A hair growing back into the skin, or growing out through the side of the skin can be very painful. Many get quite subconscious about it too as an ingrown hair can look a little unsightly.

Fortunately getting rid of them is pretty simple and straightforward and the procedure can be carried out at home.

Just before you embark on the 4 step ingrown hair treatment outlined before, make sure what you are dealing with really is an ingrown hair?

Generally they appear where you have carried out a hair removal method, such as on the face, or legs, or pubic area. Shaving can cut the hair below the skin level so the sharp end grows out through the skin, causing pain.

The same can happen if waxing is not done properly, causing the hair to break rather than taking it out by the root.

So if you recently performed some sort of hair removal and then notice a painful little bump that looks like a pimple it could be an ingrown hair.

Sometimes you can actually see the hair just below the surface of the skin, especially if you use a good magnification mirror. At times the little pimples fill with pus, another tell tale sign.

So, you have an ingrown hair and now you want to get rid of it as soon as possible. This easy to follow 4 step plan should alleviate the pain or discomfort almost immediately:

Step 1

This step is optional but in many cases it does help to make ingrown hair treatment easier. Submerge a clean washcloth in warm to hot water, squeeze out excess water, and hold the cloth against the area of skin where you have the problem.

You may want to keep the cloth on the area for 5 to 10 minutes during which time the hair should soften and work its way closer to the surface of the skin, thus making extraction easier.

Step 2

Sterilize a pair of needle-nose tweezers. A rubbing alcohol or a solution such as hydrogen peroxide is sufficient for this.

Needle-nose tweezers are best as they can get right into the offending hair without taking away a chunk of skin in the process.

If you want a recommendation, Tweezerman are regarded by many beauticians as about the best in the business. They actually have tweezers designed for ingrown hair treatment. (See the resource box below for help on this)

Step 3

Now gently release the hair with the needle-nose tweezers. Often the hair will just pop up above the surface of the skin. Problem solved.

If you want to remove the hair altogether, get a pair of flat-tipped tweezers, grip the hair, and pull it out from the root in one clean movement. Be careful not to twist as you pull to avoid breaking the hair and risking another ingrown!

Step 4

Take care of the skin. You can gently wash the area with a moisturizing soap, or use a moisturizing cream and then follow up with an antiseptic lotion such as hydrogen peroxide or a rubbing alcohol to minimize the danger of infection.

The 4 steps above provide a complete ingrown hair treatment procedure which is inexpensive and can be done at home.

Another method of ingrown hair treatment is to use specially prepared topical lotions you simply rub in to the skin a number of times each day. These solutions can release the trapped hairs without the need for tweezers.

These ingrown hair treatment solutions are good if you have a real problem with ingrown hairs over a fairly wide area. Sometimes in the pubic area after waxing a number of ingrown hairs can appear. Tweezing them all can take time and it can be laborious.

Using an ingrown hair treatment solution is a lot faster and probably more comfortable. Check the resource box below for more information.

One final word - If these steps do not solve the problem and the pain and discomfort continue, be sure to see a local physician or a dermatologist. It could be there is a more serious underlying reason for the pain or discomfort that requires professional examination.

If you carry out hair removal procedures regularly, it is likely you will at some time suffer the discomfort of ingrown hairs. Waxing done well should take the hair out by the root. However, if not done properly, the hairs can break and then not grow straight, thus also causing a problem.