Introduction
Ingrown hairs appear after hair removal by shaving, waxing or epilation. They can occur on different parts of the body, but in men they mainly affect the facial region, as this is usually shaved daily. The ingrown hairs often go unnoticed at first until symptoms appear.
Causes for ingrown whiskers
An ingrown whisker is caused by the fact that the hair grows in the wrong direction after shaving. This means not upwards to the skin surface, but away from the skin surface. People with very thick, curly hair are more often affected by this, as these hairs tend to grow in a different direction than fine and thin hairs.
After shaving, the hair has a very sharp edge, which makes it easier to penetrate deeper layers of skin. Especially after a longer period of not shaving, ingrown beard hairs appear more often during the first shave. Another cause is clogged pores. Here dead skin cells are often responsible for the fact that the hair root is blocked and the hair cannot grow in the desired direction. An overproduction of certain sex hormones in men can also lead to ingrown beard hairs, as this causes excessive beard growth.
Symptoms of ingrown whiskers
Not in all cases of ingrown whiskers the appearance of symptoms is inevitable. Often the ingrown hair is not noticed at all and eventually comes back to the surface of the skin by itself. In other cases, however, the body recognizes the ingrown hair as a foreign body and encapsulates it.
This then causes a purulent inflammation. This manifests itself in the form of a pustule or pus pimple. The skin area is reddened, swollen and often overheated.
The cheeks, chin and neck are mainly affected in men. If the inflammation spreads to the surrounding tissue, an abscess may occur, which must be surgically opened. If an inflammation occurs, the tissue may become permanently discolored after healing. Scarring is also possible if the person affected touches or scratches the affected area a lot.
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