Ingrown hair

Ingrown hair

Ingrown hair is a condition where the hair curls back or grows sideways into the skin. It may or may not be accompanied by an infection of the hair follicle (folliculitis) or "razor bumps" (Pseudofolliculitis barbae), which vary in size. While ingrown hair most commonly appears in areas where the skin is shaved (beard, legs, pubic region), it can appear anywhere.

Anything which causes the hair to be broken off short with a sharp tip can cause ingrown hair. Shaving is the leading cause, followed by tight clothing. The embedded hair causes a localized inflammation (sometimes painful) response in the skin with prostanoid involvement. Sometimes ingrown hair occurs naturally without shaving.

Symptoms include rash, itching skin, hair which remains in spite of shaving, and infection and pus collecting under skin. Treatments for ingrown hairs include putting a warm washcloth over the ingrown hair, shaving in a different direction, exfoliating with facial scrubs, sponges, towels, or creams containing acids, treatment with Ibuprofen or other NSAIDs, and prophylaxis with twice daily topical application of diluted Glycolic acid. Ingrown hair will often fall out after a couple of weeks.

External links

* [http://cornellsurgery.org/patients/health/derm_inhair.html Ingrown Hairs] from Weill Cornell Medical College


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • ingrown hair — noun a hair that does not emerge from the follicle but remains embedded in the skin (usually causing inflammation) • Hypernyms: ↑hair, ↑pilus …   Useful english dictionary

  • ingrown hair — a hair that emerges from the skin but curves and reenters it, exciting a foreign body papule that may become infected. See also pili incarnati, under pilus …   Medical dictionary

  • Ingrown nail — Classification and external resources An ingrown toenail ICD 10 L60.0 …   Wikipedia

  • Hair disease — Classification and external resources Hair follicle ICD 10 L63 …   Wikipedia

  • Hair removal — For hair loss, see Alopecia. Not to be confused with Unhairing. Sample distribution of body hair in women and men …   Wikipedia

  • hair — 1. One of the fine, keratinized filamentous epidermal growths arising from the skin of the body of mammals except the palms, soles, and flexor surfaces of the joints; the full length and texture of h. varies markedly in different body sites. SYN …   Medical dictionary

  • Conservative treatment of ingrown toe nails — Ingrown nail Classification and external resources ICD 10 L60.0 …   Wikipedia

  • Laser hair removal — Epilation by laser was performed experimentally for about 20 years before it became commercially available in the mid 1990s. Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) epilators, though technically not a laser, use xenon flash lamps that emit full spectrum light …   Wikipedia

  • Underarm hair — (also called axillary hair or armpit hair) is the composition of hair in the underarm area. This hair, as most of the other body hair, normally starts to appear at puberty and growth is usually complete by the end of teen age. The release of… …   Wikipedia

  • Folliculitis — Classification and external resources ICD 10 L73.9 (ILDS L73.91) ICD 9 704.8 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”