Facial hair - Please HELP :(

[OldLace]

I started getting some facial hair in my early 30's.
then I had IVF and got a LOT more.
I live in the middle of nowhere and am a carer for my 2 kids with ASD.
So, no time and money to fix it.
So, I shave.
Every morning in the shower.
But by teatime it shows again.

What can I do to get rid of it for good?
I don't have much money / time but it gets me down SO much.
I am not overweight and don't have PCOS but it is getting worse.
I'm 52 not yet menopausal (that I'm aware of)
My natural hair colour is medium brown and is about 50% grey.
On my chin it is mostly dark but some random ginger hairs.
I don't have the time or money to travel to the nearest city for treatment (I'm 50 miles from one) but I can't shave forever.

HELP!!!

I would highly recommend the Phillips Lumea, or something equivalent, as you are shaving anyway already, and can shave in between the sessions. It is a miracle worker imo. I think you can get a smaller/cheaper one just for face, if not needed for larger areas. I actually think it should be prescribed on the NHS for people with PCOS, or excess hair, (and who are not happy with it, and want it removed) as I think they would save so much money on hormones, stress, social anxiety etc. I may sound like I am exaggerating but I am serious. If you have £2/300 to spend on something like that I think it would be massively worth it in the long run.

Another vote for ipl machines, they really are amazing, painless and permanent . Not cheap but worth every penny, look around for the best deals. Only downside is they only work well on dark hair, may not help with greys.

Is there anyone (sister? Close friend?) you could share the purchase of an IPL machine with OP? I bought one with my sister recently and it’s the first time in my life I haven’t needed to pluck every day since my early teens (dark hair with pale skin and VERY hairy.) They are very expensive but worth it when you factor in the time you save!

OK.
No one to share costs with sadly no
BUT if I thought it would really work I'd save hard.

I cant say how much it gets me down.
Stupid, its just a bit of hair.
But I had a nightmare about it last night, it is really getting to me.

Laser treatment - you can buy a course cheaply via groupon. I'm not sure if IPL will be suitable in grey hair, but I could be wrong.

I know your pain. I have PCOS and have suffered excess hair since I was about 21. I pluck every few days and shave every morning. It makes me so self conscious, it's not fair that some of us have this. It does depress me to think I have this forever. When I was in hospital having my baby after fertility treatment I was sneakily dry shaving on the bed as I couldn't cope with anyone seeing it.
You are not alone, but my sisters said they have never noticed, so shaving does get rid of it.
Interesting to see others saying about the IPL machines. @PartyCat how does it work? Does it slow the growth? I am pale with dark hair (the worst area is my chin Thank you for any info!

Pale skin and dark hair is the best combination for IPLs. You are probably best reading up on the science behind it but personally its been a complete game changer, really wish they had been around years ago.

Save up and get lazer. Im so hairy I had several beauticians comment that they’d never met someone so hairy . I’m mid 40s; before lazer was around I had electrolysis- in my eArly 20s I had 1 hour sessions every fortnight for 2 years. I still remember the day I wore my hair up off my face for the first time. I felt a million dollars. If you went for electrolysis you could start with 15 minute sessions, and it’s not as expensive as lazer. When lazer cane in I paid for my whole legs, bum and back. That was 17 years ago. It was a total game changer. I’ve already started a fund for my similarly hairy daughter.

Yes pale skin and dark hair is the best combination. It slows the growth so much ( I am not sure if completely permanent) but ultimately means no regrowth for months on end, and even then softer and patchy, but you just blast them again to get rid. You start off doing it every 2 weeks for about 6 - 8 cycles (or until the buggers don't come back) and then every 3 months or so for upkeep. I suppose it works differently for people but amazing for me. I got it for legs etc and just a few on my chin, but I know how excruciating it can be for people with facial hair they do not want and I feel like I have to spread the good news that this little machine can honestly make a massive difference to people's confidence etc! Omg Philiips should be giving me shares in this! I do not know what the NHS treatment is for PcOS but my god they should just hand these out for hair removal and would relieve so much anxiety. Good luck everyone! I feel for you poster in your hospital bed, that little vignette makes me so sad. Please get one if you can!!

In the meantime spearmint tea helps mine, I get big bags off eBay.

I have had dark chin hair that crops up every morning since I was 20, I don't have PCOS (that I know of) and am of a normal weight for my height. I think some people are unfortunately more hairy- my Mum is the same!

I manage to keep it at bay through use of a manual facial epilator. Mine was a couple of pounds from ebay. It works best and is less painful if you do it after a warm shower when your pores are enlarged. I would recommend if you're on a budget as it lasts longer than shaving due to the fact that you pluck the whole hair strand out of it's follicle.

