Unwanted Hair

Unwanted Hair

Hair, Hair, Go Away

You may not have noticed it when you were young, when a little peach fuzz on smooth, childish skin didn't matter a bit. But now that you're older, you may find the hair is more profuse or suddenly darker. You may remember a loving aunt whose smile carried a pronounced shadow--but surely, you haven't reached her age already!

Perhaps you have. Or maybe the unwanted hair has simply come on sooner. In any case, it makes you feel aged and unattractive, as though your body is sabotaging your beauty. It's a common problem for a lot of women, though a lot of us would rather die than admit it.

Often it's genetically based, doctors say. If your family tree has Mediterranean roots, you may develop a dark, downy crop on your upper lip or below the "sideburn" hairline. Sometimes just a few stubborn whiskerlike hairs will appear, often on the chin.

But the most common cause of excess hair growth as women get older is the hormonal changes of menopause, says Victor Newcomer, M.D., professor of dermatology at the University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA School of Medicine. "Most women have a little down on the upper lip after puberty, and in brunettes, it can be very heavy. But after menopause, it really kicks in with coarse, fibrous hairs." That's because the effects of the male hormone androgen (which every woman has) become more pronounced when levels of the female hormone estrogen drop. The androgen then is free to stimulate more hair growth, he says.

If excess facial or body hair isn't common among the women in your family, you may want to ask your doctor whether any medications you are taking could be causing the problem, says Seth L. Matarasso, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. Sometimes blood pressure medicine, steroids for arthritis, diuretics (water pills) or birth control pills can stimulate hair growth, he says.

If hair growth of more than a few hairs appears suddenly, Dr. Matarasso says, see your doctor for endocrinological tests. Although it's very rare, unusual hair growth in women may indicate a thyroid or hormonal problem.

And though leg and arm hair is normal, it's very unusual to have any hair growth on the cheeks or forehead. Hair in these areas could result from several causes, including disease in the ovaries or in the pituitary or adrenal glands, says Dr. Newcomer. Some rare liver diseases may also stimulate hair growth on the cheeks or forehead, he says.

Or your problem may simply be that you're annoyed by persistent facial or body hair that you've had since puberty. Whether the hair is age-related or not, there are several ways to deal with it.

Gentle and Not-So-Gentle Methods

So how do you get the excess fleece to flee? Here are some suggestions.

Bleach away. With hair that's dark but not too heavy, try a facial hair bleach that you can buy at your pharmacy, says Dr. Newcomer. Bleaching may make the hair less noticeable, so there's no need to remove it.

But if the hair growth bothers you or you feel you would look better and smoother-skinned without it, here are some other temporary solutions.

Shave away the hair. It's one of the earliest grooming myths that women pass along to each other, but shaving does not cause hair to grow back thicker, says Dr. Matarasso. It's easy to be confused, because the growing-in hairs may look darker, he says. All hairs begin to cycle at the same time, and when they reach the surface of the skin all at once, the stubs appear thick and feel rough, he says. But there's not really more or thicker hair growing back.

The choice between an electric razor and a blade is up to you; whatever feels best, Dr. Matarasso says. They shave the same, although you use an electric razor on dry skin. If you use a blade, soak it in water for a few minutes first, then let your favorite shaving cream or gel sit on the skin for a moment or two before you shave, he says. It will soften the hair and give you smoother results. And if you're thinking of shaving a part of your face, there's no harm in that. But if facial growth is profuse, check with your doctor first to rule out medical causes.

Use tweezers. For just a few recurring hairs, one of the simplest removal methods is tweezing, with the aid of a magnifying mirror if you need it, says Dr. Newcomer. Some benefits of tweezing are that it is effective and you can do it in privacy. But even though tweezed hair follicles will eventually give up the ghost, it can take many years for that kind of permanent result, he says.

Try a depilatory. Chemical lotions such as Neet and Nair are perfectly fine to use, says Dr. Matarasso, as long as you patch-test a small area first to make sure you're not allergic to the product. "The chemicals aren't bad, but they can be abrasive," he says. They work by dissolving hair at or just below the skin line, so results last for up to two weeks, says Dr. Matarasso.

Depilatories are simple and painless to use, but some have nasty odors. You apply the thick lotion to the skin, wait for up to 15 minutes and then rinse off with warm water. You want to avoid using it near your eyes or pubic area.

If you use a depilatory on your face, apply only a little at first. Don't leave it on too long, or you'll wind up with a rash, says Dr. Newcomer. "If you're an oily-skinned brunette, you can tolerate it longer. But thin-skinned blondes have less tolerance" to the chemicals, he says. The texture of the hair also makes a difference in how depilatories work. Big, coarse hair takes longer to dissolve, and fine hair comes off easier, he says.

Consider waxing, at least once. You've probably heard hair waxing compared to Band-Aid removal, but it's a little more challenging than that. The delightful side of waxing (and the reason so many women grin and bear it) is that you'll have hair-free skin for about six weeks afterward. And the new growth is soft and silky at first.

Waxing is appropriate for any area of the body--face, arms, legs and even the bikini area. But be very careful near the groin, Dr. Newcomer says. "The wax can get tangled up in the pubic area, and you can't get it off," he says.

How does it work? At a salon, heated wax is applied to your skin with a wooden spatula. When the wax hardens, the technician yanks off the strips, lifting away the hair. You'll be treated to a soothing lotion afterward, but some women find the process quite painful. You can buy do-it-yourself waxing kits for face or body at a pharmacy, but, as Dr. Newcomer says, "it takes a brave soul to pull off that strip."

Is the pain of pulled hair a little too intense? "Go see your dermatologist about an hour before you wax, and have him numb your skin with a local anesthetic," says Dr. Matarasso. "You'll hardly feel a thing."

If you'd like to try waxing and you happen to use the anti-wrinkling cream tretinoin (Retin-A) or any skin lotion containing glycolic acid, be sure to stop using it a few days before waxing, says Dr. Matarasso. These preparations are exfoliants and actually remove the outer two layers of skin, making the skin much more sensitive, he says. "If you wax on top of denuded skin, you'll give yourself a rip-roaring wound," he says. "You can take off a significant amount of the skin."

Also keep in mind that you have to wait until hair grows back to 1/4 inch long before you can have it waxed again. This could be a problem in summer, when you might want to go bare-legged.

Avoid the mitts and electric coils. Don't use the pumicelike hair removal mitts sold in many salons and pharmacies, says Dr. Matarasso. "They really are quite abrasive and can injure your skin," he says. The mitts "just mechanically break off the hair, like another crude razor," says Dr. Newcomer.

The vibrating coils work by lifting up many hairs at once and pulling them out from their roots. Unlike waxing, which pulls out hair quickly against the direction of growth, the coils yank hair in every direction. "It's mechanized or group tweezing," says Dr. Matarasso. "Some women who use it are very stoic. The vast majority of people find this method too painful, and it doesn't leave you hair-free that much longer than shaving or a depilatory."