Ingrown hairs can be common in people with curly or rough hair. It is also more likely to occur when your hair is very short, such as after waxing, shaving, or tweezing. Ingrown hairs often form inflamed, red bumps or spots that can cause itching and pain. Ingrown hairs can also become infected and cause acne-like scars.

This article looks at ways to treat and prevent ingrown hairs to reduce the discomfort for people who suffer from them.

What Is an Ingrown Hair?

An ingrown hair is a hair that grows back into the skin after shaving, plucking, or waxing. It can be painful and itchy and often appears on the face, legs, armpits or any other part of body.

Ingrown hairs are also called red bumps, razor bumps, or barber bumps.

Who Does Ingrown Hair Affect?

Ingrown hairs are very common. Anyone who shaves, tweezes, or waxes their hair can develop ingrown hairs. Shaving frequently increases the risk of developing ingrown hairs.

How Do Ingrown Hairs Affect Your Body?

Ingrown hairs are most likely to occur on the facial hair (neck, cheeks, chin), legs, armpits, and inner thighs. However, it can also appear on other parts of the body, such as the scalp, chest, back, stomach, inside of the nose, eyebrows, and buttocks.

Symptoms and Causes

What Are the Symptoms of Ingrown Hair?

Symptoms of ingrown hairs include: skin inflammation, small hairy bumps in the middle of the face and neck, discoloration, and itching.

When an ingrown hair becomes infected, you may notice that the bump becomes larger and more painful. A pustule forms when pus collects around the hair follicle. This infection can cause scarring.

Hair follicles can become clogged due to the dead skin, dirt and debris.

What Causes Ingrown Hair?

Hair removal by shaving, waxing, or tweezing can cause ingrown hairs. New hair grows from hair follicles under the skin. Shaving, waxing, and tweezing only remove hair strands, not hair follicles.

As new hair grows, it can curl and penetrate the skin. This often happens when your hair is thick, curly, or coarse.

How Are Ingrown Hairs Treated?

There are many ways to treat ingrown hairs at home, including:

1- Stop shaving and let your hair grow.

2- Use an electric shaver. Hold just above the surface of the skin.

3- Use hair removal products to remove unwanted hair without shaving. Hair removal products dissolve the protein structure of the hair.

4- Apply a warm compress to the affected skin for 10 to 15 minutes to help open pores and release ingrown hairs.

How To Remove Ingrown Hairs?

To remove ingrown hairs, gently exfoliate the skin. Exfoliating your skin removes dead skin cells and helps loosen ingrown hairs. Wash the affected area with a clean cloth, exfoliating brush, or exfoliating gel or scrub, using warm water instead of boiling water and in small circular motions.

Prevention

How Can I Prevent Ingrown Hairs?

The right way to prevent ingrown hairs is to use hair removal techniques, such as:

1- Before shaving any part of your body, thoroughly wet your skin and hair with warm water.

2- Apply shaving gel or cream.

3- Use a single-edged razor.

4- Shave in the direction of hair growth.

5- Rinse the razor blade after every stroke.

6- Change razor blades or replace disposable razors frequently to avoid skin irritation and cuts.