It is perfectly normal for guys to have facial hair. In fact, it makes them look more handsome and attractive.

But when it comes to women, facial hair is something we don’t ever pray to have. No lady wants moustache or beards growing around her face.

However, some women have hair on their chin, around the mouth and even on their face in general.

It’s quite embarrassing, I agree, but the good news is that there are ways you can deal with facial hair.

I will be discussing the causes of female facial hair and ways you can deal with it.

Let’s begin…

The first thing I need you to understand is, all women have hair on their body, including their face, but it is fine and it blends well with your skin colour.

It is only when it becomes thick, coarse, and dark that it becomes a problem.

What causes facial hair?

There are a lot of factors that can cause the growth of facial hair. Some of them include:

1. Hormonal imbalance

The most common factor that causes facial hair is hormonal imbalance.

We know that the major male hormones are androgens and testosterone, but women also produce testosterone – although it is in smaller quantities than in men.

When testosterone in women exceed the normal levels, it affects the menstrual cycle, increases sex drive and stimulates excess growth of facial and body hair. The fine hair becomes coarse and more visible.

The truth is, you will experience a shift in your hormonal levels periodically, and throughout your life, because of factors like weight gain, pregnancy, aging, menopause, etc.

These factors can cause an increased level of male sex hormones or make your body extremely sensitive to them. Either way, you might experience excess hair growth.

2. Certain medications

Excessive hair growth can be as a result of the medications you are taking. It could be a side effect. Here are some medications that can cause female facial hair:

• Minoxidil: This is a medication used to stimulate hair growth. Facial hair can be a side effect of using it to grow the hair on your head.
• Cyclosporine: This is an immunosuppressant drug that is usually taken before organ transplants.
• Anabolic steroids: These are synthetic variations of testosterone taken when there is a testosterone deficiency.

3. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Polycystic ovary syndrome is one of the leading causes of high levels of male sex hormones in women – especially those who have not gone through menopause.

It makes cysts grow around the edge of a woman’s ovaries, which produce sex hormones and eggs.

PCOS can also make a woman put on weight, have acne, and experience irregular periods.

How to deal with facial hair?

To deal with facial hair, you have to attack the factors that are causing hormonal imbalance in the first place.

• If you are obese, then you might have to lose weight because obesity changes the way your body processes hormones.
• If it is a side effect of a medication, you should speak to your doctor to consider changing the medication or administering it in a way that doesn’t affect your hormones.
• If it is as a result of PCOS, you can make use of birth control pills. These pills usually have both progesterone and estrogen, and can help shrink the cysts caused by PCOS.

This will also help to reduce excess hair. It, however, takes a long while for these drugs to kick in. It might take up to six months.

Whatever you do, do not administer any drug without your doctor’s approval.

• Apart from these, your doctor might prescribe creams that reduce the growth of facial hair such as eflornithine. It slows down the growth of facial hair within a month or two.

These tips should help you reduce the growth of facial hair but in the meantime…

How to remove facial hair?

There are different ways to remove facial hair.

1. Tweezing

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Tweezing is a cheap but effective way to remove facial hair.

All you need is get a tweezer. This is a tool that is designed to pluck hairs directly from the roots.

It looks like a small pair of thongs. The results gotten from tweezing can last up to three to eight weeks.

To tweeze your hair, you use the tweezer to tug at each strand of hair.

Note that it might be painful and cause little swelling or redness for a while, especially in sensitive areas of your body. But these are just temporary.

2. Shaving

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Shaving is very common and easy to do.

You can use a shaving tool; it could be the disposable ones or the electric ones.

Usually, these tools have a built-in blade that cuts the hair at the surface of your skin. It doesn’t pull out hairs like tweezing.

You can shave other parts of your body, including your armpits, arms, legs, etc.

3. Waxing

Image credit: bcskincare-boulder.com

Waxing is another method of removing facial hair. You can either use soft wax which is pulled off with cloth strips, or hard wax that hardens and pulls off on its own.

It is advised that you go to a trained beautician to get waxed, but some people wax their skin at home.

The results of waxing can last up to two weeks. It can also be quite painful and may irritate your skin.

4. Threading

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Threading is more common in Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

To do this, you pull a thin, double cotton thread and use it to roll over the places where you want to remove hairs from. The process of rolling the thread will pull the hairs out.

This method works better in small areas like cheeks, eyebrows, upper lip, etc.

It can be tricky to use if you are not trained. So, if you want this, you should meet a professional to do it for you – or teach you.

In conclusion,

Facial hairs do not have to be on your list of worries.

Try to get rid of the factors causing it, whether it is hormonal imbalance or medications. You can try out any of the methods I described above for removing hairs.

Before you know it, you will be able to control the growth of hairs on your face.