Something like this:

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Epilator-Spring-Manual-Facial-Hair-Remover-Tool-BUY-2-GET-1-FREE-/173617080914

I went to GP had lots of tests and doc conclusion was that my skin was very sensitive to make hormones - I don't have excess male hormones. GP prescribed Vaniqa. I have experienced a reduction of about 90%. I have to keep using it or it will grow back. But it is easy and the cost of a prescription. You use it twice a day. GP was not convinced about efficacy of laser. But my hairs were a mixture of blonde and a few dark ones. Worth a try.

Phillips Lumea is brilliant! Look out for offers on Boots and Amazon (they recently had a good model for £200)

It’s worked well for me in only 2 sessions so I am excited to see how well it works long term. I was sick of ingrowing hairs, plucking, waxing & shaving all the time so invested in one, it’s brilliant and can be done easily at home!

Thank you everyone, this is really helpful

So, with a ipl machine (Lumea?) I can still shave it whilst treating it too? THAT would be brilliant for me.

I've been put off waxing as it needs to be long enough to wax and unfortunately as my dd has ASD she will (literally) say, even to strangers: 'look at my Mum's bristles, she's growing a beard'. Ooof :(

Obvs we are 'working on that' but it would be nice to just get rid of the problem (of the beard not dd!) I shave in the evening so I can lean over and kiss her goodnight as I forgot once and I 'bristled her'.

Stupid hair!

They quite often have offers on lumea at boots so don’t pay full price. I bought an epilator which I’ve been using for ages on my face if lumea unaffordable.

It took me ages to get my dd to stop commenting on the smell of people’s breath - we did in the end though!

I've got the braun pro and it's amazing on my upper lip! Literally gone :-)

I have always waxed mine, I too suffer the indignity of pale skin & dark hair. I've done it for so long now that I get hardly any regrowth and what I do get can be got with a tweezer between waxings. I have gone from doing it once a week to just once every couple of months. actually the hair doesn't need to be that long and its a cheaper option than the ipl, which I would love but can't afford and as I'm getting older my hair is not as dark as it used to be!

I’m in the middle of using the Lumea at the moment, which is great for dark hair. However it doesn’t work on fine, lighter hair, and I’ve a lot of that on my face. I recently got the Hollywood browzer from amazon and find it brilliant- it takes away all that fine hair and the darker stubborn ones too. Think it’s about €26 for two of them.

@PartyCat thank you for the info, I'm going to look into it, just get so used to shaving don't even notice I do it anymore, done it for ten years now. But if I think about it gets me down..PCOS is an awful condition in so many ways and there is so little help. I agree that there should be help for hair removal as it really can affect mental health which already may not be great due to the condition!

@PartyCat thank you for helping others who may see this thread too.

Thanks @Someone1987 - I just think a lot of misery and social anxiety could be eradicated v easily by this small measure. I am not sure if people are even treated for facial hair if they have PCOS, but it should be (if they want it). I just think it must affect everyday interactions/relationships so badly, not wanting to get too close to people, backing away from touching etc, it must be terrible, and not wanting to explain why. Bad enough as a 40+ lady just with a few random hairs , but must be excruciating as a teenager with a condition causing serious hair growth etc. I know there are worse things in life can befall people but this is one of those unspoken things that could be very easily and cheaply(in the grand scheme of things for the NHS) fixed! And save on costs for medication or mental health issues down the line etc. And also giving people hope that something actually works without having to take drugs. OK rant over.

@PartyCat - I have had support from NHS. I have been prescribed Vaniqa and GP said if this doesn't work then I could be referred for laser but he did say laser had risks (not sure what as he didn't elaborate) and so Vaniqa was a safer first step. As I said upthread Vaniqa is working well.

@PartyCat couldn't agree more! It has blighted my life somewhat, I know there are worse things, but it has affected my confidence. I'd never sleep over anywhere, would carry a razor around with me, analyse my face every morning, got so paranoid everyone could see it all the time. I was only offered the birth control pill, which was counterproductive as i did want to conceive. My GP was not great, she didn't take it seriously, the hair and the whole condition really. It got even worse when I was pregnant and it's still there now. It's sad but I'm glad I had a son as I couldn't bare passing this onto a daughter, for it has plagued me and my confidence so much

I’ve had my lumea for a while now, woks on legs etc but not on my chin for some reason. I am very pale skinned with dark hair.

Lockdown has been really hard, usually wax chin at a salon weekly, did start shaving but know that makes the waxing not as effective so I’ve started plucking in hope salon opening soon...