Ingrown hair is a condition where, as the name would suggest, hair grows beneath the skin, it curls completely beneath the skin hence will not protrude outside as it is supposed to. These hairs can vary significantly in size from one person to another, and can form in any part of the body. In most cases, ingrown hair will lead to redness, scarring, or swelling because of the simple reason that both ends of the hair will get trapped beneath the skin. The hair can grow as a curl, it can bend, or it can grow sideways. The most common cause of ingrown hair is poor shaving practices, mostly accompanied by razor bumps. The scientific term for this condition is known as Pseudofolliculitis barbae or simply PFB.
Causes
When hair is pushed beneath the skin but it isn’t uprooted from the root cause during shaving, often times it will result into an ingrown. At times, the hair may be passed over but may not be cut properly, removed, or pushed sideways beneath the surrounding skin. This will force the hair to remain inside and not protrude over the skin as it is supposed to. When the skin is tightly pulled, it isn’t uncommon to find hairs pulled and stretched sideways. This also leads to an in grown hair, which will often lead to a swollen, red pimple like bump if it isn’t treated well. If no treatment is taken, the spot can become itchy and develop into a stubborn rash, which might as well lead to infection with the pus accumulated beneath the bump.
Ingrown hair treatments
While the condition can take several weeks to disappear, in most cases there are treatment options available to help get rid of the curly hair. The use of a dermatological chemical such as salicylic acid has proven effective in getting rid of ingrown hair. This it does by exfoliating and moisturizing skin. Further, it clears and cleanses the pores so that no infection can take place. This justifies the reason why most moisturizers, aftershaves, and shaving creams will contain salicylic acid as its active ingredient.
Ingrown hair products
The commonest ingrown hair product today as mentioned above is lotion that contains salicylic acid as its active ingredient. Mostly, this is just a smooth cream that you can easily apply using your bare hands in ingrown hair prone areas after taking a shower. Other products include exfoliating scrubs which will exfoliate the skin and keep it free of toxins and dead skin cells. This paves way for the action of salicylic acid.