Unwanted Facial Hair (Woman)

LegacyUser

hi Guys

I have a really embarressing problem and i would really like some advice if anyone knows what todo im at my wits end

im a 24 year old girl and for the past 2 years ive been shaving my face i know most of you will think this is sick but i really thought at the time i had no other option . before i started doing this i tried everything hair removal creams plucking bleaching nothing would work so in the end this felt like the only option as i was too embarresed to got to a salon or the doctor now though after 2 years of shaving (i have to do it everyday and by night time i have stubble) its out of control i have to wear heavy make up everyday i wont let anyone near my face i can bearly hug people without getting paronoid its starting to affect my social and personal life and i feel like i have no one to turn to what can i do ive heard of laser hair removal but would i have to let the hair grow to have this done also how long would it take(i cant go to work with a beard!) also the thoughts of going to a salon where there all so pretty and perfect with my problem makes me feel physcally ill

does anyone know of any ways or good salons where they would be sympathethic to my situation?

Thanks guys

tinkerbell

There was a thread on this a few days and someone had posted this link:

Laser Hair Removal

Maybe check that? Rates are apparantly very steep though.

G'luck!

Sleepy

Maybe a trip to the doctor wouldn't be a bad idea? It's probably just a minor hormonal imbalance or something like that. Remember, however embaressing a problem is to you, your doctor has probably seen it a million times before!

Beruthiel

Originally posted by feeling alone
hiive heard of laser hair removal but would i have to let the hair grow to have this done also how long would it take(i cant go to work with a beard!)

I have no idea how exactly laser removal works, as in how long the hair has to be, but if it needs to be a certain length, take the friday and monday off (if you work office hours) then take yourself off to a salon on monday, should be long enough by then. Do not worry about what they think, they've seen a lot worse let me tell you and as they're strangers you need never go back to them if it bothers you that much. Problem solved.
btw
there are very few 'perfect' people in existance, if at all

parker larkin

First up, go to a doctor. You probably have a hormonal imbalance. Apparently over one in ten Irish women have polycystic ovary syndrome (pos) and most don't know it.
Doc will prob recommend tests and going on the pill - if he/she doesn't you are going to have to find a more sympathetic doctor.
Then I reckon waxing is probably the best solution, go to the salon, they see all sorts (rem one in ten women have pos) and won't be mean or anything. It is their job to be helpful.
You can't live like this any more, something's gonna give and I fear it is your mental well being. it will be okay, you're working, you can do the doc/salon thing, and you can look into laser stuff at your leisure. it will get better

Let us know how you fare doll

LegacyUser

My gf gets the laser treatment, works a treat for her. You should check it out.

PsyChick

Hi there,
There are permanent hair removal techniques done only by dermatologists in cases where there's a medical problem. So, like the other posters I'd say go to a doctor. If it would help, you can call the IMO and ask for the name of a female doctor in your area (if it would help)

Best of luck!

LegacyUser

Originally posted by parker larkin
First up, go to a doctor. You probably have a hormonal imbalance. Apparently over one in ten Irish women have polycystic ovary syndrome (pos) and most don't know it.

Yes PCOS is very common. Not all sufferers have excess hair but it is often a symptom of the syndrome.

Of course there may be some other medical reason for the hair, or there may be no underlying cause at all. Best to go to your doctor though. Don't worry it's something they see all the time.

If it is PCOS your doctor may recommend a version of the combined pill called Dianette. If you also have acne you should see an improvement after a few weeks on this, but it may take a few months to see a reduction in the excess hair.

RE*AC*TOR

Waxing should be a better solution - probably have to leave it grow a little first. Shaving's a bad idea - because of stuble. Shaving cuts the hairs at the base (at their thickest) - hence the stuble. Waxing will pull them out completely - so they should grow back finer.

You should have no need to be worried about going to a salon. Its a common problemn which I'm sure they encounter every day - and probably have had personal experience with.

Be cool. But no more shaving... it'll be fine .

Victor

Just show more cleavage

Karl Hungus

You could grow it out, and get a boyfriend who's got a thing for women with 'taches'...

RE*AC*TOR

Originally posted by Karl Hungus
You could grow it out, and get a boyfriend who's got a thing for women with 'taches'...

dude, that's harsh :eek:

Barbie_666

Originally posted by Karl Hungus
You could grow it out, and get a boyfriend who's got a thing for women with 'taches'...

a$$hole, act ur age...

