The neck is one of the most common places that ingrown hairs will develop due to daily shaving. They’re basically caused by hairs on the neck being cut too short. The skin then surrounds the hair when it’s trying to grow causing it to turn backwards and grow into the skin rather than out of it.
The body responds with an inflammatory response, resulting in a rosy red bump or papule commonly refereed to as a razor bump. Those whose hair is already naturally curly tend to be predisposed to this issue, however anybody who grows hair on their neck can have it. As this is such a common issue many methods have been developed to remove the ingrown hair from your skin.
Dislodge the hair
Grab a pair of tweezers, on needle or something that is very sharp. Visually find the ingrown hair and try to dislodge the portion that is growing back into your body so that it points outwards. Be sure to apply alcohol or something that kills bacteria to the ingrown hair afterwards to avoid infection or complications.
Massage the hair
Find a toothbrush or any kind of brushed that isn’t metal. Take the soft-bristled brush and gently scrub the ingrown hair. The goal here is to get the tip of the ingrown hair to turn around in the right direction. This is recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology. Be careful not to go too crazy here and make the situation worse and infected.
Topical Medication
There are a variety of available topical medications what you can apply to the top of your ingrown hair. They have a variety of purposes ranging from preventing infection, removing the dead left over skin, and preventing inflammation. These creams are available both over the counter and threw a doctor.
Antibiotics
In severe cases an oral antibiotic may need to be taken. Speak to a dermatologist and see if this fits your situation. For many taking an oral antibiotic can speed up the healing process and get rid of your ingrown hairs faster.
Let it grow
Oftentimes if you are just patient and do not mess with the ingrown hair too much it will fix itself. This could take several months to see results however.