Excess unwanted hair which grows on a woman’s body and face is as a result of a condition known as hirsutism. Every woman has body and facial hair which is usually very fine and light in color, but some women have excess hair which is usually strong. A significant difference between the typical hair on a woman's face and body which is referred to as peach fuzz and the excess hair caused by hirsutism is just the texture. The excess unwanted hair which grows on a woman’s face, back, chin, arm or chest is usually dark and very much coarse. The way in which hair grows for hirsutism in women is closely connected to virilization (women with this condition have features that are mostly associated with the male hormones.)
Let's not confuse it, hirsutism is very much different from hypertrichosis, which are excess hair in areas that are not dependent on the male hormones (androgens). Hirsutism on the on one hand is excess hair in areas where it is mostly seen in men, such as the face or even the lower abdomen. Hypertrichosis, on its own would bring about an increase in hair on anywhere on the body.
According to the Indian Journal of Dermatology,
Hirsutism affects between five (5) and ten (10) percent of women. It tends to run in families, so you may be more likely to have unwanted hair growth if your mother, sister, or other female relative also has it. Women of Mediterranean, South Asian, and Middle Eastern heritage are also more likely to develop the condition.
Excess facial or body hair could lead to feelings of self-consciousness in women, but it isn’t dangerous. Although, the hormonal imbalance which leads to the condition might actually have an effect on a woman’s general health. But what could be the underlying factors which bring about these condition. The presence of higher-than-normal levels of androgens is responsible for women developing excessive facial or body hair, and these includes testosterone. The body of every woman produce androgens, but the levels are low. However, some medical conditions could make a woman to produce a high level of androgens which could bring about a male-patterned hair growth and other male features such as a deep voice. Let's take a look at one of these conditions.
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a very common cause of hirsutism. As its responsible for exactly three out of every four cases of hirsutism. The benign cysts which develops on the ovaries could somehow affect hormone production, thus this would lead to an irregular menstrual cycles and decreased fertility. According to the Office of Women’s Health:
women with PCOS often have moderate-to-severe acne and tend to be overweight.
Some of the symptoms includes the following:
- Mood changes
- Pelvic pain
- Infertility
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Sleep problems
- Adrenal gland disorders
Also some other forms of hormonal imbalance which causes excessive hair growth include these adrenal gland disorders:
- Adrenal tumors
- Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
- Cushing’s disease
- Adrenal cancer
The adrenal glands which is positioned just immediately above the kidneys, are responsible for hormone production. Persons with congenital adrenal hyperplasia are given birth to without the enzyme necessary for the production of hormones while those with Cushing’s disease have a very high than normal levels of cortisol, which is the stress hormone. These conditions affects the way one's body produces androgens. The presence of excess facial or body hair however, could be as a result of taking any of the underlisted medications:
Minoxidil - This is used for the stimulation of hair growth
Testosterone - This is taken in rare cases of deficiency in testosterone
Anabolic steroids - This is a synthetic variations of testosterone
Cyclosporine - This is an immuno-suppressant drug which is usually used before undergoing an organ transplants
In some cases, women may experience idiopathic hirsutism, which means that there is no detectable reason why the hirsutism developed.
In addition to it been usually chronic, it is also harder to treat.
So is there a way to go about these hair defect, any treatment available?!.
Well, let's find out.
An individual might require medical treatment if excess hair growth happens to be a symptom of polycystic ovarian syndrome or adrenal disorders. Thus antiandrogen medications and drug therapy in the form of birth control pills could help balance your hormone levels. The following would also be of great help:
Anti-androgen medications such as steroidal androgens and nonsteroidal (or pure) antiandrogens could help by blocking androgen receptors thereby reducing the amount of androgen production from the adrenal glands, ovaries, and pituitary glands.
Combination of birth control pills which have both progesterone and estrogen would help by shrinking the cysts from polycystic ovarian syndrome The estrogen would also help reduce excess hair. Although these drugs are usually meant for a long-term solution to hirsutism, you'd most likely notice improvement after about three to six months of drug therapy.
By using cream, for this, you might have to consult with your doctor to prescribe the cream eflornithine to reduce the growth of facial hair. Your facial hair growth would become slow after one to two months of usage. However the side effects of eflornithine would include skin rash and irritation.
Laser hair removal involves the use of concentrated light rays to damage hair follicles since follicles that are damaged can not produce hair any more, the hair that's present would fall out. Thus with a sufficient amount of treatments, the removal of hair with later would actually provide permanent or near-permanent results.
Electrolysis is the removal of hair using an electric current. It treats each hair follicle individually, so the sessions could take really longer.
Hair removal are non-medical methods of managing excess or unwanted hair.
We appreciate your efforts for making this educative health post.
Upvoted and slated for Air-Curie feature.Hey @Gidionline,
Hello! I find your post valuable for the wafrica community! Thanks for the great post! @wafrica is now following you! ALWAYs follow @wafrica and use the wafrica tag!
DO NOT FOLLOW any instruction and DO NOT CLICK on any link in the comment!
For more information, read this post:
Please consider to upvote this warning if you find my work to protect you and the platform valuable. Your support is welcome!WARNING - The message you received from @muhammadsyahril is a CONFIRMED SCAM! https://steemit.com/steemit/@arcange/phishing-site-reported-uppervotes-dot-ml
Thank you
This post is to loaded!
I'll need to read it again.
Although it's not a full research, but take you time to digest the knowledge there in.Thank you @godwine.
I sure will😁
Quite educating, I don't even understand some terms here, lol.
I will send pizza to you tomorrow for this post.
Hairs on unwanted parts quite embarrassing, you know.
Meanwhile Electrolysis, are you sure about that? Guess I need to find out.
Expecting pizza
Yeah those hair, know someone with that so I can relate well..
On electrolysis, you should read up wasn't sure on this as well, had to read and was able to differentiate from its meaning in chemistry.Thank you @jeline
Aiit, thanks for the information
Now i got it right.
Does that mean this situation is less not applicable to women with extreme low androgen?
@nice2you for women with extreme low androgen level, would escape hirsutism, but at a risk of other health problem as well.
Good. Thanks for the reply
This is a very loaded post. Fully informative. Good to know that those women who have hair on their jaw are not necessarily wicked...as I used to think. Its just a hormonal something 😁😂
Hahahah
Most persons still have that view, even I used to have the same but the knowledge of this has changed my mindset
Thank you @scarletmedia for visiting my blog; do visit again.
Now i got it right.
Does that mean this situation is less applicable to women with extreme low androgen?
I've always wondered when I see women with chest hairs and beards
Thanks for educating
The pleasure is mine.Thank you @estherlove1
👹
Thanks for not reading @muhammadsyahril
You couldn't even spell before correctly
Go upvote yourself
Am not clicking that link; NEVER!!
@muham..... gosh your name is tiring. You sure you make up to $10?