Karl Hungus

Jesus, calm the **** down... It's only a joke.

And it's hardly any worse than Victor's comment of "Show More Cleavage" now is it?

Gordon

That's debatable, but both comments were rather unhelpful.

Good luck with finding the solution - feeling alone.

LegacyUser

Dear Feeling Alone,

I too have the same problem. I noticed it a couple of years ago and went through exactly what you're going to. I decided that I was going to eliminate the problem this year.

I went to an electrolysist, and had one treatment. I found it extremely painful. We had a chat about my options, and she recomended laser treatment (she said it would be ideal, as I have fair skin and the hairs were dark).

I looked into it, but realised that it wasn't right for me. I was put off laser treatment by two things. First of all, you have to let the hair grow out a bit... as I didn't fancy sitting indoors for a week or two while this happened, I ruled it out. Secondly, I thought it was just reeeeeealy expensive and I just couldn't afford it.

So, I went to the doctor. It was mortifying, humiliating and I was really embarrassed. I kept on telling myself that there was nothing to be ashamed of, as the doctor is a professional, and isn't going to judge me or be mean about it.

He said that it looked like I had a slight hormonal imbalance and it is VERY COMMON.
I was a bit worried about it because I had just read an article in a Magazine about a syndrome called PCOS - Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Teeny tiny follicles grow on the ovaries and androgens are produced.. causing acne, weight gain and excess hair (not only on the face).

He prescribed Dianette, the birth control pill for me, for six months. This particular pill is designed to control the excess hair problem, along with acne. Both are results of too many androgens in your system.

He said that after the 6 months we'll re-evaluate everythign. If nothing has changed,he'll send me off for tests to see if I have PCOS.

I hope I haven't scared you in any of this, I don't want to do that at all. It is a very embarrassing condition to have, but the tweezing/waxing don't address the underlying problem, it took me so long to realise that.

I've only been on the pill a couple of months, and while the hair problem hasn't been totally elimated, it is GETTING BETTER. The doctor said that it was quite probable that I wouldn't see a huge difference for at least 4-5 months. My skin has cleared up too (I always thought that I was having skin flare-ups due to plucking/waxing/Immac etc but no, it was acne).

Bottom line - you should consider going to the doctor, I felt so much better for doing this.

LegacyUser

hey,
what your suffering from is classified as Hirsuitism, also known as male type body hair pattern.

as people have pointed out this COULD be because of PCOS but not necessarily so, it could also be some other thing causing hormone imbalance in your body.

In any case a trip to the doctor's is well worth it before you make any decisions.

I'd like to point out that if it IS pcos, you might also be suffering from other symptoms like..

obesity
no periods or less periods
acne
infertility (anovulatory)

alternatively hirsuitism can also be caused by Anorexia (are you too thin?) or hypothyroidism..

so as I said, a trip to the doctor is well worth it just to see what might be causing your problems

LegacyUser

Thanks for your replys everybody im gonna go to a salon for a consultation(although the thoughts make me feel ill) and then i'll head to the Doc its really a relief knowing im not alone and there are people who go through this

Im really grateful for your replys thanks so much xx

LegacyUser

Hang in there did you shave also ?

see thats what im so embarressed about and going to a salon with stubble thats like a bloke is a really embaressing thought im just afraid that they wont of seen facial hair so bad on a girl and will laugh i know im prob being paronoid but the thoughts of it makes me feel ill

im deffo going to go to the doctor though:(

LegacyUser

Originally I used creams like Immac, but yeah, I shaved for about a year, I'd say. Then I started tweezing/waxing. This way the skin is bare for at least a week at a time (although I want to go into hiding when it starts to show again).

Bottom line is this - if you go to a salon, you are going to be dealing with a professional. Not only will they have recieved training in dealing with different skin problems, but they will have got training on how to be sympathetic/non-judgemental too. I really really don't think that they'll laugh. More fool them if they do - they'll be losing a potential client, not to mention all the potential clients you'd put off them by badmouthing their bad service and unprofessionalism!

And I hope that this doesn't sound provocative, but I think it'd take a lot to shock. Did you ever watch "The Salon" when it was on Channel 4? I think the prospect of a few hairs on a chin is a lot less daunting than having to wax someone's nether regions

Maybe if you ring the salon first and explain that you'd like to go in and chat about things and that you're really a bit nervous and embarrased about it .. that might put your mind at ease.

