Female Facial Hair Growth: Causes & Quick Removal

If you are a woman, odds are you've got some degree of facial hair you wish you didn't have. It may be as simple as plucking your eyebrows, but many women have excessive facial hair on their upper lips, chins and along the jawline. This type of facial hair may not only lead to embarrassment, but could also signal a health problem requiring medical treatment.

Causes of Excessive & Unwanted Hair Growth

A common source of unwanted facial hair for women is a condition known as polycystic ovarian syndrome, more commonly referred to as PCOS. PCOS is a hormonal disorder that leads not only to unwanted hair growth on the face and body, but can also lead to a deepened voice, dark patches on the skin, menstrual problems and other problematic symptoms. Rarely, an increase in facial hair growth can be caused by serious medical conditions such as tumors, cancer or Cushing's syndrome, reports the National Institutes of Health. Nearly all causes of unwanted facial hair can be traced to one single issue: an excess of male hormones in a female body. So what can be done to either reduce the male hormones and eliminate growth altogether?

Permanent Medical Solutions for Facial Hair Growth on Women

If your facial hair is caused by a medical condition, then sometimes treatment of that medical problem can cause facial hair to stop growing. Alternately, there is a class of drugs that can help stop or slow the growth of unwanted facial hair in women, according to the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. These drugs are called antiandrogens -- androgens being the male hormones that cause excessive growth of hair on women. The issue with antiandrogens is that they must be taken forever or until the body self-corrects the androgen imbalance in order to cease unwanted hair growth. It is important to note that these drugs can cause birth defects, so they are not appropriate for pregnant women or women who are trying to become pregnant. There are two other drugs which may have reduce or slow unwanted hair growth. A cream called eflorithine hydrochloride is one, which can thin the appearance of facial hair or prevent growth altogether with long-term use. The other is Metformin, which is used to treat diabetes but which also can slow or prevent the growth of facial hair.

Quick Non-Medical Solutions for Unwanted Facial Hair

The methods to remove facial hair aren't a big secret. Women can shave, wax, and pluck unwanted hairs. Depilatories are creams that dissolve unwanted hair to the root. Each of these methods is quick and relatively easy, but because they are not permanent they'll need to be performed on a regular basis to keep your unwanted facial hair at bay.

Resources:
National Institutes of Health, Excessive or Unwanted Hair in Women
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine: Hirsutism