WARNING: The Embarrassing Bodies website contains images of an explicit medical nature and nudity in a medical context.

Embarrassing Bodies , 9:00pm Friday 19th March 2010 on Channel 4. Catch up for free »

Conditions

Ingrowing Pubic Hair

Ingrowing pubic hair

We’ve all heard of ingrowing toenails, but ingrowing pubic hair? Well, it does happen! And, more to the point, it can actually be quiet painful. This is when a pubic hair grows at an abnormal angle and eventually turns back into the skin. At this point it usually causes the formation of a pustule or papule, which subsequently becomes infected. A gentle dab of some mild antiseptic, such as tea tree oil, and a cessation of any shaving activities, may help to clear up the infection. However, if the ingrowing hair doesn’t improve after a few days, you should go and see your GP. Preventative measures are often best. For instance, when ‘manscaping’ or tending to the lady garden, it’s advisable to shave in the direction of the growth of hairs and to prepare your skin a good-shaving gel, oil or foam before taking to the area with a razor. It’s not a race, so take your time.

Comments and Questions

The EB doctors have been looking at your comments and have answered some of the common questions below. Remember that it is always best to check with a health professional if you have any concerns about your health.

You can share your experiences and thoughts with other Embarrassing Bodies site-users below. Comments & Questions are reviewed by moderators, but if you see anything on the site that worries you, please report it and one of our moderators will look at it as soon as possible.
Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.

i have a small lump under my right armpit i was told it was an ingrown hair and was told to take antibiotics and a cream the lump has gone down slightly but now i have a long thin strand running from the lump up my arm on the inside which looks and feels like a vein can you help





This will be published. Surnames, nicknames or usernames are not allowed


Your email address will be kept confidential and will NOT be published – it is only being collected here in case Channel 4 need to contact you in relation to your comment.


Please don’t swear or be rude in your comments, as they will not be added to the site. Please do not use your full name when posting comments. If in doubt, refer to the community guidelines

By posting on this website you are agreeing to abide by our community guidelines

i have ingrown hairs when i shave my bikini line and under arms. they can sometimes be painful but most of all they are itchy and make me very conseous. they do not apear until a couple of hours after shaving so during sexual intercourse it can be okay for the first day but i feel like i have to wait until the redness of the spots have gone down until i can have intercourse again. I also find it hard to wear bikinis as i feel conseous about that area. ANY HELP?!





This will be published. Surnames, nicknames or usernames are not allowed


Your email address will be kept confidential and will NOT be published – it is only being collected here in case Channel 4 need to contact you in relation to your comment.


Please don’t swear or be rude in your comments, as they will not be added to the site. Please do not use your full name when posting comments. If in doubt, refer to the community guidelines

By posting on this website you are agreeing to abide by our community guidelines

I have suffered from ingrown hairs since puberty. I have been on antibiotics and have used ingrown hair creams but nothing seems to work. They just keep getting worse! It is embarrassing. I cant wear a bikini and a relationship with the opposite sex is a NO NO. Do you have any advice because its really getting in the way and it can be very painfull? Not to mention the psychological effects.





This will be published. Surnames, nicknames or usernames are not allowed


Your email address will be kept confidential and will NOT be published – it is only being collected here in case Channel 4 need to contact you in relation to your comment.


Please don’t swear or be rude in your comments, as they will not be added to the site. Please do not use your full name when posting comments. If in doubt, refer to the community guidelines

By posting on this website you are agreeing to abide by our community guidelines

I have achne on my upper arms, armpits and around my genital area. The upper arm acne has been there ever since i was about thirteen, they consist of both inflamitary and Whiteheads. The spots on my armpits and genital area seems to be really bad about 4 hours after i shave them, they are the worst, they can be VERY painful like after i shave and sometimes it hurts too move. ive tried achne cream and that doesnt seem too work :( help please!!





This will be published. Surnames, nicknames or usernames are not allowed


Your email address will be kept confidential and will NOT be published – it is only being collected here in case Channel 4 need to contact you in relation to your comment.


