Overview on Ingrown Hair

Ingrown hair refers to a situation in which a part of the body hair which has been trimmed, shaved or tweezed grows back into the skin in a curled form. This sometimes causes painful and discomforting skin conditions such as swelling, bump formation and chronic pain in the area from where the hair was removed.

This condition is mostly common among people who have very tightly curled hair on their entire bodies. Among men the most affected areas are cheeks, chin and neck. Additionally, they can also appear in cases of men who regularly shave their head. In case of women, ingrown hair is common in areas like armpits, pubic region and legs.

The most common signs of this condition are:

1. Small skin bumps (papules)
2. Small, pus-filled, blister-like lesions (pustules)
3. Hyperpigmentation (skin darkening)
4. Long lasting and chronic pain
5. Itching 

Ingrown hair might also occur if you do the following activities:

1. Pulling your skin while shaving your body hair can give rise to ingrown hair. This in turn allows the shaved hair particles to penetrate back into the skin without growing outwards.
2. Tweezing of hair can also lead to the hair particles to grow inwards instead of growing outwards.

Some common complications associated with this condition are:

1. Bacterial and fungal infections that usually happen from scratching of the affected area.
2. Hyperpigmentation of the skin which involves an abrupt darkening of the skin areas.
3. Permanent scarring of the tissue of the affecting skin.

   If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a dermatologist and ask a free question.