Ingrown hairs

Unfortunately, I have similar experiences. The hair, in my opinion, is literally the root of the problem. I wish I could afford electrolysis. I think about it on a daily basis. Every blemish that I get has a hair in it somewhere. I've read about it, but I think what happens is that if the hair never fully reaches the surface it grows inside/under the skin, hence the term ingrown hair which causes an infectious and obstruse inflammation. I'm Italian and I have blond hair (in excess, it seems), and I think the problem only persists on my face, probably because I have bad skin. I'm constantly tweezing my chin area, and though I don't want to embelish, I can relate to your experiences. My "picking" always consists of tweezing the blemish to rid of all hair because I believe it is the result of the blemish to begin with. Maybe this is all just a part of having OCD. The thing is, I wouldn't mind the hair if it didn't result in a blemish. I find that it won't heal until the hair is removed. In any case, it really bothers me too. Once I get the electrolysis, which is hopefully sooner than later, I will let you know the condition.

Jill, I have the exact same problem that you have described. I have experienced it since I began to go through menopause at the age of 50 and I'm still fighting it. I get ingrown hairs on my chin and legs. My legs, arms and torso are a mess. I haven't been able to wear short sleeves or tank tops for going on 4 years now. I don't even like to go out anymore. And I live in FLORIDA for godssake! I'm tired of coming up with excuses for why I always wear long sleeves and pants. It is so embarrassing and depressing. I went to a dermatologist at the Mayo clinic last year and you know what he said? "Just stop doing it!" Thanks a lot Doc, that's a big help. I just made an appt. with another dermatologist, but this time I'm going armed with documentation I found on the Internet regarding compulsive skin picking. All the research shows that this type of behavior responds well to a combination of OCD drugs and behavioral therapy. Please read everything you can Jill, it will help you make a decision on how to deal with your own case. I wish you all the best! Deb

Hi Jill - I also had ingrown hairs on my chin and would pick at them to get them out. After many, many years, I did find something that worked! The minute that I would notice any redness on my chin, I would rub in a little Tea Tree Oil. I would do this several times a day and it really worked. The other thing that (I think) helped was that I started using a lotion under my makeup that contained grapeseed extract. The one I used was from The Body Shop (they also sell Tea Tree Oil). After starting this routine of the grapeseed extract lotion and the Tea Tree Oil I have completely stopped getting ingrown hairs on my chin. I hope it works for everyone else that has this problem. I don't know why it works, but it does!!

My boyfriend wants me to keep a full brazilian, and I'm a compulsive picker. Not a great combo. I've struggled with this for three years. It seems like when you pull the hair out, the pore weeps a little or something which makes a little scab, kind of, under the surface and when the new hair wants to push through the skin, it can't because the pore is clogged by something harder than the skin would normally be so the hair grows in, the pore gets irritated, becomes enlarged and inflamed and it takes minor surgery to extract the hair. By then, there is blood and that makes a larger scab and the next hair has an even harder time getting out and on and on forever until the skin is really damaged and thickened and the ingrown problem is even worse. I feel wretched about it, but I can't stop picking. I do it after work or school as some bizarre self-calming ritual even though it really hurts and I'm always upset with myself after. Because I am spending all this time hunched over, I frequently get neck and back pain as a result, so I have to regulate how much I let myself pick so I don't hurt myself too much for the next day's work/school/pick cycle. Anyway, I keep hoping to stop and I find that it has a cyclic quality in that PMS makes me do it more and then I do it less until the next PMS. What;s bizarre is that I am really health conscious and don't want to engage in unhealthy behaviors, but I just can't quit it. I tried TendSkin for awhile (mostly salicylic acid). I works pretty good because it thins the skin. If I used it too intensively, my skin would start to just peel away in layers. I stopped because I got to thinking how caustic it is and became afraid I would get cancer from using it (I had to use gloves to apply it because it would take off my nail polish otherwise). I just found out that salirlic acid is what aspirin is made of so now I don't know what to think. I still use it sometimes but try to just dab the affected pore rather than swabbing on my entire bikini area. Luckily, the problem is limited to the front part of my bikini area. The skin around my vaginal area must be less thick because the hairs come in OK there. After some searching, I discovered lemon juice. Now what I do is use a cotton pad to apply lemon juice every night before sleep. I buy bottles of it already squeezed rather than doing it myself. You can find info on this on the internet. It is working to make my skin softer and also reduce the redness and inflammation of irritated pores. At present, I only have 3 pick sites down from what had been over 20 probably. It stings but only for a minute. I have also been using it on my face and have found that my tone is more even and my skin looks younger. I pick my face, too, but usually only get a couple pimples each month. It's embarrassing and isolating and I feel really sad that there is this "other person" inside of me who lives by their own rules and won't let me be who I want to be. I worry about the craziest things like squishing my internal organs with all the time spent in such bad posture or that if I don't get the hair out it will fester in there and become some weird growth. It's irrational, but I'm always wondering what's going on in there, where I can't see. I convince myself there's a hair and I have to get it and I spend all this time excavating which makes the skin worse and the ingrown hairs continue on their vicious cycle. I hope something helps us all. It felt good just to confide in the ether. I'm crying now.

