Here is how I Dealt with Hirsutism

I was particularly very excited about learning swimming during my early teens and got enrolled into classes nearby.  Though it was an all-female batch, I still felt conscious getting into my swimming suit. This was not because I was shy but because I had more hair than usual on my body. All thanks to my genes, my mother also had visible hair, but mine were even coarse and gross. 

Besides swimming, I avoided illuminated mirror that tend to make even a tiniest of hair more evident. Hair were all over my body and face. To add to this, was my peculiar unibrow which made me look pricklier and gross. At the age 15, I feel decided to get rid of my unibrow but that was not all. The facial fibers were so evident that I wanted to undergo laser which my parents were strictly against. 

Understanding Hirsutism

Mostly we blame our genes for having unwanted traits and characteristics like excess hair. However, this is not true in every situation. Similar was the case with me. I thought that having hair throughout the body was mainly because of acquiring genes from my mother which was not the case. I finally decided to visit a dermatologist to get to the root cause and how can I get rid of this. 

Though all women have hair, understanding the difference between facial and body hair texture is necessary to know the underlying cause. If the texture of the hair on chest, back, waist, face and neck are dark and coarse then this growth pattern is called Hirsutism. On the other hand, if the growth pattern of hair is on particular area such as face or lower abdomen then it could be because of Hypertrichosis. Hypertrichosis is mainly dependent on male hormone androgens to cause such growth patterns. 

I was affected by Hirsutism. According to the dermatologist, about 5 to 10 per cent women affected by hirsutism.

How to deal with excess hair

Below are some of the ways to deal with unwanted and excess hair.

Hormonal Balance: Imbalance of hormones in our system is often the cause of excess hair growth. To balance the hormones, maintaining body weight is required. In case, you are obese then it can disturb the way hormones are produced in the body. 

Another factor that can disturb the hormone release in the body is irregular menstruation. Changes in menstruation or delayed period is also the cause of hormone imbalance. This in turn is due to poly cystic ovarian syndrome.

Medicated Creams

Apart from managing hormones, doctors also prescribe creams called eflornithine which help in softening the texture of hair. Though these cream work slowly but are effective in reducing the hair growth.

Other Hair Removal Alternative

Waxing and Shaving: Waxing and Shaving are harmless ways to get rid of excess hair on the body. These are cheap and provide instance relief to unwanted hair. Women often choose these options for body, legs, arms and bikini waxing.

Laser removal: Laser is also getting prominent these days as this method is effective in reducing hair growth for a long period of time as compared to waxing and shaving. Through this concentrated laser lights burn the hair follicles thus reducing the formation of hair. This alternative provides a permanent solution for hair growth. 

Other Medications

Apart from Hirsutism, other disorders like adrenal gland disorder require life-long treatments which involve taking medications as prescribed by the physician. Ovarian cysts are also responsible for causing unwanted hair growth. Birth control pills with both the progesterone and estrogen stimulating hormones can help in reducing the cyst thus reducing hair growth.