Best of luck to you, please keep posting about your experiences. It's good to know that there's someone else going through the same thing too.

bealtaine

I've been through it all.
Not letting anyone near you in case they feel stubble, keeping your head down so they don't see hairs on your face etc, constantly wearing polonecks - its an awful, awful feeling and due to stupid comments as posted earlier it only serves to isolate you more.

Before you get laser treatment, a word of warning......... I had professional laser treatment and there was no change, the last treatment I had - the reaction of my skin was so severe that my entire face and neck region got infected and the entire skin lifted off and became infected underneath - had to lock myself away for several days. The area became so badly enflamed and infected that I couldn't touch the area or the skin would break underneath. Needless to say I never went back. Luckily I didn't scar.

Some years later I tried a new type of laser treatment in a salon but I wouldn't recommend that either as the treatment was carried out by a teenager - who could not have had the training necessary to carry this out.

If you check out any US sites on the subject you will see that a lot of US laser clinics are closing down due to multiple legal cases in relation to the treatments not working and severe scarring in the treated areas.

Tried the Dianette too but with no results.
Had the scans for polysystic ovaries but they were clear - thank God.
Remember getting up the courage once to go a doctor - male - who told me why should I be bothered about shaving twice a day didn't men have to do it - I left in tears and feeling like even more of a freak.

I now am receiving electrolysis and yes the pain is bad even with local anaesthetic creams, its a slow process but I am beginning to see results.

My heart goes out to you as its such an isolating condition, I hear friends giving out about having one stray hair growing on their chin and I just cringe - the day I only have one stray hair on my chin will be a day of major celebration.

LegacyUser

Originally posted by bealtaine
Tried the Dianette too but with no results.
Had the scans for polysystic ovaries but they were clear - thank God.
Remember getting up the courage once to go a doctor - male - who told me why should I be bothered about shaving twice a day didn't men have to do it - I left in tears and feeling like even more of a freak.

That was completely unprofessional and disgraceful. :mad:

I'd strongly urge you to go to another doctor, few are as ignorant as that. There are other rare conditions that may cause the hair and you need to rule these out if this hasn't already been done. Don't worry about this though as it's unlikely that you have them.

I presume the scan you mention was an ultrasound. Did you have blood tests as well and did they show any abnormalities? If so you may need to see an endocrinologist who will have more expertise than your GP. If you have excess androgens they may recommend stronger anti-androgen drugs than Dianette.

It took Dianette a long time to work for me. There was some improvement after about four months but it took several years for the excess body hair to vanish completely. They excess facial hair never fully disappeared but it is now very light, colourless and easily controlled by waxing.

Even if there is no underlying cause it might be a good idea ask your GP to refer you to a dermatologist.

LegacyUser

Originally posted by hirsuitism
I'd like to point out that if it IS pcos, you might also be suffering from other symptoms like..

obesity
no periods or less periods
acne
infertility (anovulatory)

The thing about PCOS is that not all women have the 'typical' symptoms. It is possible to have the condition and be of normal weight or without acne. I had a normal cycle but hellish periods. I know women with the condition who bleed almost constantly and some who rarely do so.

I also would not rely on any of the 'self diagnosis' quizzes on the net. Most of these suggest that I don't have PCOS and I most certainly do. They also list a number of symptoms that not all women with PCOS suffer from and this can be very alarming for someone who thinks she might have the condition and is worried that she might develop them.

There are a lot of support groups for this on the net but most deal with infertility and I personally find them pretty depressing places. Having the condition does not necessarily mean that you won't be able to conceive-every woman is different.

LegacyUser

Beruthiel wrote:

I have no idea how exactly laser removal works, as in how long the hair has to be, but if it needs to be a certain length, take the friday and monday off (if you work office hours) then take yourself off to a salon on monday, should be long enough by then. Do not worry about what they think, they've seen a lot worse let me tell you and as they're strangers you need never go back to them if it bothers you that much. Problem solved.
btw
there are very few 'perfect' people in existance, if at all

hi i got laser treatment done before and i did it for 4 years and it made my facial hair worse. it cost me lots of money. everyone is different. im just letting you know about me.