Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Folliculitis, is inflammation of one or more hair follicles. The condition may occur anywhere on the skin. Table of contents 1 Causes 2 Symptoms 3 External link Causes Folliculitis starts when hair follicles are damaged by friction from clothing, blockage of the follicle, or shaving. In most cases of folliculitis, the damaged follicles are then infected with the bacteria Staphylococcus (staph). Barber's itch is a staph infection of the hair follicles in the bearded area of the face, usually the upper lip. Shaving aggravates the condition. Tinea barbae is similar to barber's itch, but the infection is caused by a fungus. Pseudofolliculitis barbae is a disorder occurring primarily in Black men. If curly beard hairs are cut too short, they may curve back into the skin and cause inflammation. Symptoms rash (reddened skin area) pimples or pustules located around a hair follicle may crust over typically occur on neck axilla, or groin area may present as genital lesions itching skin External link http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000823.htm This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.