Most people would say their ideal skin type is clear, smooth skin. That’s why folliculitis can be so troublesome. This condition, which develops when your hair follicles get inflamed, causes bumps and redness many people want to get rid of as quickly as possible.
Is your rash caused by folliculitis? At our PureMD MedSpa, with locations in Beavercreek, Liberty Township, Miamisburg, and Dayton, Ohio, Suresh Gupta, MD, and our team are here to diagnose folliculitis and explore your treatment options with you. As folliculitis specialists, we can help you get the smooth skin you want.
But first, let’s find out if you’re at risk for folliculitis and, if so, what you can do to treat it.
Understanding folliculitis
Folliculitis develops when your hair follicles get inflamed. Some sort of infection in the hair follicle itself is usually to blame.
Folliculitis most commonly begins looking like a rash or acne. You can identify it by looking for red bumps around your hair follicles. In fact, some people often confuse it with razor burn, although only severe cases of razor burn have folliculitis to blame.
Other telltale signs of folliculitis include bumps around your hair follicles that have whiteheads and may be itchy.
Left untreated, folliculitis — or, more specifically, the infection responsible for it — can spread. This can escalate into pus-filled blisters and painful, burning skin.
Beyond that, folliculitis can leave you skin discoloration well after the inflammation recedes. You could be left with hyperpigmentation, or dark patches of skin, as well as hypopigmentation, or lighter skin areas.
Ultimately, it’s well worth dealing with folliculitis as soon as you notice it. If you have red, tender, or itchy bumps around your hair follicles, don’t wait to contact Dr. Gupta.
People most likely to get folliculitis
This condition can affect anyone, but certain risk factors make you more likely to have to deal with inflamed hair follicles. Here’s a quick list of things that make you more at risk for folliculitis:
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- Having curly hair that you shave
- Damaging your hair follicles through waxing or shaving
- Wearing tight clothes, especially fabrics that don’t breathe
- Any medical condition that reduces your body’s ability to fight infection
- Acne
- Dermatitis
All that said, folliculitis can happen to anyone.
Dealing with folliculitis
Some instances of folliculitis can be treated by addressing the root cause. If a bacterial infection is causing your follicle inflammation, for example, a topical antibiotic may help.
But some people deal with hard-to-treat folliculitis because the infection lives deep inside the hair follicles. If your folliculitis is deep or keeps coming back, you can consider laser hair removal. This treatment destroys your hair follicle and, at the same time, can kill infection there. Laser hair removal is ideal for people who are ready to be done with their folliculitis — for good.
You’re not stuck with bumpy, itchy skin. To see if laser hair removal could be the solution for your folliculitis, call the PureMD MedSpa office nearest to you or book your visit online today.
