Unwanted Facial or Body Hair

Finding yourself with unwanted or excessive hair growth in different areas of your body, especially your face, can be a difficult issue to contend with. Many women deal with unwanted facial or body hair and understandably, shaving or waxing can become quite tedious.

While the causes of excessive hair growth can vary, it’s worth noting that there are now medical options available to treat unwanted facial and/or body hair.

What Causes Excessive Hair Growth?

Facial and body hair growth is caused when a woman’s body produces androgens like testosterone in higher-than-normal amounts. This can be the result of various medical conditions, for example

• PCOS
• Certain adrenal disorders
• Prescription medications

Each of these can cause a woman to grow thicker, darker hair than they want, and fortunately, hair growth due to these health issues is often treatable.

The medical term for thick, dark hair growth is hirsutism. A medical professional will make a diagnosis of hirsutism after taking a close look at a patient’s full medical history, as well as running blood tests to rule out other disorders.

Medical Treatment for Unwanted Hair

Fortunately, women do not have to stick to shaving or waxing to get rid of unwanted face or body hair.

In some cases, a doctor might initiate a hormone management program to get the excessive amount of androgens produced under control. When hormones are properly managed, hair growth can become far less pronounced.

In other situations, patients may choose to undergo medical hair removal therapies.

Laser hair removal utilizes light rays to damage or destroy hair follicles. Hair follicles that have become significantly damaged cannot produce hair, which causes existing hair to fall out. After several treatments, a patient can enjoy permanent or near-permanent results.

Electrolysis is another option that uses electric currents to damage hair follicles. Because this method treats individual hair follicles, sessions may take longer than a laser treatment, which targets several hair follicles at a time.

Each of these methods can be very effective at treating excessive hair growth, though laser and electrolysis treatments can require several sessions in order to achieve complete results. Additionally, these methods may be painful or uncomfortable.

If you’re currently experiencing excessive, unwanted hair growth, we welcome you to give us a call at 978-851-8600 or request an appointment. We can assist you in determining the cause of your condition and outlining the options available to you.