You can also remove an ingrown hair that has looped or curled back into your skin by gently pulling it out with a sterile needle, pin or tweezers. Apply rubbing alcohol to your surrounding skin to prevent an infection. Then, carefully thread the sterile needle, pin or tweezers through the exposed hair loop.
If you can see an ingrown hair beneath the skin, apply a warm, damp compress for a couple of minutes to soften the skin, says Rodney Basler, MD. Then sterilize a needle or tweezers and pluck the hair. Follow with an antiseptic such as hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol.
Place a small piece of cotton wool or dental floss soaked in alcohol under the edge of the toenail to help it grow away from the skin. Wear open-toed, loose, and comfortable shoes. Apply antibiotic cream such as a steroid cream and cover the toe with a bandage to prevent infection.
One very useful product is adapalene gel, an over-the-counter retinoid medication. This medication can be applied to areas with ingrown hairs to help gently exfoliate until the ingrown hair appears at the surface of your skin. You can then carefully remove the hair with tweezers (see below).
Even worse, alcohol can, in some cases, tighten skin to a point where the dryness creates a barrier-like surface. This barrier makes it difficult for hair to pierce through the skin layer, leading to the development of ingrown hairs.
If your ingrown hair(s) looks more like acne, with lots of redness and potentially puss, your doctor might also suggest using a product with benzoyl peroxide to help resolve the issue.
Washing the affected area with soap and warm water.
Rubbing the ingrown hair in a circular motion for 10 to 15 seconds with light pressure can soften skin and encourage the hair to pop out.
Apply warm compresses to the cyst for 10–15 minutes several times a day. These might bring the cyst closer to the surface, allowing it to drain. If the hair is trapped under the skin, warm compresses may help it grow out. Apply an antiseptic solution, such as tea tree oil, to the cyst to prevent infection.
There's a chance an ingrown hair could heal on its own in as quickly as a week or two, Dr. Hayag says, but it may take longer if it gets infected. Sometimes it takes around a month, according to the Mayo Clinic, but it can take up to six months for hairs that are really stuck in there.
It is ideal to treat with 25% replacement volume of alcohol. The larger cysts may require more than one alcohol treatment at the same sitting to be effective. There was no recurrence of the treated cysts on follow-up examinations of 6-18 months.
Prescription acne medications might be needed if OTC methods don't work for razor bumps or ingrown hair cysts. For example, a healthcare professional may prescribe a steroid cream such as hydrocortisone to help reduce redness and pain around the bump or cyst.
Most ingrown toenails can be treated by soaking the foot in warm, soapy water and applying a topical antibiotic ointment, such as polymyxin/neomycin (one brand: Neosporin).
Apply Salicylic Acid
“Once the ingrown hair is there, you need to treat it nicely, or you'll make it worse through inflammation,” Dr. Gohara explains. After gently massaging the bumps with your mitt or scrub in the shower, towel dry the area and then dab on a salicylic acid–based spot treatment morning and night.
One ingrown hair may form a cyst — a red, yellow, or whitish lump beneath the skin. These cysts are usually no cause for concern, and they may resolve on their own. A doctor may only recommend treatment if a cyst causes pain or other symptoms, or if it becomes infected or inflamed.
Keratin, as well as air and skin cells, can collect in these sac formations and result in large bumps under the skin. The build-up of these sacs is the biggest difference between regular ingrown hairs and a cyst.
Ingrown hairs can look like raised, red, itchy spots on the skin. Sometimes you can see a hair trapped under the skin. You may be more likely to get ingrown hairs if you have coarse or curly hair. Infected ingrown hairs can be painful.
The good news: Ingrown hairs usually go away on their own. This can take anywhere from a month to six months, per the Mayo Clinic.
Often, an ingrown hair will go away on its own. But if it doesn't, you could have: An infection. Darkened skin.
Ingrown hair cysts occur when a hair follicle gets blocked and the hair grows into your skin instead of outward. You should never pop an ingrown hair cyst because it can cause infection and scarring. They may go away on their own, but if they hurt, become red, or ooze pus, see a healthcare provider.
If you get an ingrown, it's best to leave it alone until the bump and redness disappear. Dr. Gross recommends using a warm compress, and eventually the hair will grow out on its own. You should also hold off on grooming the area (that means waxing, shaving, and plucking) until the ingrown has cleared up.
Trying to remove an ingrown hair is especially risky when it's infected because you can spread the infection. Picking or popping an infected ingrown hair also increases your risk of complications. Instead, gently scrub the area with warm water and soap. This can help ease the ingrown hair out of the skin on its own.
To remove an ingrown hair, gently exfoliate your skin. Exfoliating your skin removes a dead layer of skin cells and helps release ingrown hairs. Use warm — not hot — water and small, circular motions to wash your affected areas with a washcloth, exfoliating brush or exfoliating gel or scrub.
Get into the habit of applying cold water or witch hazel to your face immediately after shaving or waxing. Both can reduce irritation, tighten pores, moisturize, and help treat ingrown hairs. Witch hazel also stops bacteria from growing in hair follicles.