Unwanted Facial Hair

We have about 5 million hairs on our body. Many post-menopausal women will swear that half of them have sprouted on their faces! These unwanted hairs are just one more curse we baby boomers face as we age.

Women view their face as an important part of their self image and unwanted facial hair growth can be very upsetting. Unwanted facial hair in women is a common problem. Facial hair usually begins to appear during puberty and becomes more prolific from the age of 35+. In older women it can become a problem as their formerly light-colored soft hair becomes coarser and darker and then, eventually, becomes very stiff, gray or white. The main areas for this hair growth is on the lip, chin, jaw, cheeks and neck areas.

Although this condition is a common problem of many women, it is seldom discussed in the primary care setting. Physicians generally neglect to address the problem unless the patient herself requests help. Many women are embarrassed and hesitate to discuss this with their doctors.

Sometimes, underlying medical conditions may be the cause of the hair growth. Unwanted facial hair can be caused by androgen and testosterone overproduction, increased sensitivity to circulating androgens, and other metabolic and endocrine disorders. Sometimes certain medications can cause increased hair growth.

Most times, however, unwanted hair growth in older women is a normal condition that comes with aging. It is very common for women to have an increased growth of hair on the face just before and after menopause. This type of hair growth is due to decreased estrogens. Sometimes it's because of genetics and is passed down through generations. As the hairs become coarser and whiter, they are harder to see and many times go unnoticed. This can become an embarrassing problem.

Treatment options for removing excess facial hair are limited and can vary in effectiveness, degree of discomfort and cost. All have some adverse side effects. Here are several methods of removing unwanted facial hair: