Ingrown hairs are the remains of the hair eliminated from the parts of the body through waxing, tweezing, and hair removal. This phenomenon is more common with black men who shave their facial hair.
The growth of the ingrown hair takes place without any sort of treatment. However, not removing hair is the complete resolution. Practically, this isn’t possible. Thus, one must make sure to follow some precautions.
What is Ingrown Hair?
Sometimes, hair follicles grow back into one’s skin instead of rising from the skin. When the dead skin clogs a hair follicle. This makes the way for the hair to grow sideways instead of them growing normally from inside the skin.
This problem occurs more with the people who have curly hair. When they cut off their curly hair too short, the sharpened ends might pierce your skin and hurt you.
Symptoms of Ingrown Hairs
Before moving on to the sections describing the potential harms, side effects, and other aspects, one must know the signs and symptoms that help in the identification of their occurence.
The symptoms of ingrown hair include the following signs:
- The occurrence of small, rounded, and solid papules
- Pustules (blister like lesions that are small and filled with pus)
- Pain in the affected areas
- Itching
- Embedded ears
- Hyperpigmentation
The sideline of these causes is that these effects are visible around the beard area, chin, cheeks, and neck.
Causes of Ingrown Hairs
All the symptoms mentioned above have these factors as the underlying causes of these problems. These are the causes of ingrown hairs that one must know before going for any kind of treatment.
- If you pull out your hair during shaving, the cut hairs are drawn back to the skin without growing out.
- Tweezing, which can leave hair fragments under the skin surface.
- The build of the hair as per the genes of the person
- Curled hair follicles have more danger of re-entering the hair in the skin after they have been cut.
- Inappropriate shaving that creates sharp edges in the hair
These causes trigger the re-entering of the hair that has been cut and the growth of ingrown hairs.
What is the risk factor for ingrown hairs and associated complications?
The risk factor involved in the growth of the ingrown hairs is the tight curls that one may have. The complications that are found to be relatable with ingrown hair are:
- Scratching might invite a bacterial infection
- Hyperpigmentation or darkening of the skin
- Keloids or permanent scarring
- Razor bumps, also known as pseudofolliculitis barbae
Treatment for Ingrown Hairs
The primary way to get rid of this issue is to shave or tweeze carefully. As already mentioned, stopping hair removal is also a long-term solution. Since this is not practical, one can make use of these methods for protection:
- Before shaving, wash your face with a mild cleanser and warm water.
- Apply a gel or lubricating shaving cream gel before minutes or you might apply a warm compress.
- Use razor for shaving. You must choose wisely the shaving blade type,
- Avoid close shaving and shave in the direction of the growth of hair.
- You must rinse the shaving blade after applying each stroke.
- You must not pull the skin taut while shaving.
- You can use Electric razor/ clipper to avoid the closest shave setting, You must keep the razor away from your skin.
- Chemical hair remover may consist of depilatories and it might lead to skin irritation. Thus, testing the chemical before the final application is important.
- You might use a cream or an ointment to check the growth of the hair.
- With the help of steroids, doctors put an end to swelling.
- You can also take the help of the antibiotics that help in the treatment of the infection.
- To remove the skin pigmentation and dead skin cells, one can make use of retonoids (retin-A).
Laser treatment is also one of the methods that help in the removal of body hair. However, this method is under research and thus, one must consult an expert doctor.
Conclusion
Human hair grows mostly through the follicles that lie beneath the skin layers. This makes the room for shaving, which is important for the grooming of a person. However, one may commit mistakes in carrying out these basic procedures. This invites many issues like ingrown hairs.
This growth causes many skin problems such as irritation, redness, and swelling. This initiates the call for action in the form of treatment. The abnormal growth of ingrown hairs demands a complete elimination of the hair. One must ask the doctors for the best preventive tips. This is not possible without sorting the pros and cons of any treatment if required. Get desired assistance from the hair and skin clinic Dubai
