White Spots on Bikini Area

Hello,

I am an black female with a medium brown skin-tone.  I began waxing and shaving my bikini area a few years ago and have since had numerous issues with hyperpigmentation and ingrown hairs.  I understand this condition to be psuedofolliculitis pubis, correct?

Many of the ingrown hairs seem to work themselves out while some remain deeply embedded in the skin.  For those hairs, I use a tweezer to try to get the hair out which produces what I think is scarring.  It looks like white spots, not bumps.  I also have smaller white spots that I get just from shaving or waxing, that appear at the hair follicle.  The spots are clearly unsightly.  I was hoping you would be able to tell me first, what you believe this particular condition to be (the white spots), second, if you believe that they will ever go away and my skin will even out, and third, how I can expedite the process if I have a chance of them going away?  I know that laser surgery and some topical retinoid creams would help the discoloration, correct?  But since the white spots indicate, to me at least, a lack of pigmentation, I wasn't sure if that approach would be the correct solution.  What do you suggest?

Hoping for some good news...

Thanks for your consideration.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
For such white spots after trauma, creams like  Elidel cream or Protropic can be used on these hypopigmented  areas but at such a young age it is not advisable to use them . If the symptoms still persist then  you can talk to your dermatologist about laser-assisted chemabrasion(LACA).

I suggest you to get it evaluated from a dermatologist. I hope it helps. Take care and regards.