Red Lumps and Ever so Slightly Itchy. (Ingrowing Hair in General)

Member Name: katygriff

Product:	Ingrowing Hair in General
Date:	15/11/05 (13798 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: There is a Treatment

Disadvantages: They are Annoying

Now I was thinking about ingrowing hairs a couple of weekends ago. No I haven’t gone mad but my boyfriend was going on about this dark black hair just under his chin that was itching like crazy. The thing is it wasn’t sticking out of his skin but you could see the hair just under the surface of the skin. After a painful five minutes and a bit of bleeding and broken skin later we had pulled the offensive hair out but it did get me thinking about how we could have got it out a bit easier.

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What is ingrowing hair?

Well, it is exactly as the name suggests where the hair actually grows under the skin instead of what they usually do and break out of the skin. This generally causes the area to itch and become quite sore. They also are characterised quite a lot by the lump that gets produced as the hair is trying to break out of the skin but because it cants it will continue to grow in that area causing small lumps at the surface of your skin.

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How is it caused?

It is caused by a multitude of things such as shaving, waxing and even just general day to day activities. Basically anything that pulls a hair out can result in it becoming ingrown. When a hair is pulled out or shaved down to the pore then sometimes the skin can close up around that area so it stops the hair from coming out of the surface and it is trapped under the skin.

Right in a little bit more detail here it goes. So when you shave and wax you do run the risk of getting rid of the hair so much that it actually breaks under your skin surface. You will not know that you have done this in many circumstances. What then happens is that the hair will begin to grow. The root of the hair is called a follicle and this is where hair growth begins. With some hairs when they begin to grow they immediately begin to curl, this is seen most in pubic hair. When the hair curls it can start to curl around the follicle and in a way goes in the opposite direction that it needs to go.

Because the hair is growing the other way and therefore is preventing itself from breaking the surface, it will cause your body to react to what is happening. The area will generally react with an inflammation which is why the area will suddenly come up in a lump which is often a very red colour and sore.

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Where and who will it effect?

Now this problem effects anywhere that you have hair especially where you shave so expect to see it on arm pits and legs in particular for women and faces on men. Yes it can effect everybody and unfortunately nobody is exempt from it. It is likely that in your life time you will get plagued by this problem at least once so get used to the idea.

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Can it be treated?

Well the answer to this one is yes. There are products such as ‘ingrow go’ that actually aid to reduce the pain and lumps that are caused by ingrowing hairs. You can get a bottle of this for £10 – 17 and it will last you a long time. I have just bought a bottle as both me and my boyfriend tend to get them so I thought it would be a good investment. You literally only have to apply a little of the ointment on the affected area and within twenty four hours you should notice a difference. People who do suffer from this problem will know that

From what I can read on the instructions is that how this product works is as follows. When you place the product over the infected area it will increase liquid flow into the area of skin. What the product is effectively doing is making the pores of the skin softer and wider so that the offensive hairs can break out of the surface.

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Well now that little explaining job is over we can get to the opinions on the subject. I personally suffer a lot from ingrowing hairs under my arms because I shave there every day which I know cannot be great for me but when they come up with a very painless hair removal technique I am going to have to keep on doing it. The problem is actually quite embarrassing. I mean imagine when you have great big red ugly lumps under your arms and then you have to reach and get something from a shelf with your arm pit on full view of the whole office. Although nobody ever says anything you just know they have noticed and although it is a common problem I get embarrassed that it happens.

To add to the embarrassment of it all, you actually do get really sore because of it. I have had times when my under arms have been so sore that putting a jacket on for work is agony as every time the material rubs against them it hurts. I know it sounds silly but although they are small areas they can actually ruin your day because you cannot stop thinking about them and worrying that somebody will see.

Plus I don’t know about other people but for me and my boyfriend they actually itch like mad. I think this is very embarrassing not so much for my boyfriend as he generally gets them on his face, but for me I often get them under my arms and I don’t like the fact that I look like a monkey all day as I‘m scratching under my arms.

So they have released a product that supposedly gets rid of them and it actually does help. I have only used it once since I actually bought it just over a week ago and it does work pretty well. It is one of these things though that I think does not necessarily present you with the best solution but actually gives you a bit of peace of mind that you are doing something about the problem.

From personal experience the worst thing you can do when you get ingrowing hairs is pick and squeeze at the lump until the hair pops out. This results in you being left with even more redness and swelling in the area not to mention making it extremely sore. I know for a fact that because you can see the hair under the skin it is tempting to get a pair of tweezers to get it out but it will hurt and you ill make a bit of a mess of your skin which will then take a lot longer to repair.

In conclusion I know a lot of people actually suffer from this very common problem and it is embarrassing and makes you feel uncomfortable but at least you know that if you do get some annoying ingrowing hairs then there is something you can do about them.whatever you do though remember it is better to leave them alone then to mess about with them. In fact just ignore that they are there,

Not a particularly pleasant review but sometimes these things just have to be thought about.

Thanks for reading.

xxx

Summary: I Hate Getting Them but at Least you can do Something About it.