Please don’t swear or be rude in your comments, as they will not be added to the site. Please do not use your full name when posting comments. If in doubt, refer to the community guidelines

By posting on this website you are agreeing to abide by our community guidelines

hi, im male and shave my chest, i have a lump on my chest which has healed over and isnt visible but there is a lump there, ive tryed to cut the area to get the hair out, but couldnt find it just puss and blood, it has healed again but still a lump there, is there any cream or anything that can help





This will be published. Surnames, nicknames or usernames are not allowed


Your email address will be kept confidential and will NOT be published – it is only being collected here in case Channel 4 need to contact you in relation to your answer.


Please don't swear or be rude in your answers, as they will not be added to the site. Please do not use your full name when posting answers. If in doubt, refer to the community guidelines

By posting on this website you are agreeing to abide by our community guidelines

i get hundreds of in growing hairs! they dont hurt, they just itch like mad! you can see little black lines at the base of almost every hair!what can i do? when i pull them out they just grow under the skin again!





This will be published. Surnames, nicknames or usernames are not allowed


Your email address will be kept confidential and will NOT be published – it is only being collected here in case Channel 4 need to contact you in relation to your comment.


Please don’t swear or be rude in your comments, as they will not be added to the site. Please do not use your full name when posting comments. If in doubt, refer to the community guidelines

By posting on this website you are agreeing to abide by our community guidelines

Yes I have one on my virginia lip,and yes it itches,never have tried to pull it out,cant dont like pain.It has formed a little lump,and it is not getting bigger.

I want to shave 'down below'. But im worried it will go wrong and dont really know where to start and whether i should shave or use something else like hair removal? any help? x





This will be published. Surnames, nicknames or usernames are not allowed


Your email address will be kept confidential and will NOT be published – it is only being collected here in case Channel 4 need to contact you in relation to your comment.


Please don’t swear or be rude in your comments, as they will not be added to the site. Please do not use your full name when posting comments. If in doubt, refer to the community guidelines

By posting on this website you are agreeing to abide by our community guidelines

I would start with a gentle hair removal cream. I shave, or at least i did, until i ended up with this really painful bump where there are ingrowing hairs! (hence why im on here looking for advice). Waxing is painful. Not for the faint hearted! Good luck!

i have had ingrown hairs on my bikini area for a few years it first started after i had a wax so ive never had one since!! Its making me self concious and ive tried creams and all sorts of different things and not shaving atall. Is there anything i can do to get rid of them completly? thanx





This will be published. Surnames, nicknames or usernames are not allowed


Your email address will be kept confidential and will NOT be published – it is only being collected here in case Channel 4 need to contact you in relation to your comment.


Please don’t swear or be rude in your comments, as they will not be added to the site. Please do not use your full name when posting comments. If in doubt, refer to the community guidelines

By posting on this website you are agreeing to abide by our community guidelines

am 15 female, wen i was about 13 thirteen i shaved for the first time but everyting was fine.. but about a year ago i jus started gettin loads of ingrown hairs!! my doc says it becuz of da shaving so i tried waxing & removal cream and the hair jus grow ingrown again n again n it jus left me with dark ugly spots on my bikini :( plz help!

I have suffered from ingrown hairs for about 3 years now and they are getting worse and worse. I have been on antibiotics and have used ingrown hair creams but nothing seems to work. They just keep getting worse! Do you have any advice because its really getting in the way and it can be very painfull?





This will be published. Surnames, nicknames or usernames are not allowed


Your email address will be kept confidential and will NOT be published – it is only being collected here in case Channel 4 need to contact you in relation to your comment.


