Pseudofolliculitis of the beard.

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