Re: IM 15 yr old African American female with facial Hair

What your mother says is often true. Many girls at about 14-15 experience a rise in testosterone levels ahead of a much greater rise in estrogen levels. That has the effect of causing the development of male characteristics and especially a moustache. With a great many girls who have a moustache at 15 it starts to disappear a year or two later and coarse hair on their legs may start to get finer as well, as estrogen levels begin to rise and counteract the effects of the testosterone and shbg levels rise and "bind" much of the testosterone and stop it having any effect.

Best at this point to do nothing. If your moustache is very coarse and you really must do something bear in mind that there isn't a simple answer.

Facial hair on girls comes about in the same way as on boys because of

1) your body being sensitized, before you were even born, to testosterone -- doesn't happen to all girls, but does to many

2) your body producing high levels of testosterone

The growth rate and coarseness of the hair depends on just how much testosterone is circulating in your bloodstream.

As far as removing it is concerned it's worth remembering that

* Waxing, plucking, threading, epilating all pull the hair out by the roots and where the growth is hormonally-driven can actually stimulate a dormant follicle into producing more hair quicker. They also distort the root if done repeatedly, leading to hair growing at strange angles. And you've got to let the hair grow to quite a length before you can repeat the exercise. It can also damage the skin and discolor it.

* Chemical depilatories strong enough to remove the hair are very likely to burn the skin, cause swelling and cause long-term discoloration of the skin.

* Laser is also liable to cause burning and discoloration. It isn't effective on light hair or dark skin.

* Electrolysis is very liable to cause scarring and discoloration of the skin.

Which, like it or not, leaves shaving which does not damage the skin. Best done with a men's-style electric razor, the best of which, for women, are probably those from the men's range of Norelco razors (Philishave outside the US). Tweet