Treatments for Ingrown Hairs

Ingrown hairs hide in raised mounds of inflamed follicles appearing externally as acne, like reddish protrusions or sacs with transparent tips filled with pus and blood. They are painful to touch and create a burning sensation on the affected skin. You see them on your face, neck, pubic area, legs and armpits, especially areas where you shave frequently or use wax and hair removing lotions such as on legs. We will run you through the most effective treatments that alleviate symptoms while tackling the discomfort associated with recurring flare-ups.

Removing the Engulfed Hair

The root cause of the condition, the hair that lies coiled within a hair follicle and which refuses to emerge outside, needs to be tweezed out carefully. The debilitating symptoms will continue to play havoc as long as the hair lies embedded in the skin. 

It is very important that you use tweezers that have pointed tips or a cutting edge to enable you to get a firm grip on the offending shaft. Again, make sure the instrument is dipped in alcohol or in a disinfecting solution so as not to contaminate the hair follicle.

The hair needs to be grasped carefully. This reduces the chances of the hair growing back into the skin.

Protecting Against Infection and the Following Inflammation

A hair ingrowth is an abnormal condition that provokes the body’s immune system to release anti-immune hormones. This, in turn, stokes inflammation creating temporary swelling, redness and pain following large scale infection. Your immediate task would be to bring the skin back to its normal state, allowing you to resume your normal routine. It is always advisable to stock your refrigerator with essential herbal products and oils, some the best of which are jojoba oil, rose water, olive oil, lavender essence, tea tree oil and witch hazel. It always pays to know in advance if you happen to be allergic to any of these ingredients before deploying them at the scene of an infection. The best method is to use diluted solutions of these oils in water for application to affected surfaces. It acts by immediately protecting the skin against bacterial attacks and toxins that provoke inflammation.

The Significance of Warmth In Heat Treatments

Attacking hidden and deeply embedded hair strands is a risky affair, more likely to create full blown out infections that do more harm. The trick lies in creating conditions favorable for hair extraction. For this, nothing beats the warm compress.

Soak a fine white cloth in a tub of warm water and gently hold the rolled up cloth against the inflamed skin. Another way of applying heat is to cover yourself with a cotton sheet while you allow a steam inhaler to blow steam on the painful area.

If this does not appeal to you, you can allow yourself the pleasure of taking a warm shower and of exposing the rough skin to the gentle drizzle of warm water. Application of heat opens up the skin pores and makes the skin softer. This can be the launching ground for applying essential oils and salicylic acid solutions that peel away dead skin and expose ingrown hair that can then be easily removed. 

Learning the Gentle Art of Skin Exfoliation

Skin cells constantly grow and regenerate new tissue, and this is what keeps skin young and healthy looking. When the outer layer begins to dry up, it creates a scaly appearance of dead cells that form thick layers over hair follicles. This sometimes stops healthy hair from emerging from follicles, forcing the hair to curve inwards and growth within the epidermal skin layer.

But we can help the skin shed its dead cells through exfoliating agents; most notably, salt and sugar crystals, salicylic acid and tea tree oil. Applied in paste form diluted with water or rose water, these concoctions ensure that the skin peels off its outermost layers without causing discomfort. This lowers the chances of ingrowths repeating themselves.