Re: anybody on trimming facial hair??

> what you brought up about taking the birth control pill is
> something that concerns me. I went on it in part because I was
> told by my doctor that if hair growth was hormone-related,
> being on the pill would help the situation.

And your doctor would have been right if he/she had said "might" help you. Sometimes the sort of estrogen you get in the pill does help. Remember, too, that not all versions of the pill are identical.

> But i've also heard from other sources that it makes it worse.

Correct.Everyone's different. And if your body doesn't respond to the estrogen in the pill you're using by way of building up levels of SHBG which restricts the effect of your natural testosterone, you end up worse off, because your body *will* detect increased levels of estrogen from the pill and will probably shut down your natural production of estrogen from your ovaries. So there's not much to stop your natural testosterone encouraging facial hair growth if the follicles have already have had some testosterone stimulation (as many or most women's have had) in ante-natal life.

> You kind of freaked me out when you said that's how all facial
> hair starts (fine and blonde), and now I'm just really wondering
> if its a matter of time before it becomes male-like, thick and
> coarse.

Don't get freqked out too soon -- your reasoning is a bit faulty there. Everyone's different. Not all fine blonde facial hair ends up coarse, terminal, male-type hair. For most women it doesn't -- at least not till much later in life. But certainly hair that eventually ends up coarse and male-like does start off that way too. But don't assume that your is going to turn that way any time soon or indeed at all.

> I need to be on the pill because I am sexually active, and even
> if i stop being sexually active, now i'm afraid to go off of it.

That's your decision and it's essentially a moral one. But remember, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Messing around with hormones is likely to have other side effects for most people. Some of them don't necessarily become evident quickly and in any case may well be a price you're prepared to pay.

> I have friends that have been on the pill for years and never had
> any facial hair problems. I guess everybody is different.

You're right. And so are different makes of pill.


> If you don't mind me asking, how did your facial hair start?

Fine, blonde hair on my upper lip.

> What age were you?

13

> What exact type of facial hair do you mean when you say facial hair (fine and blonde, coarse and dark, thick)

Coarse black male-type moustache by the time I was fourteen and by the time I was fifteen I was shaving it every day (borrowing my father's electric shaver without his knowledge!). My moustache growth slowed down a bit when I was around 18 but I still had moustache growth that most males of that age would have been envious of. It didn't stop me getting a husband though, and when I got pregnant the moustache reduced considerably. In my mid-forties the moustache growth came back really strongly and my beard is growing in now around my chin.

> and what areas on your face were the most prevalent?

Moustache in the first instance. Moustache and around the chin in late forties.

> I'm 22 and i know this is probably only going to continue. I look
> at my mother, who is post-menopausal with blonde peach fuzz all
> over her face and the occasional coarser whisker on her chin and
> I know that i will probably end up like that.

But how many women reach 80 without growing at least something of a moustache? It's perfectly normal from menopause on.

> But should the onset be so soon???

Everyone's different. For me the answer was shaving with an electric razor (men's type). I've never regretted it. Interestingly, the males who know I shave have been really nice about it. I'm sure there are some men who couldn't stand it, but I can't say it's spoiled my relationships with men at all. Just the opposite.

Hope this helps, but if you want to know more, just ask.