Here's How You Should Safely Get Rid of Your Ingrown Hairs
If you're like me, the sight of an ingrown hair gets you super excited. That red bump means it's time to pull out the tweezers and get to work! You do have to be careful, however, because there is the possibility you can be doing more harm than good when you dive into a big, juicy ingrown follicle. I talked to board-certified dermatologist and founder of SKINFIVE, Dr. Ava Shamban about all things related to ingrown hairs to figure out what they are, how to get rid of them, and when you should give up and head to a professional to handle it.
What is an ingrown hair and why do they hurt?
An ingrown hair occurs when a hair is trying to make it past the skin border, but instead it twists back in on itself and reenters the skin. "The skin then identifies the hair as a foreign body and reacts the same way it would to something like a splinter," Dr. Shamban says. "So, that's when you get the red, slightly tender bump there. Because that's the inflammation and the effort of the skin to push it out the same way it would a splinter."
Where do they occur?
Dr. Shamban says that people with curly hair are more likely to get ingrowns, because it's that curl the causes the strand to fold in on itself. That's also why many ingrown hairs occur in the pubic area, because hair tends to be curlier down there.
That being said, you can also get an ingrown hair on your legs, depending on the way you shave. "If you shave against the grain, then sometimes you're pushing the hair back in the the skin and it can't poke back out," Dr. Shamban says. She recommends shaving with the grain (starting from the top and moving down), especially if you have curlier hair. You might not get as close of a shave, but it will help prevent ingrowns.
For men, ingrown hairs often occur on the back of the neck and in the beard area, especially for those with curly hair. Ingrowns can also be the result of pressure on hair follicles, so the collars of men's shirts often cause them in the beard/neck area.
How do I get rid of an ingrown hair?
There is a way you can extract an ingrown hair yourself, but you need to make sure you do so safely. Follow these four steps from Dr. Shamban and you should be good to go.
1. Dr. Shamban suggests softening the skin a little bit before you get started, either with a warm washcloth, or overnight with a pimple patch. This will help make the extraction easier, and avoid you having to dig around too much in the skin to get the hair, which could, in turn, cause an infection.
2. Wash your hands (also to avoid infection).
3. Simply use a tweezer to pull the hair out.
4. Once you have successfully removed the hair, apply an over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream like Neosporin (you guessed it...to avoid infection).
When should you go to the doctor?
If the ingrown hair is especially painful, or if the resulting bump is larger than the eraser on a pencil, Dr. Shamban suggests heading to the doctor and having them take care of it. "Basically, what they're going to do is put in a small injection of cortisone and try to lift up the hair," she says. It's a pretty easy procedure, but if you're concerned about doing more harm than good by extracting a hair on your own, it doesn't hurt to head to the doctor for assistance.
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