Treating and Preventing Ingrown Hair

You get ingrown hairs when your hair grows back into the skin instead of up to the surface. It can happen when hair has been shaved, waxed, or plucked. When an ingrown hair develops, you may notice small, round bumps called papules, or small, pus-filled bumps called pustules. In some cases, the skin around the ingrown hair may become darker. This is known as hyperpigmentation. You may also experience pain or itching around the area of the ingrown hair. Certain people may be at a higher risk for ingrown hairs. For example, people with thick, curly hair tend to develop ingrown hairs more often than people with fine, thin hair. This is especially true with pubic hair, which tends to be coarser than hair on the head or the rest of the body.

When you remove hair, it usually grows back. Most hair shafts will grow up through the skin without causing any problems. Other hairs may grow underneath the skin. For example, when you shave, the shortened hair can curl back and grow into your skin. When hair grows back into the skin, the body responds to the hair as if it were a foreign object. That’s when symptoms begin, including pain, itching, redness, or swelling.