Why do I have ingrown hairs?

What are ingrown hairs?

An ingrown hair is a strand of hair that grows back but remains in the skin after shaving, tweezing, or waxing. They may cause pain or itchiness and usually appear on the face, legs, armpits, and around the genitals. Severe ingrown hairs may sometimes cause larger bumps on the skin.

Who does ingrown hairs affect?

Inverted hair growth is a common pore condition. Anyone who has experience in shaves, tweezes, or goes under the hair removal treatments is at a possible risk of developing ingrown hairs. Or if you have coloured skin, rough, coarse hair or curly hair, and you have the habit of excessive shaving, your hair is more likely to grow backwards.

Which part of the body does ingrown hair affect?

The beard areas of the face (neck, cheeks, and chin), legs, armpits, and pubic area (bikini line and inner thighs) are most likely to suffer from ingrown hairs. However, it can also occur in other areas of the body, including the eyebrows, chest, abdomen, back, nostrils, scalp, and buttocks.

Symptoms of ingrown hair

• Skin irritation and pain

• Itchy feeling

• Inflamed papules and pustules with hair appearing in the middle of the pores

• The skin turns red, dark brown or purple-black

If the ingrown hair becomes infected, you may see the bump grow larger and become painful. When pustules appear around hair follicles, it is an infection. If not treated properly, it may lead to scarring.

Causes of the ingrown hair

Improper shaving, epilation, or tweezing may also cause ingrown hair to appear. Shaving and tweezing methods do not completely remove the hair strands and follicles, and when new hair grows, it may curl back into your skin. This condition is more common if your hair is thick, curly, or coarse.

How to diagnose that I have ingrown hairs?

Ingrown hairs are easy to identify, and a professional will note your appearance symptoms and ask questions about your daily skin care routine, such including:

• When did you start noticing symptoms?

• Do you have a habit of shaving, epilating or tweezing hair?

• Do you always have ingrown hair bumps, do they slowly disappear and then reappear?

• How often do you shave?

• What type of shaving tool do you use?

• How often do you wax or tweeze your hair?

• How do you prepare your skin before hair removal at home?

How to treat ingrown hairs?

Your care provider may recommend that you apply some medi-cream to reduce inflammation and improve infection. An experienced care provider may use a sterilised tool, such as a sterilised needle to make a small opening in the affected area to squeeze out any pus, and use sterilised forceps to remove ingrown hairs and treat infected areas. 

To prevent scarring or infection caused by improper treatment, Do not scratch or try to pull out ingrown hairs on your own.

How to get rid of ingrown hairs?

To release ingrown hair, removal of the excessive keratinocyte layer of the skin is a necessary procedure. Regular use of an exfoliating brush, mild exfoliating gel or scrub to clean the affected area in gentle circular motions is a good idea to help.

What will happen if ingrown hairs are not treated in time?

Ingrown hairs will usually heal on their own within one to two weeks with only minor irritation, and as they grow, they will eventually fall out of the skin. 

However, ingrown hair follicles may develop peripheral infection, leading to pus formation, discoloration, and pain.

What products and treatments are available to treat ingrown hairs?

• Phytic acid exfoliation treatment, salicylic acid ointment.

• Prescription acne medications, such as retinoids, can help remove dead skin.

• Prescription steroid creams can help reduce inflammation.

For more severe cases, your professional care provider may recommend alternative ingrown hair removal options: 

• Electrolysis - This technique uses a fine needle and mild electric shocks to destroy the hair roots. Targeting each hair follicle that needs treatment, it is especially suitable for a small number of individual hair follicles that are in poor condition to end repeated inflammation.

• Phytic Acid Peel Treatment - In this technology, acids of different sizes are used to penetrate into different skin layers and dissolve dead skin cells in stages, which is particularly effective against inflammation.

How long after will I notice the different?

Most ingrown hairs conditions will disappear on their own within a few days after the proper treatment is proceed, in general there is no further treatment is required; However, severe cases may take several weeks for the skin to fully recover.

Home care medication may take several days to see the effects slowly. The results of electrolysis and hybrid phytic acid peel treatments seem to achieve immediate improvement.

How to prevent ingrown hairs?

The best way to prevent ingrown hairs is to use Proper hair removal techniques, including home care regimen and a suitable Targeted care treatment program to improve:

• Thoroughly clean and moisture the skin and the hair removal areas

• Apply soothing care products to skin before and after hair removal

• If you need to shave, shave in the direction of natural hair growth.

• Clean and rinse the shaving blade thoroughly after each shave

• Change shaving blades frequently or use disposable shaving knives

Conclusions: 

Ingrown hair is a very common follicular skin symptom. If your ingrown hair condition cannot be improved by the above suggestions, or if your skin is severely infected, please consider meeting your family doctor.

Information provided by:

Jady Chow - Certified International electrologist since 1997. She has extensive experience in treating hair removal and related skin conditions, as well as the skin hyperplastic microvascular symptoms. She has handled ingrown hair cases of varying degrees over the years and has extensive experiences in the application of medical aesthetic technologies

The Fine Room  – A private studio and store specialising in used of medical grade beauty products