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Women's health

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Original poster

Facial hair ruining my life.

60 replies

AmIHumanOrAmIAYeti · 01/04/2025 23:55

I’m 47. Have been shaving my face daily since I was 21. Don’t have PCOS but doctors identified I had elevated androgen levels 15-ish years ago but offered no help.

I have coarse dark hair in a male pattern on my face. No other peri-menopause symptoms but now getting noticeable regrowth within 12 hours of shaving. It’s making my life a misery.

I’ve tried home IPL. I had a reaction to waxing many years ago which took weeks to settle leaving me with angry welts all over my lower face.

I’m getting pretty desperate now. Has anyone found anything that will help? Can’t help but feel this will only get worse as I head towards menopause. I really need a solution now. :(

OP posts:
AmusedBouched · 03/04/2025 12:15

AmIHumanOrAmIAYeti · 02/04/2025 19:04

Thank you again. I actually had a lumea and sold it. I now have a U-Like which hasn’t done much. (I had laser on my legs and underarms in 2003 and legs are still hair free (apart from a few on my knees).

I’ll look into the supplements too.

Yes my laser worked so well on my legs - 21 years ago I had it done. I was told by beauticians before though that I had the hairiest legs they had ever seen. One good thing to make laser work so well!!

it worked on my face but i need to keep going for top-ups. But without laser I always had stubble showing. So it’s made a huge difference for me anyway.

hattie43 · 03/04/2025 13:13

Laser treatment has been the only thing to make a difference and I have needed the maximum treatments as the hair was so tough

Original poster
AmIHumanOrAmIAYeti · 03/04/2025 15:59

Tbrh · 02/04/2025 23:30

Just take a few days off work, surely if this is ruining your life and there is a potential solution then you can make it happen?

Every month for 8 months? (Assuming 4 days a month that’s well over £1000 a month for me on top of the treatment cost.)

OP posts:
Original poster
AmIHumanOrAmIAYeti · 03/04/2025 16:04

AttilaTheMeerkat · 03/04/2025 12:09

Doctors offered no help at the time - appalling and you were fobbed off. So did they merely say you do not have PCOS so off you go. I would certainly return to the GP now and if they remain unhelpful change GP practice.

Raised androgen levels can be associated with PCOS and I think you may well have been given duff info at the time. Not many GPs were up to speed with PCOS then and some are unaware of it now.

I had bloods done which showed elevated androgens.

I was sent for an internal scan which showed no PCOS and there was no follow up action.

Their only suggested treatment was the contraceptive pill, but I have an increased risk of blood clots so that wasn’t an option. And so it didn’t go any further. My GP surgery is crap.

I got pregnant 2 years later the very first time we didn’t use a condom and life has been somewhat busy ever since.

I went down a rabbit hole last night and started reading about Cushings Disease. Some of those elements would also seem to fit.

OP posts:
housemaus · 03/04/2025 16:08

Is spironalactone an option for you? It can reduce hair growth in people with PCOS-like hair growth. (Apologies if you've already mentioned this)

Otherwise - I know this sounds woo - try spearmint tea. Has to be specifically spearmint, but it made a difference for my PCOS-induced acne and facial hair. I got out of the habit of it (and should try again) but it really did have an effect for me - there have been a few (very small) studies into it, so it's not complete nonsense, and it's worth a try as it's relatively cheap.

deeahgwitch · 03/04/2025 16:20

jackiesgirl · 02/04/2025 00:49

I had laser treatment on mine for PCOS and it worked wonders. You shave it with a little electric fuzz remover before the session so you don’t get stubble and the regrowth is less and less each time. Get it done professionally though, IPL isn’t the same strength. I went to Therapie clinics for mine, they’re all over the country, they were really good.

I know of someone who had a bad experience with Therapie, they sued and it was settled out of court.
It was a long time ago.
I’m sure the process has advanced now.
Really do your research OP re laser.
I had my legs lasered years ago.
It was done by a nurse who set up her own clinic. It is still in business.
The results were excellent.
As another poster advised, don’t go to your local beautician who does a bit of laser on the side .

AttilaTheMeerkat · 03/04/2025 16:48

"I was sent for an internal scan which showed no PCOS and there was no follow up action".

One internal scan was never sufficient and you were fobbed off. In any event the cystic follicles associated with PCOS can disappear, only to be replaced by further cystic follicles. It was likely missed and it can also take a skilled operator time to spot if an ovary is polycystic. These can have a ring of pearls appearance to them and are larger than a normal sized ovary which is about the size of a walnut.

"Their only suggested treatment was the contraceptive pill, but I have an increased risk of blood clots so that wasn’t an option. And so it didn’t go any further. My GP surgery is crap".

Would see another GP practice. Things have indeed changed a lot in the last 15 years but you will need to be persistent in order to get answers.

CrunchySnow · 03/04/2025 16:59

Laser has definitely moved on since the noughties. I had pretty corse dark facial hair over my jaw line following my second child. I've now had 5 laser treatments and it's all gone. I had to shave the morning of each treatment so no walking around with visible hair. Its been amazing! I will likely have to go back once a year or so for a top up treatment but I'm so happy. Proper laser is far more effective that IPL. Good luck!

slapmyarseandcallmemary · 03/04/2025 17:08

I have the same problem. I gave in and bought a Braun IPL and I can see a difference after a few months. Hoping after aanother few treatments I'll feel much less self conscious

Rollofrockandsand · 03/04/2025 17:09

Go for laser. You have to shave 12-24 hours before

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