Dermatologist Questions Dermatologist

What steps are needed to treat my razor bumps?

About 2 days ago I shaved my pubic area, and got razor bumps. It is irritated and slightly itchy. What steps should I be taking? Do I have to use tweezers in order to get the ingrown hair out, or will the hair breakthrough by itself after using medicinal creams/lotions?

Male

4 Answers

Changes in technique and/or products.
So sorry to hear it. Steps to recovery - apply soothing creams to the area - a nice one would be one that contains Hydrocortisone and maybe additionally pramoxine. This should help with the itch. If you are getting ingrown hairs, then it is reasonable to GENTLY coax the hairs to the surface with a small needle that has been cleaned with some alcohol. In the future, you may want to consider depilatory creams - NAIR or MAGIC are two brands. Or even consider laser hair reduction! Which pays for itself over the years. Patients typically only need 4-6 treatments depending on skin type and the laser used.
Hope that helps!
Apply 1% hydrocortisone cream morning to reduce the inflammation. The hairs most likely will grow out in their own. If some hairs actually become ingrown, a sterile needle could be used to free them. If problems continue after that, see your doctor.

The hairs will eventually break through the skin surface if allowed to grow out. Once grown out, switching to an electric trimming device (i.e., Manscape) might alleviate the problem as well. 

Stephen Schleicher, MD