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Ingrown hair: how to avoid them?
Definition of ingrown hair
Ingrown hairs can poison the lives of people who shave or remove their hair. They mostly occur on the legs and bikini line of women, and the torso or beard of men. An ingrown hair is hair that, instead of coming out of the skin, continues to grow under the skin.
Causes of ingrown hair
The main cause of ingrown hair is shaving or waxing: the short or plucked hair then has difficulty in crossing the skin barrier and tends to become embodied. Among the shaving and hair removal techniques, some are more at risk:
- le double or triple blade shaving instead of a single blade, because the first blade pulls the hair so that the others cut it closer, under the skin. The hair cut under the skin then tends to incarnate. This is even more at risk if the shaving is done “against the grain”, that is to say against the direction of hair growth (for example, going up the legs). The hair is then not only cut short but it is also thwarted in its growth and tends to be thrown under the skin outside its natural exit ostium.
- hair removal against the grain: it is conventional to apply the wax in the direction of hair growth (for example, downwards on the legs) and to pull it out in the opposite direction of their growth (upwards for the legs). Here again this tends to twist the hair and encourage it to incarnate.
Some hairs have a more tendency to incarnate, it is the curly or frizzy hairs which grow in “corkscrew” and not straight, which favors their incarnation.
Finally, trauma to the skin (friction under clothing or underwear) tends to thicken the stratum corneum and twist the hairs, these two factors favor the incarnation of hairs.
Evolution and possible complications of ingrown hair
The hair can come out spontaneously but most often they tend to continue to grow, most often curling up, under the skin
The ingrown hair tends to become infected, especially if you try to extract it with tweezers, causing folliculitis and then an abscess, which can sometimes develop into lymphangitis, lymph node, etc. and give rise to fever.
When the skin above the hair has suffered an infection, or has been excoriated by tweezers, it tends to thicken or form scars, which further promotes incarnation of the next hair.
Symptoms of ingrown hair
Ingrown hairs cause small red elevations of the unsightly and itchy skin.
When infected they can become painful, hot, and sore. papule red sometimes swells a lot to the stage of an infected abscess or cyst.
Ingrown hair risk factors
The risk factors for ingrown hairs are:
- frizzy or frizzy hair
- shaving against the hair and / or with double or triple blade
- hair removal against the hair, especially with wax
- thickening or dryness of the skin (friction on clothes, scars after infected ingrown hairs, etc.)
Our doctor’s opinion The best solution against ingrown hairs is to trim the hairs 1mm away from the skin, but this is not always feasible in practice. When patients want to continue shaving, I recommend single blade razors or electric razors. If they want to continue waxing, I recommend laser hair removal to them and if they do not have the budget, depilation with depilatory cream or hair removal in the direction of hair growth: it is then necessary for example, apply the wax on the legs going up and tear it down, in the direction of hair growth. The so-called permanent laser hair removal has changed the game by making it possible to permanently reduce the number of hairs. This resolves the problem of hairs and their tendency to incarnate. Its prices have tended to become more democratic in recent years. It requires on average between 4 and 8 sessions to obtain a clear reduction in the number of hairs. Dr Ludovic Rousseau, dermatologist |
Prevention of ingrown hair
The easiest way to avoid ingrown hairs is to let the hairs grow… for at least a few weeks or even to trim them, letting out one or two millimeters of hair if necessary (man’s beard for example).
If it is not possible to stop shaving, an electric razor is ideal.
If using a razor with a blade, you must:
- use a single blade razor
- wet the skin with hot water and use a shaving gel rather than a foam to be forced to massage the hairs
- shave in the direction of hair growth
- make as few passes as possible with the razor and try not to shave too close and too close. Above all, avoid cutting the skin.
- rinse the razor after each pass
If it is not possible to avoid hair removal, you can use depilatory creams or laser hair removal. If waxing persists, tear off the wax in the direction of hair growth.
Ingrown hair treatments
The best is to do nothing: do not touch the ingrown hair and especially do not try to extract it with tweezers because there is more risk of inserting germs causing its infection and creating scars. Likewise, the area should not be shaved or waxed. It may then be that the hair manages to “find the exit” spontaneously.
Eventually, if you can clearly see an ingrown hair near the surface of the skin (it then grows under the epidermis), you can try to gently extract it with a sterile needle by disinfecting the skin well before and after the operation, but never dig or attempt to extract a hair below the surface of the skin.
In case of infection (folliculitis, abscess, etc.), consult a doctor.
Tea tree essential oil (Melaleuca alternifolia)
On the uninfected ingrown hair, 1 drop diluted with a tea tree essential oil, once or twice a day can treat the problem.