First of all, it's not shaving that has made your hair coarse -- remember you started shaving because the hair was already there. The fact that the hair is now coarser is not because you shaved -- it would have become that even if you hadn't shaved.

Best to tell your boyfriend -- he may well have guessed anyway.

Some women have the same sort of beard growth as men do. In fact, far more than you probably would ever imagine.

Go to Google Videos...type in 'bearded lady', or something like that, and you'll see how lucky you are as you are......WY
P.S. Here's one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pxYtWCZ1o8

I have a similar problem. When I was in high school I was quite vain. My obsession with vanity had me looking in the mirror constantly. One day I was inspecting my face and I saw the natural peach fuzz that every girl has and decided I wanted baby-soft, hair-free skin so I shaved it all off. Ever since then, I have been plagued with facial hair. I eventually noticed that shaving was what started the excessive hair growth and about 2 years down the line I started using depilatories. I had razor bumps from the shaving and still have dark spots, I will never put a razor to my face again. I have tried other products and they usually burned my skin. The only thing that I rely on now is Magic Shave depilatory for men. I have to use it every three days. I am a dark-skinned black woman and dealing with my problem has had terrible effects on my self-esteem. Your experience with that guy in class at least prompted you to make the fatal mistake of shaving your face. I blame myself all the time for shaving my face, which snowballed into this horrible nightmare. I want to try the NoNo so bad but I am hearing terrible reviews. I don't want to bother with ordering the device if it is not gonna work. I think I am going to try an epilator, I hear it hurts badly but I think after all this time my skin can take it.

Hi, I am 38 like you, with the same problem, the same nightmares about not being able to remove my facial hair, about being on the plane, and what it if crashes, and I will be stuck on an island, with a bunch of people, but no mirror and tweezers. It's quite the horror, also the hospital scenario, or the prospect of my boyfriend noticing one day. Mostly people think that I always have Acne going on, but in fact it's spots and scars from the everyday tweezing. I keep seeing nothing but flawless women's chins out on the street, with no signs of hairgrowth. Than I look at myself, and sometimes I think I exaggerate, and it's not so bad. The thing is that it gets magnified every day in the mirror, while you concentrate on the stubble, and see nothing else beside.
Please don't think that your childhood shaving might have had something to do with your current state. You could check laser removal, they like you to shave, so it might be an option for you. Then there are couple of natural remedies, but it is a long term solution, since they won't work overnight. One is the herb saw palmetto, then spearmint tea, that alkalinizing your body, or reducing your stress - ginseing, ginko, etc. I am trying those things for now.

it really helped me. im sorry ladies i dunno where i got it from anymore originly but its a natural oil. i got it from my mom she had sideburns that he h8ted and i was irritatin my skin under my arms so she gave me what she had left of the oil in the bottle so i waxed like she told me n put it on n it took a few times but got back thinner but after abt 5 times its bin 4 years now n i dnt hav 2 shave cuz its not come back. try a search engine its called hairycure