About ingrown hair – Treatment and prevention

About ingrown hair or Pseudofolliculitis barbae

Pseudofolliculitis barbae or ingrown hair refers to the inflammation of a hair follicle. In everyday terms ingrown hair is known as "razor bumps" and "razor burns."

An ingrown hair is a hair that curls and penetrates the skin with its tip, causing inflammation. It occurs when a hair pierces and enters the skin adjacent to the follicle, causing inflammation and a foreign body reaction. In the same way, when a hair curls back onto itself before exiting the epidermis it often forms an ingrown hair, which, like a razor bump, causes inflammation and a foreign body reaction.

Ingrown hairs are quite common in the beard area of the men. However, they can also occur on other parts of the body where hair is shaved or plucked, especially areas of the body where hair is curly and the skin is sensitive, such as the pubic area. Ingrown hairs are more common among people with very curly hair.

What are infected ingrown hairs and how to get rid of them?

Quite often an ingrown hair becomes irritated or inflamed with bacteria causing troublesome infected ingrown hair. An infected ingrown hair is marked by inflammation of the skin followed by pus formation. It may cause you itching and pain. An infected pustule can become ruptured, resulting in bleeding. In chronic cases, an infected ingrown hair may also generate scars.

Given below are the steps to get rid of an ingrown hair -

• Clean the area to remove any bacteria that may be present before attempting to remove the ingrown hair.
  
  
• Soak a clean cloth in warm or hot water and lay it across the infected ingrown hair and surrounding area for about 3 minutes. This will cause the ingrown hair to loosen. This will sometimes make the ingrown hair come up to the surface. Check to see if this has happened otherwise place the cloth over the area again and wait until it does.
  
  
• Using your tweezers, gently lift the infected ingrown hair from the hair follicle. You can 'pluck' the hair as well, but if the hair has loosened enough from the warm cloth, you should be able to just simply pull the hair out.
  
  
• Once you have removed the infected ingrown hair, apply hydrogen peroxide. Following this you may apply a bandage if required.
  
  
• Apply hydrogen peroxide twice a day to ensure faster healing process and prevent it from becoming infected yet again.
  
  

Precautions to avoid ingrown pubic hair

Listed below are tips that can help you avoid ingrown pubic hair -

• Always remove pubic hair after a bath or shower when your pores will be slightly open, making it easier to remove hairs from the root.
  
  
• If you are planning to wax your pubic hair exfoliate the area a day before. This will help remove some of the dead skin which can sometimes trap the ingrown hair.
  
  
• Wear loose fitting underwear and clothing because this will help until the bumps are gone.
  
  
• You may also consider using depilatory creams to remove pubic hair. This will eliminate the need for regular shaving and the chances of getting an ingrown hair.
  
  

What are Alpha Hydroxy Acids and how they are effective in ingrown hair treatment?

Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA's) are acids which are popularly used in skincare to help remove dead skin cells from the surface layer of the skin. Some Alpha Hydroxy Acids are known as 'fruit acids' as they come from fruit. The AHA's have been studied in several clinical studies and have been proven to be effective for treatment of fine wrinkles and rejuvenating the skin. The most common AHA is the glycolic acid.

Cosmetic products such as Skin Doctors Ingrow Go make use of glycolic acid - an alpha hydroxy acid - to remove ingrown hair. Glycolic acid helps to mildly exfoliate and take away dead skin. This helps to release the trapped ingrown hair from the follicle.