Why am I getting hair in unwanted places, like my chin, lip, and nipples? What do I do to make it go away?

Growing old gracefully- I love that saying! Bullshit! How can you be graceful with unwanted hair growing out of places you’d rather not talk about. Growing old means you have more “Body Maintenance”. These hairs seem to pop out over night, embarrassing many women. Well, except those who don’t seem to mind walking around with a full stache. Makes me wonder if they have a close friend. I know my bff would drag me in the bathroom and just start plucking!

Remember when:

• You used moisturizer because you loved the scent, your skin was always soft so it didn’t matter if you skipped a day or night.
• You waxed your eyebrows to get rid of those three stray hairs
• You exercised because you liked the workout clothes and wanted to look like Olivia Newton John
• You colored your hair because you wanted highlights
• You bought bras because they were pretty
• The list goes on and on……

Ok let’s get back to the unwanted chin, lip, and nipple hair. This usually starts to happen when women reach their 30’s or 40’s, however it can happen earlier.

Fact:

When you have any changes in your body you should always tell your primary care physician, no matter how embarrassing. Although it’s probably due to “getting older” you always want to make sure it’s not something else causing it.

There are many reasons why hair will grow on chins, lip, nipples, and other areas. Going through perimenopause or menopause can increase the growth of hair due to hormones ( estrogen, testosterone and progesterone) out of balance. Insulin resistance (Syndrome X) could also cause unwanted hair, due to diet. Heredity, medicines, and illnesses are other causes.

Get rid of it!

There are many ways to get rid of it temporarily and permanently depending how much hair you have and how much time and money you can spend on the removal process.

• Tweezing- This is effective if you have a few here and there. You’ll need to do this as needed, usually once a week. Keep it pain free by pulling the skin taunt.
• Shaving- The hair will be gone but I wouldn’t suggest this. You’re just cutting the hair to skin level and it only lasts a couple days.
• Waxing- This is effective no matter how much hair you have and it can last 3-6 weeks. It shouldn’t hurt if they do it correctly.
• Laser- Multiple treatments may be needed due to the stages of hair growth. This will help reduce the amount of tweezing or waxing needed. A laser light goes through the skin targeting the hair follicle, damaging it, slowing down hair growth. The hair will start to fall out 10-14 days later. It’s not guaranteed and multiple sessions can be required. It’s most effective for people who have light skin and dark hair so not everyone is a candidate for this.
• Electrolysis- A needle-like probe is inserted into the hair follicle applying an electric current to destroy the root of the hair. The hair is then removed with tweezers. More than one session will be needed but this usually has the best results.

I wish I could tell you about a pain free no cost method, but I can’t. Unless you want to look like your father, you will do one of the above. It’s one of those things we have to deal with as women.

One more thing to think about- Do you have a pact with a best friend or someone that if you should ever be unable to do this for yourself (coma, etc) they will make sure to keep you hair free!! This is important stuff!

 

What is your biggest hair concern?