Curl-back hair can cause serious irritation to skin. Instead of picking, scratching or waxing it away, use a sterile needle, pin or tweezers to gently pull them out using an aseptic needle, pin or tweezers.
Ingrown hairs are a common problem and can affect any part of the body where hair grows, such as on the face, neck, arms, legs or bikini area.
What Causes Ingrown Pubic Hairs?
Ingrown hairs are an unwelcome complication for anyone who shaves, waxes or tweezes their body; but when they occur on the vulva they can be particularly disconcerting. Gynecologist Alyssa Dweck notes they “can be painful, itchy and even lead to infection”, and are frequently mistaken for warts or herpes. Although ingrowns affect people of any gender but more commonly affect women and those with curly locks as the hairs have an tendency to curl back into their own skin.
Shaving, plucking, tweezing and waxing can all lead to ingrown pubic hairs due to pulling the hairs out of their follicles with forceful movements that leave sharp ends that grow back into the skin. Furthermore, friction from these activities may irritate hair follicles further increasing chances of ingrown pubic hairs regrowing within rather than emerging upwards from underneath it.
Problems in this area of skin are compounded by close proximity between follicles and surface of skin. Add in that ingrown hairs that become itchy, painful and infected can lead to bacterial folliculitis that requires oral antibiotic treatment for lasting relief.
Avoiding irritation such as shaving, tweezing and waxing as well as wearing clothing that doesn’t rub against the area can reduce the likelihood of ingrown hairs developing. Over-the-counter steroid creams may also help ease pain and itching from ingrown hairs.
Graf suggests exfoliating the area gently so as to eliminate dead skin that may be blocking hair follicles and contributing to ingrown hairs. She advises using a mild chemical exfoliant like salicylic acid rather than mechanical exfoliants which could be too aggressive on sensitive areas.
But for an effective long-term solution to ingrown pubic hairs, laser hair removal from a dermatologist may be your best bet. Laser treatment permanently destroys hair follicles so they cannot regrow back into pores; although the procedure may require several sessions to reach desired results, laser hair removal provides permanent relief that dramatically lowers chances of ingrown pubic hairs in this sensitive area.
How to Prevent Ingrown Pubic Hairs
Ingrown hairs can appear anywhere on your body, but they’re particularly bothersome in sensitive regions like the pubic region. Luckily, there are ways to both treat and prevent ingrown hairs – we consulted dermatologists on why they form as well as ways to manage existing cases.
An ingrown hair occurs when the tip of a hair becomes stuck under the skin due to dead skin cells, oils and dirt clogging up its follicle and preventing its roots from breaking through the surface of skin and growing out. Instead, hair curls back down beneath skin surface into itself where it may get trapped; eventually resulting in painful red bumps filled with pus or even an infection that sometimes turns painful or red with pus or even blistered blisters.
Avoid ingrown hairs by practicing good shaving habits. Always shave with the grain – this reduces irritation– and use a quality razor, regularly swapping out blades. In addition, be sure to moisturize the affected area daily using salicylic acid-infused moisturizers that slowly dissolve dead skin cells that clog follicles – although too much exfoliating could make matters worse!
Another way to prevent ingrown hairs is to refrain from plucking or waxing your pubic area, although that may not always be realistic given that its hair tends to be coarse and thick. Instead, consider other hair removal methods like laser treatment which destroy hair follicles at their source thereby making it harder for new strands of hair to emerge through your skin.
Avoid ingrown hairs by not picking or scratching the bumps, which could cause them to become infected if picked at. If this does happen, use antibacterial ointment or soap and rinse well with cold water after application of an antibiotic ointment or wash thoroughly with antibacterial soap as soon as possible. Good hygiene practices–such as regularly bathing with an antibacterial soap–can help avoid future infections as well.
How to Treat Ingrown Pubic Hairs
Hairs can become ingrown when they curl back into the skin instead of growing out, leading to redness, irritation and itching as well as potentially leading to painful boil-like infections. Pubic hair is thicker and coarser, making it more likely to be ingrown.
Although ingrown hairs can affect anyone, they are most prevalent among men and women with naturally curly or straightened hair or those who regularly shave or wax their locks. People who remove hair in areas like bikini area, armpit, neck, face or chin may also be susceptible to developing ingrown hairs.
First step to treating an ingrown pubic hair is limiting yourself from shaving, waxing or plucking the affected area until they clear on their own. Gently washing and exfoliating can also be effective solutions; topicals containing salicylic acid or retinoids may help dissolve dead skin cells while decreasing inflammation around an ingrown hair.
If you detect hair looped beneath the surface of skin, use a sterile needle or pin to pull gently on it until it breaks at its base and prevents further ingrowns. Once done, apply some rubbing alcohol to protect from an infection.
Picking at hairs can expose tender, raw tissue that leaves follicles vulnerable to infection. Tweezing or waxing also causes unnecessary pain while potentially damaging hair follicles.
Finally, after laser treatment it is crucial to avoid excessive heat exposure such as hot showers or saunas. Excessive heat exposure may cause your hairs to return to their original wavy state and should be avoided.
Ingrown hairs may be both uncomfortable and unsightly, yet easy to treat. By following a few straightforward steps, you can lower their likelihood of occurring and get rid of them more quickly if they do appear. If laser treatment has increased the frequency of ingrown hairs in your life, speak with a dermatologist about alternative solutions that might reduce this problem further.
How to Get Rid of Ingrown Pubic Hairs
Ingrown pubic hairs can be both unsightly and painful, fortunately there are various methods available to you for eliminating them. Some methods require visiting a physician; other remedies can be done at home – practices like practicing proper shaving habits may help prevent future ingrowns while over-the-counter exfoliants and moisturizers could provide temporary solutions; and laser treatment provides long-term solutions.
friction is one of the primary causes of ingrown hairs. This may come from clothing you wear, especially tight undergarment; shaving or waxing your hair; and when these techniques bend back the hairs back into the skin causing ingrown hairs.
Overgrown hair follicles are another frequent cause of ingrown hairs. This occurs when follicles become blocked with dead skin cells or expanded due to hormonal fluctuations, leading to abnormal production of hair by that follicle and creating ingrown hairs as a result. This means it no longer produces regular production cycles of new strands from its base follicle.
Leave untreated, an ingrown hair can quickly transform into a painful cyst or pus-filled bump, so it is vital that ingrown hairs be addressed as soon as they appear. Le Parlour Laser Spa NYC suggests never pulling or tweezing to try and get rid of ingrowns as this could increase infection risks and increase scarring risk.
Once your hair follicles are free from ingrown hairs, they should start producing normal levels of hair production again. Therefore, exfoliation should be used regularly to keep the area healthy – exfoliation may also help prevent ingrown hairs from appearing initially!
Ingrown hairs can appear anywhere on your body where hair grows, including your beard area, legs, armpits, chest and pubic region (bikini line & inner thigh). To rid yourself of ingrown hairs entirely, laser treatment could be your answer; this treatment can permanently stop ingrown hairs from emerging so they never return again! For more information about how it works and can benefit you, reach out to our offices now!
