Facial hair can be an ongoing, embarassing problem as we begin to age.
Facial hair on the chin, above the upper lip, darkened or thickened “sideburns”, chest or breast hair, and hair on the abdomen can all be sources of surprise for aging women.
The fact is that skin hair has been growing in those areas all along, even on a woman’s face.
However, prior to the onset of puberty,facial hair is much more delicate or “fine”, and is characterized by a type of hair called “vellus”.
It isn’t until later that the hair becomes a different type known as “terminal”.
Terminal hair is coarser, darker, thicker than vellus.
An exception to this sequence of hair development is the case of women whose genetics and heredity dictate that they have more skin hair, or a type of skin hair that appears more prevalent than most, from the very outset of development.
The appearance of darker, coarser or increased skin hair is often simply the result of the aging process.
As a woman’s body matures, nears and enters menopause, skin hair can increase and its appearance become more prevalent as a result of natural hormonal changes.
In other cases, increased skin hair may be a sign of a condition known as “hirsutism”. However the condition is usually accompanied by additional symptoms including increased baldness, menstruation cessation and voice deepening.
Removing Facial Hair in Women
Over the years, there have been various methods for combating unwanted skin hair including shaving, tweezing, waxing, hormone treatments, electrolysis and laser treatments.
There is an old myth or “wives tale” that continues to be promoted which states that shaving unwanted hair causes the hair to grow back thicker, darker and coarser.
It’s not true. What actually happens is that razor shaving causes the shaved hair tip to be cut off bluntly. Consequently, the blunt hair end, as opposed to a fine end, appears larger, coarser and/or darker.
Tweezing and waxing can be their own forms of minor torture, and laser treatments are costly and must be used with caution.
Women with darker skin pigments can experience “blotching” of skin tones as a result of laser treatments.
Electrolysis is the only permanent form of hair removal, but it can be costly as well, and is often described as a painful process.
For women who experience minimal skin hair growth, the use of natural progesterone can help.
Unlike other hormonal treatments, natural progesterone is not manufactured synthetically. It restores progesterone to the body, with the very same chemical makeup of the hormone that the body produces naturally.
By restoring the natural hormonal balance of oestrogens and progesterone in the body, especially post-menopausal, facial hair can actually decrease and become less noticeable again.
Discover more detail about progesterone therapy.