6 important questions about hair and hair follicles answered
I have already written quite a bit about them on the YIONN blog: hair follicles.
And specifically about inflamed hair follicles.
For many women, a cause of pain, irritation, and itching.
Time to dive deep and investigate exactly what hair follicles are, what function they have, and also why they sometimes become inflamed.
The more you know about hair follicles, the better you understand them and can prevent dealing with an ingrown hair or inflamed hair follicle.
1. What is a hair follicle?
A hair follicle is located in the skin and is the place from which a hair grows. You find hair follicles all over your body, from your toes to your scalp.
In total, there are no fewer than five million. So it’s not actually surprising that one occasionally becomes inflamed.
Each individual hair follicle consists of four parts: a hair root, a sebaceous gland, the inner and outer root sheath, and the arrector pili muscle (fun to know: the contraction of this muscle causes goosebumps).
Every hair grows from a hair follicle and after a while, the hair stops growing and then falls out. After this, the growth process starts again. Special, don’t you think?
2. How does hair grow in a hair follicle?
Hair grows out of a hair follicle in different phases. This is called the hair growth cycle.
It is a rhythmic process and consists of the growth phase, the transition phase, and the resting phase.
In the growth phase, the hair grows; in the transition phase, growth stops and the hair becomes looser in the hair follicle.
In the final phase, the resting phase, the hair falls out.
The hair follicle then takes a break and subsequently starts the process all over again.
3. What is the point of hair, anyway?
If you spend as much time on shaving and hair removal as I do, you’ve probably wondered what on earth the point of hair is.
We love a full head of hair, but we’d often rather be without the hair on our legs, toes, armpits, face, and intimate areas.
To properly answer the question about the purpose of hair, it’s good to know that we have two types of hair: vellus hair (also called peach fuzz) and terminal hair.
The latter are longer, stronger, thicker, and darker than the short, thin, soft vellus hairs and have various functions:
Eyelashes protect our body from dirt and dust.
- Underarm hairs ensure that perspiration is absorbed.
- Pubic hair shows that we are fertile.
- Scalp hair protects you from the burning sun and UV rays.
- Body hair helped our ancestors keep themselves warm. Nowadays, that is no longer necessary for most people.
4. Why do hair follicles become inflamed?
You can recognize an inflamed hair follicle by the yellow or white pimple that develops as a result of the inflammation.
The inflamed hair follicle can also hurt and start itching.
In principle, inflamed hair follicles can occur all over your body, but they are most common on the face, arms, legs, and buttocks.
Usually, several hair follicles are inflamed at the same time.
Due to a bacterium or other invader
In many cases, the inflammation is caused by a bacterium. A fungus, yeast, or parasite can also be the cause.
Through hair removal, the bacterium gains access to the hair follicle, causing it to become inflamed.
Due to an ingrown hair
A second reason why a hair follicle becomes inflamed is due to an ingrown hair.
The hair has been shaved too short, meaning it can no longer grow outwards but grows back into the skin instead.
An inflammation with an unsightly pimple is the result.
5. What to do about an inflamed hair follicle?
Once a hair follicle in your neck, on your back, nose, or wherever is inflamed, there is unfortunately no magic remedy to make the inflammation disappear immediately. This usually happens naturally after 1 or 2 weeks.
In the meantime, it is important that you leave the inflammation alone, don’t touch it, and don’t apply anything to it (and so don’t squeeze it). By doing so, you might cause new inflammations. It’s also better to wait a while before your next hair removal session.
When the inflamed hair follicle is caused by a bacterium, you must also pay extra attention to your hygiene: wash your hands with soap more often than usual, keep your nails short, and replace towels daily. This prevents the bacterium (or fungus, yeast, or parasite) from spreading further.
6. Can you prevent inflamed hair follicles?
Yes, the good news is that you can take steps to prevent inflamed hair follicles in the future. For example, you can replace your multi-blade razor with a single-blade razor, so that hairs no longer end up under the skin.
Or, and this is my super tip, start using YIONN Raka lotion daily. This lotion was specially developed to prevent ingrown hairs, itching, and red bumps.
I hear from users every day that it has changed their lives, and isn’t that wonderful? Check out the YIONN Raka reviews and see for yourself.
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