Pseudofolliculitis of the Beard

Abstract

It is remarkable that since Dubreuilh's¹original report there has been so little investigative study of this exceedingly common disorder; not even a name has been agreed upon. Among the terms used by previous writers are pili incarnati,²folliculitis barbae traumatica,³and chronic scarring pseudofolliculitis of the Negro beard,⁴but in common dermatological parlance it is probably oftenest referred to as chronic sycosis barbae, a designation which is both inaccurate and misleading. "Pseudofolliculitis of the beard" seems an apt name and will be used henceforth in this paper. The disease is usually considered to be peculiar to the Negro, and in fact in its severe forms it is essentially restricted to this race (Fig. 1A). It is rare in Caucasians and usually far less severe, sometimes with only a few scattered lesions. The characteristic lesions are erythematous firm papules and