, then a dermatologist or physician will need to be consulted. Another option of course would be laser hair removal.
Exfoliating every time you bathe and cleanse the face is your best defense against ingrown hairs and razor bumps. Gentle cleansing and keeping the skin smooth and supple works well to keep the hair follicles moisturized and growing in the right direction.
To avoid any problem of skin and Ingrown Hairs, you should apply after shaving (with any kind of depilation method), a cream that will calm down the irritation, cure the little injuries and repair your skin.