# Giant ingrown hair **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 30, 2002, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647 "2002-12-30T08:04:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/1 "2002-12-30T08:04:16Z")
Today before work I was picking at a pimple on my chin that had been there for a few days. I noticed a hard black mass at the center of the crater that wouldn’t pop out. So I take tweezers and pluck it. Oh…My…God:eek: Out comes this hair a quarter inch long and as thick as the lead in a No. 2 pencil. The root must’ve been anchored im my chinbone! ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/2 "2002-12-30T08:11:43Z")
Well, I will remember that when I am tempted to eat. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mermaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/3 "2002-12-30T10:27:28Z")
Thank you for sharing. I have a mole on my chinnie chin chin that does the same thing, No hair for months then all of a sudden, a thick, black inch long hair springs forth overnight. When that happens it is a plucking emergency. ---
**Author:** ![Marine\_One](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marine_one/32/3461_2.png) [@Marine\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marine_One)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/4 "2002-12-30T14:49:48Z")
FIRST VILLAGER ``` We have found a witch. May we burn her? ALL A Witch! Burn her! BEDEVERE How do you know she is a witch? ALL She looks like one. Yes, she does. Burn her! Burn her! Let's make her into a ladder. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Penumbra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9f8e36/32.png) [@Penumbra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penumbra)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/5 "2002-12-30T16:10:16Z")
I get those on my neck everytime I shave. Even though I use the Mach 3 razors and shaving gel especially designed for sensitive skin, a day after I shave my neck will have several/many red bumps with ingrown hairs on it. My solution thus far has been to just use hair clippers to trim the beard but the downside to that is that I can’t get a smooth shave. Anyone got any advice? ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/6 "2002-12-30T16:33:15Z")
**Penumbra** - exfoliate! The reason the hairs may be getting trapped is that there is dead/dry skin in the way. Exfoliating means the hair will break the surface easier. You can get good exfoliators for men at The Body Shop. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/7 "2002-12-30T17:28:31Z")
A lot of people get ingrown hairs when they shave. So do I. And the bumps can get infected, leading to folliculitis or (for ten-dollar dermatologists) parafolliculitis barbae (PFB). Some racial groups have this more commonly. You might benefit from using an electric razor and living with a shave which is less close (closer shave = worse problem). Some stop shaving and just wear beards. The bumps can be minimized by taking daily oral antibiotics like erythromycin. I deal with mine by alternating between electric shavers and disposables, and removing the ingrown hairs using a stick pin to gently free an ingrown hair and a pair of tweezers. But it’s a pain in the neck. ---
**Author:** ![Billy\_Rubin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billy_rubin/32/3622_2.png) [@Billy\_Rubin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billy_Rubin)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/8 "2002-12-30T18:28:03Z")
Wait till Opal sees this. b. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/9 "2002-12-30T18:36:45Z")
Funny, when I shave using blades, I never get ingrown hairs or irritation of the skin. When I use the electric (which I’ve been doing since my bathroom is being remodeled), I get ingrown hairs quite frequently. YMMV, but my advice to Penumbra is to try to shave daily, and maybe shave the neck in both directions. I’ve found that a _close_ daily shave prevents ingrown hairs, whereas a _less close_ (read: electric) shave means irritation. Then again, I have a fairly heavy beard. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/10 "2002-12-31T05:59:15Z")
I don’t think it was my razor’s fault: the follicle itself was so abnormally thick it wouldnt pass through the pore, so it just kept pressing deeper and deeper into my skin. ---
**Author:** ![Igloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Igloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Igloo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/11 "2002-12-31T06:59:38Z")
Tend Skin is a pretty good product (see my thread on my waxing nightmares), available in beauty supply shops and at your local salon. It prevents a lot of ingrown “issues.” ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/12 "2002-12-31T07:08:03Z")
Enola, I wish you had video of this experience. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/13 "2002-12-31T07:14:26Z")
I get these all the time. The thing that confuses me, is that I only get them in the place where I have hair, in my goatee. Might be time to grow a beard. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/14 "2003-01-01T02:30:18Z")
I get these ingrown hairs as well. It’s surprising to find a mutant strand of hair whose thickness can be measured by a ruler (exaggeration). Does this mean that the hair cells are piling up when the hair grows back into the skin and that’s why it’s so thick? ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/15 "2003-01-01T08:20:36Z")
Sometimes I have a “hair” which is actually several individual follicles, side by side, expressing from a common pore. Not this time. This big momma was a single stalk of hair fiber…hard, keratinous, and coarse textured. It felt kind of like a rough, square toothpick. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/16 "2003-01-01T10:16:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Enola Straight \* > \*\*Sometimes I have a “hair” which is actually several individual follicles, side by side, expressing from a common pore. > > Not this time. > > This big momma was a single stalk of hair fiber…hard, keratinous, and coarse textured. It felt kind of like a rough, square toothpick. \*\* My most common kind are the type that have several hairs coming out as one big bundle. However, I sometimes get the one huge solid hair type, too. Hard, too. You could stab someone to death with one. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/17 "2003-01-01T10:22:31Z")
This pimple on my chin is only a pimple. This pimple on my chin is only a pimple. This pimple on my chin is only a pimple. This pimple on my chin is only a pimple… Yeeeeeargh. Now I’m afraid to _touch_ it… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/18 "2003-01-02T00:03:49Z")
Flodnak, you know what you’ve got to do. Lay a warm compress on that sucker till it comes to a head. Then, after limbering up your fingers, get into a good position and squeeze that sucker. Best to get it over with. Don’t forget the neosporin afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Kricket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f14d63/32.png) [@Kricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kricket)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/19 "2003-01-02T05:03:47Z")
I just dropped in to say that in my mind I never pictured Coldfire with a beard. I just can’t picture him with a beard in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647/20 "2003-01-02T05:12:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Enola Straight \* > \*\*Out comes this hair a quarter inch long and as thick as the lead in a No. 2 pencil. \*\* A quarter of an inch? Feh! Way back when, while in the Army, I started growing a second head on my jaw. It hurt like hell, so I just left it alone–hoping it would go away. Nope. One night, after consuming a liberal amount of wine, I decided it had to go. Squeeze…_pop!_ That damn hair was at least three inches long! It was all wiry and spiraled around itself, but when straightened out, it was quite impressive. I showed it around a bit, but it didn’t seem to be as interesting to everyone else as it was to me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-ingrown-hair/145647.md?page=2)