Articles

We all know about ingrown hairs and how they can be very bothersome (to say the least!). Hair removal methods such as tweezing and shaving will cause people to experience them. For men, they usually show up on the beard area and the front part of the neck. For women they arrive at the legs, inner thighs, and armpits. While their uncomfortableness in both feeling and appearance needs no explanation, did you know that they can also cause infections? Following in this article we lay out the basics of what ingrown hairs are and what is the easiest way prevent them.

An 'ingrown hair' is the formal word for pseudofolliculitis barbae. The condition begins deep beneath the skin beyond our eyesite. The end of the hair shaft is cut in a way that it is left standing within with a sharpened edge. The blade will attempt to grow out of the follicle as normal, but blocked by the surrounding skin. The problem is it continues to grow, just back into itself as opposed to outside the skin pore. When the hair doubles over itself in this form, it is impossible to leave the surface. As it curls back into the follicle, the inflammatory response of a pronounced redness or irksome irritation follows. The blade of hair is perceived to be a foreign body, and therefore the symptoms of inflammation. The inflammation that follows is the all too familiar bump. The bump is tiny and hard with the blade of hair barely visible. It is itching, tingling, and more or less painful.

This skin condition at this point has the potential to worsen. Further symptoms involve pus formations that form after heavy skin inflammation. An infected pustule can become ruptured resulting in bleeding. Bacteria, yeasts, or fungi infections can further exacerbate the problem. These inflammations, later on, has the potential to leave a permanent reminder of itself in the form of a small scar.

A good piece of advice is to take a trip to your doctor to learn tips to as painlessly as possible take out hair bumps with a sharp needle. Always be sure when shaving legs or armpits, you should shave in the same direction in which the hair grows. Practicing this trains the hairs to grow straight instead of hitting the skin wall forcing them to grown back into the follicle.