In our culture, female facial hair doesn’t get the best press. With the exception of cases like Frida Kahlo, most women prefer to remove this facial hair because of the discomfort it sometimes causes and, why not say it, for aesthetic reasons.
Some women have very little facial hair, being almost imperceptible to the eye. However, there are other women who tend to have more hair on their face. In some cases, the amount of hair can be a cosmetic problem and have a pathological cause.
Facial hair in women has a hormonal cause.. It is due to a disorder that causes uncontrolled growth of facial hair. This becomes a problem when it starts to affect self-confidence, and when you try to keep it under control without succeeding.
Coarse facial hair in women is uncommon, especially if it appears in excess, if it is thick and covers a large area of the face. This condition has a name: hirsutism, and today we explain what causes it and what to do to keep it under control.
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Facial hair in women: what to do?
It is called hirsutism to the abnormal growth of facial hair in a woman.. Although to a greater or lesser extent all women have hair in different areas of the body including the face, it is considered a disorder when it grows in an uncontrolled manner with a male pattern.
When suffering from hirsutism, the uncontrolled growth on the face has masculine characteristics, i.e. in the beard, mustache and sideburns, although it also tends to grow on the back and chest. The good news is that there is a solution to remove facial hair in women.
Why does facial hair grow on women? Causes
High levels of androgens in the body are the cause of hirsutism.. The onset of puberty in women is accompanied by strong and far-reaching hormonal changes. These govern virtually the entire process of transformation that takes place in the body.
Around the age of 12, when puberty begins, the ovaries begin to produce these types of hormones, which are both female and male, although obviously the female hormones predominate and are responsible for the characteristic changes of the biological sex, but the presence of male hormones also plays a relevant role.
Female and male hormones
Estrogens and progesterone are the female hormones that during puberty begin to become relevant, producing breast growth and the beginning of the ovulation process.
On the other hand, androgens are the male hormones that are also present in the female body and have a relevant role in the development of the female body. A normal process maintains a proper balance allowing a greater relevance of female hormones against androgens.
This hormone production that occurs during puberty causes hair growth in the armpits and pubic area. This is normal and expected during this process. In the case of men, the production of androgens causes the appearance of beards, mustaches and hair on the chest and back.
If during the production of hormones in the female body androgens begin to appear in greater quantity and surpass the female hormones, hirsutism occurs, giving way to the appearance of facial hair in the beard and mustache area, and in many cases hair also appears on the chest and back.
This hormonal imbalance responds to many factors and although it may occur from the onset of pubertyIt is common that throughout reproductive life there are different factors that provoke the appearance of this hormonal imbalance.
Factors that alter the production of hormones
The most frequent factors that alter hormonal functions are: polycystic ovary, cushing’s syndrome, congenital adrenal hyperplasia and some medications used to treat endometriosis and depression. Although it is not uncommon for hirsutism to appear spontaneously without an apparent cause.
However, these conditions could also be a consequence of hirsutism, that is, these conditions are linked and can be cause or effect. It is common for painful menstruation, acne, seborrhea and even baldness to occur with this disorder.
Causes of hirsutism
The risk factors that could favor the uncontrolled appearance of facial hair in women are genetic inheritance, ancestry and obesity, since excess weight causes hormonal imbalances very easily and frequently. This disorder could occur as a consequence of a considerable weight gain..
Because the symptoms are very obvious, it does not require extensive or invasive studies to determine that the appearance of facial hair in women is hirsutism. The physician’s observation and analysis of the clinical history will suffice to specify the treatment to be followed.
How to remove female facial hair?
There are two ways to treat hirsutism: internal and external. Since the cause of this disorder is hormonal, the first measure to be considered to eliminate this condition is to treat the source of the problem.
1. Drug treatment
For this reason, pharmacological treatment is necessary to eliminate female facial hair. The medical specialist may suggest a hormonal treatment to block the presence of androgens in the patient’s body..
In this way, the other ailments that normally accompany this disorder will be considerably reduced.
2. External treatments
On the other hand, there are external alternatives to attack the problem of uncontrolled facial hair growth in women. Topical creams can be used to inhibit or block the excessive growth of this unpleasant facial hair.
An effective solution to remove facial hair is through permanent hair removal. In addition to hormonal drug treatment, hair removal is the most viable option to get rid of this problem for good. These methods are safe and should be performed by professionals in a beauty salon.
Although there are several practical and economical hair removal methods, it is recommended to opt for a permanent hair removal treatment.. This is mainly because traditional methods of hair removal do not destroy the root so the hair will continue to grow and in many cases appear thicker and therefore more visible.
For this reason it is necessary to resort to a definitive hair removal method. Any of these techniques aim to destroy the follicle where the hair grows, so that after several sessions it will have disappeared completely and permanently.
There are three most popular methods of permanent hair removal: laser hair removal, electrolysis, pulsed light and thermochemical. The choice of the type of hair removal will depend primarily on the type of skin, as well as the cost and resistance to pain. Any of these methods are effective and on average require between 6 and 8 sessions to remove facial hair permanently.
Facial skin is usually thinner than the rest of the body, so it is important to choose the most appropriate method for the type of skin, because these processes can cause mild burns on very sensitive skin. In a professional beauty center they will be able to guide you about the best alternative according to what each person requires.