How to prevent and treat ingrown hair

A normal hair grows straight out through an opening in the hair follicle. In case of ingrown hair, the hair doesnot grow straight out from the hair follicle but instead grows inside your skin at an angle piercing the side of the follicle. As a result you see a thin layer of skin over the new growth of hair.

Ingrown hair affect the beard and neck area in men while women commonly suffer from ingrown hair in legs, underarms and bikini area.

Causes of ingrown hair-
It is not always possible to stop ingrown hairs so it is best to prevent them. If you have persistent ingrown hair consider permanent laser hair removal.

1) Often due to shaving too close the hair is cut just below the skin’s surface. This cut hair shaft has sharpened edge which at times doesnot grown out from the follicle but instead pierces the follicle growing parallel to the skin so close shave must not be done frequently.

2) During waxing the hair is pulled out suddenly from the follicle which cause them a major trauma. The hair growth on every body part has a certain direction of growth and any hair removal technique must follow this direction and not work against it. If the hair is waxed in a different or opposite direction the hair follicles suffer from shock leading to the problem of ingrown hairs.

3) Women who have curly or coarse hair might notice that some hairs which grow out straight curl back and re-enter the follicle causing ingrown hair.

Treatment and prevention on Ingrown hair-
Often ingrown hairs dissappear on their own by growing out from beneath the skin’s surface or eventually when the upper layer of skin covering them is shed.

1) Using tweezers-
Wash the area with antiseptic soap. Use tweezers to gently coax the hair out, donot dig or cut your skin. Ingrown hairs lie just beneath the first layer of skin so you can gently lift them out. You may leave the freed hair to grow out further or choose to pluck it. Apply antiseptic or alcohol on the area to provide extra protection against infection.

2) Exfoliating the skin-
Exfoliating helps remove the top layer of the skin covering the ingrown hair giving the hair a chance to grow out instead. A gentle scrubbing procedure with a scrubbing pad, bath sponge or a loofah should be followed regularly during bathing. Creams and scrubs containing hydroxy acids, abrassive particles and salicylic acids are very effective in reducing razor bumps.

3) Shaving tips-
* For men the direction of shaving is downwards on the cheeks, chin, moustache area and upwards on the neck. For women it is downwards on the legs.
* Avoid reverse shaving or shaving hair too closely.
* Donot exert pressure on your skin or hold it tightly while shaving
* Repeated strokes with razor over the same area cause the hair to be cut too short which increases risk of ingrown hair.

4) Permanent hair removal-
If you have tried everything and nothing works go for permanent hair removal like laser, electrolysis.