Facial hair on 15 year old - doctor or salon?

[Im2022]

Hi my dd is almost 15 and has a lot of facial hair. It’s not hormonal as her periods are regular and normal flow. I think its a genetic thing as her dad is very hairy.

She is finding the hair extremely embarrassing, even though I help her with bleaching and removing around her lip and chin.

She has a lot of anxiety, even though she is absolutely stunning. She is very popular and confident on the surface, but she has self harmed in the past and someone at school usually makes comments about her hair or eye brows. She usually laughs it off, but i know it’s affecting her deep down.

I’m wondering whether I should take her to the doctor but would they be able to do anything if it’s not hormonal? Anyone with any advice?

The Pull is the most common management for PCOS, there’s no real treatment as such as you can’t cure it. I was diagnosed at 30 but with hindsight the classic signs were there - excess hair, very oily spot-prone skin, irregular periods.

You can help manage PCOS through diet as the hormone imbalance makes you more prone to insulin resistance - a low GI diet is the best to follow.

I’ve got pcos, regular cycles and chin hair. They usually use the pill if you aren’t menstruating enough ie

4 cycles a year 🙄

Hi OP I’d suggest threading too (of course as well as consulting the GP). I remember getting it done for the first time, for full face (I have peach fuzz) and eyebrow shaping. I was very surprised when they threaded my forehead (and feel hairs I didn’t know I had being removed!) but I can confirm it seems to be standard to thread there.

Could you take your daughter to get it done? It must be awful wanting to get eyebrows done but having to wait.

Go to a doctor. It will be hormonal. She could have pco

Better ti get checked out

Thanks for the info about PCOS. Yes I thought they’d use the pill. Not sure how I feel about that.

She’s afraid of threading unfortunately. I think waxing would be better to begin with, and work her up to threading.

@Theblacksheepandme I found the sk:n clinic allow laser from age 14:
www.sknclinics.co.uk/blog/should-your-teen-get-laser-hair-removal?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpbSHvtei9QIVWuztCh1juwj8EAAYASAAEgIvwfD_BwE

So this is one of my options at the moment.

@RavingAnnie

It still could be hormonal. I have PCOS and only symptom of note is excessive hair. My periods were regular.

This - same here.

Spironolactone can help.
As can an at-home IPL machine as others have mentioned - I have the Lumea.

Pcos gets worse the older you get. Take her to the Gp as facial hair is often the only physical symtpm at that age

Thanks for that OP. It's funny because my daughter will only do threading. She is frightened of laser when I talk about it with her.

My friend had electrolysis when she was younger for this.

I had the vaniqua cream, it didn’t do anything. What helped me was laser on chin, neck, sideburn and moustache area. This is the only thing that made any real difference. I come from a family where then men are very hairy and I have dark hair.
Threading or waxing eyebrows will make a real difference. You might find that she needs the forehead threaded too if you are concerned about white patches. They can do this and it’s not really painful.

I will wait and see what the doctors say and then ask her how she feels about threading/waxing again. It will make a massive difference to her face, and school children can be proper shits. Thinking maybe suggesting to her we do it during a longer holiday so people don’t see a massive difference.

Do any of you who thread foreheads or cheeks get any ingrown hair problems?

I thread my whole face and never get ingrown hairs. I personally prefer threading to waxing. I think waxing can be quite harsh for the face.

@Theblacksheepandme

I thread my whole face and never get ingrown hairs. I personally prefer threading to waxing. I think waxing can be quite harsh for the face.

Same for me. I either have threading (whole face plus eyebrow shaping) or through lockdowns used the ‘spring’ hair removal tool, and no issues with ingrown hairs at all.

What are you concerned about re. the pill? Is it side effects etc? I remember my mum not taking me to the doctor for horrendous period pains, in part because she thought that I might get put on the pill to treat them and she didn't like the idea of that - maybe that people might find out and think I was having sex, or maybe that I would think it was ok to have sex or something. Neither was remotely possible given how shy I was. But it gave me a feeling of shame, even years later when I was put on the pill for hormonal spots, that somehow it was 'wrong' (wasn't having sex then either!). Better to see it as a form of medication, that happens to have more than one use. Of course take potential side effects seriously, and try out different types etc to find the one that works best. But try not to conflate it with the idea of it being contraception.
I eventually ended up going for laser, but not until very recently, after decades of threading, plucking, IPL, etc. I don't think mine was as bad as your DD's, but it still was embarrassing and felt shameful, like there was something unfeminine about me.

Whilst gore waiting for treatment advice from GP I would buy her a flawless trimmer which she can use once a day.

They are cheap but effective, no pain either.

Agree don’t wait OP, even a day is a long time if you’re feeling self conscious about unwanted hair.

yes the flawless trimmer thing is great - that's what I still use when needed . It's about the size of a lipstick, and is just a mini electric razor, easy to use daily for only a few seconds, and totally gets rid of upper lip and chin hair. I'm sure you could use it over wider areas as well.