Ingrown hairs under the armpit can be painful and uncomfortable. Here are some details about ingrown hairs, including positive and negative aspects, ingredients, and materials:
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What is an ingrown hair? An ingrown hair is a hair strand that grows back into the skin, instead of growing up and through the skin’s surface. Ingrown hairs are often accompanied by uncomfortable symptoms such as redness, itching, and even acne-like bumps.
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Causes of ingrown hairs in the armpits: Ingrown hairs tend to crop up anywhere you shave, tweeze, or wax, including your armpits. Coarse or curly hair is more prone to becoming ingrown than fine, straight hair. Friction, shaving, waxing, or tweezing can cause ingrown hairs. New hairs grow from hair follicles under your skin. Shaving, waxing, and tweezing only remove hair strands — they don’t remove hair follicles. When new hair grows, it may curl back and enter your skin. This more commonly occurs if your hair is thick, curly, or coarse.
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Positive aspects: Ingrown hair can often be treated at home with over-the-counter products or natural solutions. Things to try include steroid cream, topical steroid treatment, and treatment oil that is specifically designed to combat ingrown hairs. There are also products made with ingredients like benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid that can help get rid of dead skin around and on top of the ingrown hair.
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Negative aspects: Ingrown hairs can be painful and uncomfortable. If you’ve allowed your underarm hair to grow out, they may also be lurking underneath, causing irritation. Deodorants and sweat might further aggravate the skin, making ingrown hairs in your armpit more uncomfortable. It’s important to treat any type of infection which occurs in the underarm. Untreated infections can cause the lymph nodes in that area to swell up with drainage from the infected follicle.
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Ingredients or materials: Over-the-counter products containing ingredients such as adapalene, benzoyl peroxide, and salicylic acid can help treat ingrown hairs. Treatment oil that is specifically designed to combat ingrown hairs can also be used. Tend Skin Refillable Ingrown Hair Rollon for Women & Men is a product that can be used to treat ingrown hairs.
It’s important to note that if you’re unsure whether you have an ingrown hair or something else, see your doctor. They can give you an accurate diagnosis and recommend treatment for whatever you have.
