Chin hair and scarring from plucking

[newgirl8487]

I really need some help. I’m nearly 35 and in the last 2 years I seem to be getting more and more chin hairs on one side of my chin and I don’t know why. I can see them under the surface and sometimes they need to be pricked with tweezers so that I can get under the skin to get them. Sometimes they even kind of need to be dug out which is painful and leaves my face red and sore. Some are thick and stubborn which leads to irritation on my skin. Sometimes before a hair appears I can see a dark shadow under the skin and when I squeeze it, black stuff comes out - it’s not a blackhead, it’s almost like a hair without a root?

I really need help with a) how to manage these hairs and b) the scarring - see pic below. I’m so embarrassed and ashamed and can’t go out without make up. I’m due to go on holiday with my new partner in June and I don’t know how I’m going to hide it for an extended period of time, or manage the hair re growth - each day it seems new ones appear.

If you are digging them out then of course you will cause damage…can you not wait for them to emerge?

@KarCat Sometimes they are poking through but I can’t quite get them with my tweezers so I have to dig a bit. maybe I should leave those ones and try to cover them up with heavy make up until they are long enough to grab but I worry they are still visable. It is becoming a bit of an obsession tbh and making me very miserable

You have made a right mess there OP
Its the digging not the hairs that have done that. I just shave my chin every other day and have no scars, rashes or anything else. I do it in the mirror when brushing my teeth

@Hoppinggreenwhat kind of razor do you use to shave your face? Is there anything I can do to make the scarring less bad?

Look into electrolysis. I had bad chin hair, daily plucking etc Got so fed up decided to take the plunge with electrolysis (tried laser and it didn't work). Was excellent. Completely cleared it. And I don't have to do anything now. Only downside is that it takes a while to do - took me a year of fortnightly treatments to clear the chin and upper lip.

Try bio oil, it’s amazing for scarring.
Buy a shaver from Amazon, I’ll try and post a link.

do you have ocd?
I have ocd and scars from picking disappeared with microdermabrasion and/or green skin peel. then maybe get permanent removal of hairs.
you look light skin - light skin responds well to skin treatments usually

https://amzn.eu/d/et8JXvp

I've got a magnifying light up mirror. Best to wait till they emerge enough to pluck rather than dig them out.

Sorry I don't really know about scarring but I hear good things about Bio oil
I just use a normal disposable razor really, nothing special. usually a mens one as I refuse to pay "pink tax"

Stop digging in to your skin.
What's worse very tiny hardly noticeable hair that's not yet come out far enough to be plucked. Or cut red sore skin.
It looks painful.
I also shave when I'm doing my teeth . It's a 10 second job and that's that .

Sometimes before a hair appears I can see a dark shadow under the skin and when I squeeze it, black stuff comes out - it’s not a blackhead, it’s almost like a hair without a root?

I get this too. I never pick my skin though to get the hair out. You need to stop doing that.

I have a home ipl device and it's definitely helping. So either buy one of those or look into electrolysis/laser.

In the meantime only pluck once you can feel the hair poking out.

Buy some skin products for scarring/pigmentation, la roche posay do a range & use sunscreen religiously, damaged skin can tan unevenly.

Your new partner already knows what you look like and wants to be with you 🙂 I have similar and use a man’s electric razor daily or twice daily if our in the evening. This will let them grown through the skin to get at them with a tweezer and no digging. Yea if you look close enough there will be some evidence but he already knows that and you can just say.

Another vote for electrolysis. Its the only thing that eventually stops the buggers growing back. Just trim them with scissors in between times.
You need to go every couple of weeks to start with, but you get fewer of them and what grows back is much less thick and course so isn't as bad.

I don't pluck until I know it's come through the skin. It's hard to leave it alone, but you must!

I am considering electrolysis as @loopylou459 suggested. Sometimes they all come out at once!

I have issues with facial hair and use an epilator and tweeze any the epilator doesnt get out. If hair gets stuck under the surface but I can see it looking a bit like a bump or spot or it is just poking through I apply (sparingly) some of this stuff (link below) with a cotton bud at night and usually in a day or two it comes through.

Skin Doctors Ingrow Go Lotion | Ingrown Hair Treatment | Reduces Razor Burns & Bumps I Use on Legs, Bikini Line, Underarm & face | 120ml https://amzn.eu/d/atDgDEo

Yes, buy some zinc and vitamin e oil and put that on. Hurry up about it!

For the hair I would recommend shaving with one of the foil electric razors until you can get electrolysis. Plucking makes electrolysis harder because it can distort the follicle. In order to avoid ingrowns I would recommend using something with salycilic acid and actually something with glycolic acid would help the scarring. Suggest investing in something like The Ordinary AHA and BHA peel which has both.

Wait for them to grow a bit more before plucking.

I have the same issue, just a random patch on my chin they all seem to appear. Don't pluck them until they are at least 3 millimeters. I promise, no one else sees them at that length but you. But they will see the scars and ingrown hairs that result from plucking them too soon like you're doing. The skin is irritated because you are not getting the root out, the hair breaks, is loose and a new hair starts growing under the folecule you loosened.

Don't shave.
Just stop plucking for a week to let your skin heal and then in future, leave the hair until it can be plucked fully, easily. Make sure you feel it come out from the root. Otherwise it's going cause damage.

I have the same issue, and waxing has been really helpful. I have noticed over the years that the hairs have become weaker and I can pick them out with my fingers now

I plucked my chin for 25 years. Ended up with WAY more hairs than I started with and loads of really tough ones, plus pigmentation, the works. It looked bloody awful. I eventually went for laser treatment and it took literally about 2 years of monthly treatments (she said it should have taken far less than that tbf).

She told me never to pluck them as in that area the trauma of plucking (and digging around) was making them stronger and more numerous. It has sorted out 95% of the hair and all the pigmentation. I also exfloliate regularly which sorts the teeny bumps you mention.

In the meantime, stop plucking. Definitely. Shaving is fine and home IPL might work too but I'd get advice from a good laser salon. Bio oil will help the scarring too. X

Hi Op
Sorry your going through this! I think IPL laser is a good option both for removing redness /scars and for hair removal but I think these are different lasers but please go to a medocally trained clinician and not a beauty clinic or spa. Goodluck!

Firstly, remember what YOU are aware of isn’t necessarily what the world sees. This business of ‘digging’ them out needs to stop, it sounds awful painful and is clearly hurting your skin. If you think you can see ‘shadows’ then just go heavier on the tinted moisturiser or foundation for that day.
many people will say not to start shaving because you’ll be doing it all your life. So what? I sure I shan’t want a hairy chin when I’m 80 so if I’m committing to a shower every day for the rest of my life then what’s the issue with a quick going over with a Venus.
thats what I do, I use the Venus quadruple blades and swish it over every couple of days.

I used to be prone to these- Phillips Lumea got rid of most of them, I also find using a chemical exfoliant helps to slough away dead skin cells and get the hair out of the skin sooner/easier.

Thank you everyone for your replies.

those of you who shave - do you use shaving gel?

those who recommend laser/lumea/electrolysis - do you have to let the hairs grow first? I don’t know if I could do that.