I just discovered a severely ingrown whisker, on my chin. That sucker is impacted as hell. I know it’s a whisker because I can see the outline of it in my skin, but it’s really deep. It’s making a hard knot on my chin. I tried plucking the surrounding hairs to help relieve it, but no luck. I even poked it with a needle several times, it won’t come out.
I have had these things before but I have always been able to get them out rather effortlessly. This one is becoming uncomfortable and I don’t want it to get infected. That thing has to come out! I don’t want to hack up my face trying to extract it though. It seems horribly trivial to go to the doctor for such a thing.
Will it work it’s way out on it’s own eventually?
Should I try to get it out myself?
Put peroxide on it to keep it from getting infected and try to grab it with a pair of tweezers. This sounds kinda gross but it may work… try popping it like a zit! If it’s full of pus the skin will break, the pus (and some blood probably) will squirt out and the hair should be visible… then you can grab it with the tweezers.
[sub]I had an ingrown around my bikini line once and this is what I did to get rid of it… it worked but it hurt like a son of a bitch![/sub]
Thanks for the advice but the hair is not literally visible where I can grab it. It’s too deep. I can see it “embossing” my skin outward. I tried squeezing it out, even after lancing in several spots, but no luck.
Maybe I should get some “draw-out-salve?” I have never used that stuff. Does it really work?
I don’t know about the draw out salve, but maybe a hot flannel placed over it for an amount of time might draw it out. Just a thought, sounds sore though :eek:
Go down past it with a needle, then lever the needle under it and push part of it up until you can grab it with tweezers. Expect some blood and a bit of pain.
This was the first thing I tried to do. It couldn’t be done. The ONLY way to get at the damn hair is going to be slicing the spot open with an exacto knife. I am saving that as a last resort.
The actual hair cannot be seen. It is far too impacted. You can’t even see a “shadow” of it. When I first discovered it, the outline of it could be seen, just like when something is under a blanket and you can see the shape of it. That sucker is not coming out without some major gore happening.
Try a warm compress. My dad had an ingrown hair on his upper lip that did the same thing. The warm compress did eventually bring it out and dad was able to pluck it. Once it was out, the pain vanished.
I’m with Damhna–you’ve gotta open the skin and pull the bastard out, even though it will hurt and you will bleed. Have some styptic nearby to stop the flow of blood. Your best bet is to do it at night, so the wound will have healed a bit before work the next day.
Heat some uncooked rice grains in the microwave. A cup or two of rice gets plenty hot in my microwave in about 30 seconds.
Put the warm rice in a plastic bag. Or you can tie it up in a towel or washcloth, but warm uncooked rice smells funny and you can’t smell it through a ziploc.
Wrap it in a small towel or a couple washcloths. Want moist heat? (I think you do for drawing out the ingrown hair and softening it and the skin) Wrap it in a damp towel or washcloth.
2 cups of hot rice will stay nice and toasty for more than an hour, so you can settle in and not have to get up every 10 minutes to rewarm it.
I am saving that as a last resort.