Skincare with Geraldine Walters

Itch and Irritation

Treating the common problem of ingrown hairs

If you have ever had an ingrown hair, you will know how sore and uncomfortable it can be. The problem arises especially after shaving, which is why men find them on the face and neck and women on legs, armpits and, most uncomfortably, the bikini line. An ingrown hair isn’t dangerous, but it can be an annoyance. This common condition happens when a hair curls back or grows sideways back into the skin, resulting in an inflamed, raised, red bump, or sometimes a boil-like sore. Some methods of hair removal such as waxing, tweezing or shaving can cause an ingrown hair. It may also be caused by a lack of exfoliation in the area, dry skin, or even irritation from tight clothing that chafes. The best treatment is simply to stop waxing, shaving, or plucking the hair until the ingrown hair goes away. A warm compress can be applied to help open the follicle and, once the hair has lifted, you can use a sterile tweezer to gently pull the hair out. But don’t tweeze the hair if it’s visible under the skin, as this can break the skin in the area and cause an infection. Once the hair has emerged you can use sterile tweezers to gently pull it out. If the ingrown hair is infected, and there is pus, you’ll need to see your doctor, who could prescribe an antibiotic. Sometimes you can just gently exfoliate the area to help lift the hair above the skin, using a flannel or body exfoliator. Some body lotions contain salicylic, lactic or glycolic acid that acts as a chemical exfoliant, and this is less irritating than scrubs. If you don’t indulge in hair removal, you can still get ingrown hairs. We all shed hairs on a regular basis and, when the hair grows back, the hair follicle can be covered with dead skin, which stops the hair from coming out of the skin, but it continues to grow under the epidermis. This is more likely to happen to people with curly hair, or in areas of the body with coarser hair, such as the pubis and beard. Ingrown hairs can be painful and unsightly, but are usually only a risk to your health if they become infected and left untreated. In this case, they may worsen and leave scarring from post inflammatory hyperpigmentation. If you suffer regularly from ingrown hairs, you might find treating them with electrolysis, or laser for larger areas, gives great relief.

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