How to Get Rid of an Ingrown Hair On Your Penis

Most guys have had an ingrown hair at one time or another. Those pesky, painful razor bumps you get after shaving can develop into pus-filled minor horrors until they finally go away. But what if it pops up in a bad spot? How do you get rid of an ingrown hair on your penis?

But with men's genital grooming continuing to grow in popularity, the possibility of finding yourself with an ingrown hair on your penis is more conceivable than ever.

Most guys who get an unlucky bump on their penis or testicles after "manscaping" usually have nothing to worry about.

This situation might seem like a minor annoyance in the same way an ingrown hair anywhere else on the body would. For some people, however, certain conditions can turn a seemingly simple problem into a potentially dangerous one that should not be ignored.

What is an ingrown hair?

An ingrown hair is just that: a hair that's been removed and grows back but curves into the skin. It can happen with hairs that have been waxed, shaved or plucked.

The result of the hair growing back into the skin can be irritation and bumps, or even a kind of pustule that resembles a pimple.

But if you get an ingrown hair on your penis shaft or scrotum, so what? Sure, that's unfortunate, and it's a tender, painful area. But you just have to tough it out, right?

Well, yes and no.

"An ingrown hair would likely be from someone shaving their penis or testicles," said Amy Pearlman, M.D., the director of men's health at the Carver College of Medicine at University of Iowa Health Care.

It can be treated like an ingrown hair that occurs anywhere on the body, she added. The person could treat it through exfoliation.

"But a big thing is if it becomes infected and is not getting better and continues to get more swollen, and if there's any fevers or any chills, that can develop into a necrotizing, deadly genital infection," Pearlman concluded.

Yes, you read that right: "necrotizing, deadly genital infection."

How do I get rid of an ingrown hair on my penis?

But there's no need to panic and throw out your men's grooming kit. Just note that if you have other health concerns, such as obesity or diabetes, you could be at a higher risk of developing a more serious condition.

"It can start as a pimple," said Neel Parekh, M.D., a men's fertility and sexual health specialist with Cleveland Clinic. "But if you're a diabetic, that puts you at higher risk for that infection to spread, and that puts you at risk for Fournier's gangrene, which is a necrotizing infection of the scrotum. That's in pretty unhealthy patients, but if there's any kind of infection, it's best not to ignore it."

Fournier's gangrene is one of those rare but nightmare-inducing conditions you can't unsee. Trust us. We looked so you don't have to. 

It's classified as a necrotizing fasciitis—flesh-eating disease—that primarily affects the scrotum, penis or perineum, the area between the anus and genitals. It develops quickly and can be life-threatening.

And, yes, it can stem from something as seemingly benign as an ingrown hair if the conditions are right.

"Especially for people who are obese and have diabetes, they are not going to self-resolve that as well as some other people," Pearlman said. "So they definitely need to keep an eye on it. If it doesn't get better and there's any other concerning infection symptoms, they need to get seen for that."

What are the risk factors of an ingrown hair on your penis?

Obesity plays a double role in increasing the risk of an ingrown hair on the penis developing into something more serious. One aspect is that obese people are at higher risk for diabetes, which causes poor blood flow and nerve damage. Poor blood flow means infections heal poorly, and nerve damage means the person might not even feel the initial sore spot before it's dangerously infected.

"It may have started with an ingrown hair that they just may not have noticed that it was getting worse because, say, they can't really examine there because of their body habitus. Or they kind of just don't go in to see anyone," Pearlman said. "Obesity and diabetes are going to be the big risk factors for a bad infection in those scenarios. They might have issues with hygiene or have difficulty knowing what's swelling and what's just excess tissue."

The bottom line

Fournier's gangrene is pretty rare. According to Cleveland Clinic, it affects about 1.6 out of every 100,000 males.

Anyone with risk factors should be aware of how grave it can be if an ingrown hair on the penis gets infected. In addition to diabetes and obesity, risk factors include alcohol use disorder, cardiovascular disorders, cirrhosis, HIV, high blood pressure and kidney failure.

Don't hesitate to see your healthcare provider if anything troubles you or is painful around your genitals. It's not always easy for men to seek help, especially for something as personal and sensitive as penile issues. Plus, not everyone has a healthcare professional they see regularly.

Video visits have become a viable option for many people, and more physicians have added them as a service. Giddy telehealth makes it easy to get connected to a qualified healthcare professional who can help with a variety of conditions. Many of them offer same-day appointments and competitive rates.

Most guys who get an unlucky bump on their penis or testicles after "manscaping" usually have nothing to worry about.

"Typically, they're not painful, and they're not an STD or anything," Parekh said. "Sometimes they'll drain on their own, sometimes they'll get larger, but you still don't usually need to do anything about it."