Please don’t swear or be rude in your comments, as they will not be added to the site. Please do not use your full name when posting comments. If in doubt, refer to the community guidelines

By posting on this website you are agreeing to abide by our community guidelines

try Tend Skin or for a permanent but more costly solution try laser haor removal treatment- there are lasers capable of working very effectively on white and black skin

I have suffered with ingrowing hairs on my legs since my three year old son was born, They are constant, my legs are covered in little infections, sometimes I am able to pull an ingrowing hair out and majority of the time it will be ay least a cm. My legs are now starting to scar, I have tried waxing,shaving,epilating and leaving them to grow But nothing works. It is now starting to get me down as summer timw is a big no no for summer shorts or dresses. Please help,my GP has said there is nothing they can do. I habve been advised to exfoliate which I do and use a lighyt mositrisers. LH





This will be published. Surnames, nicknames or usernames are not allowed


Your email address will be kept confidential and will NOT be published – it is only being collected here in case Channel 4 need to contact you in relation to your comment.


Please don’t swear or be rude in your comments, as they will not be added to the site. Please do not use your full name when posting comments. If in doubt, refer to the community guidelines

By posting on this website you are agreeing to abide by our community guidelines





This will be published. Surnames, nicknames or usernames are not allowed


Your email address will be kept confidential and will NOT be published – it is only being collected here in case Channel 4 need to contact you in relation to your comment.



Please don’t swear or be rude in your comments, as they will not be added to the site. Please do not use your full name when posting comments. If in doubt, refer to the community guidelines

By posting on this website you are agreeing to abide by our community guidelines

It looks like no one else has asked this question, so please fill in the rest of your details below.





This will be published. Surnames, nicknames or usernames are not allowed


Your email address will be kept confidential and will NOT be published – it is only being collected here in case Channel 4 need to contact you in relation to your answer.



Please don't swear or be rude in your questions, as they will not be added to the site. Please do not use your full name when posting questions. If in doubt, refer to the community guidelines

By posting on this website you are agreeing to abide by our community guidelines


Important Notice

The information provided on this website (including any NHS Choices medical information) is for use as information or for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical care by a qualified doctor or other qualified healthcare professional. We do not warrant that any information included within this site will meet your health or medical requirements. This Embarrassing Bodies site does not provide any medical or diagnostic services so you should always check with a health professional if you have any concerns about your health.


If you want to embed our videos in your site, read our embedding T&Cs here


More Information

  1. Episode 3

    In Episodes - Patients consulted and diagnosed by the doctors in Episode 3 includ…

  2. Am I Normal Hair

    In Videos - Dr Dawn Harper discusses what is and isn't normal when it comes to…

  3. Quick Health Advice: Male Hairloss

    In Videos - Dr Christian explains the causes of male hairloss and the treatment…

  4. Quick Health Advice: Unwanted Facial Hair

    In Videos - Dr Harper explains the causes of unwanted facial hair and some of t…

  5. Bodies Behaving Badly

    In Episodes - Episode 1 of Embarrassing Teenage Bodies examines conditions includ…

  6. Doctor Responses: Excessive Hair

    In Videos - Dr Pixie answers your most frequently asked questions about excessi…

  7. Teens Below the Belt

    In Episodes - Episode 4 of Embarrassing Teenage Bodies tackles conditions includi…

  8. Boys, Boys, Boys

    In Episodes - Episode 3 of Embarrassing Teenage Bodies takes a closer look at bin…

  9. Am I Normal?

    In Episodes - Episode 2 of Embarrassing Teenage Bodies looks at conditions includ…

  10. Consultation: Excess Facial Hair

    In Videos - Dr Dawn Harper looks at a patient whose excess facial hair is takin…

  11. Consultation: Second Adult Circumcision

    In Videos - Dr Jessen examines a patient in need of a new circumcision

  12. Dr Priya Manickavasagar

    Doctor Info - Find out more about Dr Priya.

  13. Dr James Russell

    Doctor Info - Find out more about Dr James Russell.

  14. Consultation: Soreness on the Penis

    In Videos - A patient is examined for soreness around his penis

  15. Doctor Responses: Penis

    In Videos - Dr Christian answers your most frequently asked questions about the…


Be on the Show

Have you been inspired by the patients in the current series to seek help for your problem? Apply to be on the show here >