How to Remove an Ingrown Hair
With an ingrown hair, the follicle curls back under the skin, causing a red bump to form. Dermatologists refer to them as razor bumps. If left untreated, they can become painfully infected. Here are a few tips to remove ingrown hairs before they pose a problem.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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1
Sterilize a pair of tweezers by giving it an alcohol wash. It is always important that you sterilize instruments that will come in contact with your blood stream. The risk of infection increases when touching an open wound with a foreign object. Simply take rubbing alcohol, place it in a cup, and then place your tweezers in the cup as well. Let it sit for 2 minutes.
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2
Add a warm compress to the ingrown hair by using a face cloth that you have soaked with warm water. (Make sure it's not too hot.) Place the compress on the ingrown hair for 2 minutes while the tweezers are soaking. This should help open up the pore and expose the hair follicle.
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3
Gently pull the hair using your sterilized tweezers. If the compress did not bring the hair to the surface, repeat the compress process, as you do not want to "dig" for the hair. Don't pull the hair out completely as this will expose the bloodstream and bacteria caught around the hair underneath the skin can get inside. Gently tease the hair back to its extended position with the tweezers.
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4
Apply antiseptic to the site of the ingrown hair. Bacitracian and Neosporin are two such antiseptics. This will kill any bacteria they may have surrounded the hair. Also, wipe away any pus that may have formed.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Shave in the proper manner. Most ingrown hairs are caused from improper shaving. Make sure to use warm water on your face before applying shaving cream. This will open the pores. Also use a generous amount of shaving cream so that your skin is well lubricated.
Exfoliate the skin regularly by using a facial scrub. This will remove the dead layers of skin, thus removing some of the potential cells that may clog your pores and aid ingrown hairs.
Avoid stiff collars. Another cause of ingrown hairs are clothing that is too tight around the neck or legs (commonly shaved areas for men and women respectively.) Wear loose fitting clothing that breathes easily to help avoid this problem.
If your ingrown hairs cease to be cured by this method or worsen after 3 days, seek the assistance of your physician or dermatologist.
