Overview

An ingrown hair occurs when a shaved or tweezed hair grows back into the skin. It can cause inflammation, pain and tiny bumps in the area where the hair was removed.

Ingrown hair is a common condition that results from hair removal. It's most prevalent in black men who shave facial hair. But ingrown hair can affect anyone who removes hair by shaving, tweezing or waxing.

Often, an ingrown hair improves without treatment. You can avoid ingrown hair by not removing hair. If that's not an option, you can use hair removal methods that lessen the risk of developing ingrown hairs.