Get that Ingrown Hair Out

Everybody gets a pesky ingrown hair once in a while. If you take care of it properly, it shouldn’t pose much of a problem. However, if your ingrown hair takes a wrong turn, it can become inflamed and infected. Here’s what you should do to avoid a problem.

When you get an ingrown hair, the shaved edge of the hair re-enters the skin after it grows out. There are two main factors that can predispose you to ingrowns:

1) Properties of the hair itself. If the hair shaft is not straight, it is more likely to grow back into the skin and get trapped there. Sorry, my curly-haired friends.
2) Poor Shaving Technique. If the edge of the hair is not shaved smoothly, then the ragged end is more likely to get stuck and become ingrown. If your skin itself is irritated or nicked, it can more easily trap hairs also.

Ingrown hairs often look like red bumps. If you look closely in the mirror, you may actually see the hair leaving and then re-entering the skin. After washing your face, use a clean needle to free the ingrown edge of the hair from the skin. If the bump is not too inflamed, you can gently shave over it to cut the freed hair.

If you can’t see the hair, you won’t be able to free it from the skin. You may want to visit your dermatologist to help you out.

Do not pick at ingrown hairs with your fingers. If you break the skin, you put yourself at risk for an infection. This can make freeing the ingrown edge of the hair more difficult. In a bad case, you may even need an antibiotic. Plus, your fingers can cause more damage then good. In the end the, you could end up with a permanent scar!