My problem is almost entirely to do with ingrown hairs, too. Not on my chin, but on my shins. I don't remember when this started-- I wish I could, so that maybe it would help make sense of it. But what I know is that there is nothing more satisfying--more like a glorious exhale--than seeing one of those little suckers curled up and trapped, and releasing it. Sick, I know. But something about removing something trapped like that feels, I don't know, productive or something. I have a shrink who explained picking to me more in the context of eating disorders than OCD. Basically, this is a behavior that was started to "fix" something that is wrong with one's appearance. The act of "fixing" causes further damage, and soon there's a vicious cycle of shame and repetition and hiding that takes on a life of its own. I KNOW that I started this to "fix" the ingrown hairs. I think about electrolysis a lot, but then I wonder, is it really the hair? The compulsion would still be there, right? Wouldn't I just find something else to mess with? I am horribly scarred. I try every day. EVERY DAY. I can't imagine what success even looks like.

Shaving too closely is one of the triggers for razor bumps. Hair stubs cut too closely will get trapped inside the hair follicle and dig inward or sideways. pentru caderea parului

Once I started going through puberty, i got acne. By the time I was in seventh grade I had picked at my face, back, and chest so much that i could tell I was going to have scarring but I just couldn't stop! I am now a freshman, and I have finally gotten my acne picking under control, but now I also have an ingrown hair problem like the rest of u guys. My boyfriend also likes me to keep a brazillion, but when i started doing that i noticed hairs just near the surface of my skin that would regularly turn into pimples- im a compulsive picker so it was like I just coudn't stop myself! If I saw anything that could be removed from my skin- even if I knew picking would damage it- I would pinch and squeeze at it until something came out. I would use a needle to get out the ingrown hairs which made me bleed. I would pop and pick until my skin was so inflamed it hurt and I would start crying because I felt guilty for doing that to myself. The entire time I'm thinking, who else does this to themselves? whats wrong with me? But now I see I'm not alone! Thank you Everyone! Ive looked stuff up on scarring since I'm positive I'm going to have scarring down there now. Ive been doing this for maybe half a year now and it's depressing thinking I could have avoided scarring and that it could be to late to fix it. I have stopped overly picking for about a month now and only pick maybe 1 spot every 2 days, but tonight I had a set back and went at it full zeal again. Just telling yourself there are gonna be bad consequences helps alot I think, once you look at how your love life or anything else could be destroyed in the future, it makes you take a step back. Ive heard that honey and olive oil applied to the affected area a few times a day helps the scarring if you don't want to go to a doctor about it. I have been trying this for 3 weeks and the inflamation has gone down as I stop picking, but I can tell now that there are scars. I think going to a dermatoligist about it could be the only way to reverse it, but its so embarrassing! I would have to tell my mom, and show the doctor and seriously its my vagina! I think this is the right choice but I don't know if I could face the embarrassment. It feels good just talking about it here but still. Judy

I have the same problem. I spend hours in front of the mirror my husband and kids get mad at me for wasting so much time. My husband always wants to know what I m doing. It is so embarrassing. I don't know what to do I can't afford laser hair removal I tried electrolysis once but stopped treatments. I dont go out anymore and I pretty much am alone all day I just wish I could get help.

Over the years I've had problems wth picking hair out ma face from my sideburns 2 my chin an all it would do is leave these dark scars which would make it look worse so now lately I've been useing a product called gigi facial hair removal that comes wth a calming balm you can find this at a sally's beauty store for about 8 bucks are so and 4 me personally works wonders 4 me also there is a product called salley vansen or husen Itz a brush on that u apply to the facial area that u can find at walgreens

Also for those dark areas "COCOA BUTTER" for which I've alwayz use I've find really lightens those dark scar areas. I use it everyday and before I go to bed and I read on here I've notice some ladies have problems wth the brazilla area honestly u might think im crazi,but I use nair yes nair n what areas I can't see my boyfreind lover assist apply let it sit for bout 5min r so n remove wth wet towel comes right off also if ur producing bumps down there 4 u pickers use this wash called phisoderm it works

I have what i believe 5 ingrown hairs on my arm and im tired of them being on my arm. I dont know for sure what exactly they are and i need some help

I have the same problem under my arms and bikini line. What works is products with salicylic acid in them - I use something called Tend Skin lotion which I buy on Amazon. It's incredibly strong so you have to be sure to rinse it off in the morning, and be very careful around your face, or if your skin is very broken or sensitive. It will seriously reduce your ingrowns (or get rid of them in my case) if you leave it on overnight. I SWEAR BY IT. Also, rigorous exfoliation also helps a lot.