MAN HAIR ON THE WOMAN'S FACE

This article was published in the Neighbourhood Express Newspaper on May 28th 2006.

You may know of such persons, but then again you may not recognize them as they generally try very hard to keep this secrest, understandably. The name of this medical condition is Hirsutism, meaning the growth of coarse hair and patterns, such as the beard, the chest, abdomen, and back.

MAN HAIR ON THE WOMAN’S FACE

You may know of such persons, but then again you may not recognize them as they generally try very hard to keep this secret, understandably. The name of this medical condition is Hirsutism, meaning the growth of coarse hairs on a woman in the zones that are characteristic of male coarse hair patterns, such as the beard, the chest, abdomen, and back. While it is a true medical condition, the cosmetic experience is devastating for most affected women. Only those who have walked in her shoes really understand the humiliation that many hirsute women feel about their image problem.

While the cosmetic stigma is so strong, the patient must also concern herself with the health aspects of this problem. She must understand that there are subsets of hirsutism that confer different risks on her future health. The underlying hormonal status in hirsute women may be normal, or not. Fortunately, the majority of women who acquire masculine facial hair are simply genetically predisposed because their follicles are highly sensitive to normal levels of hormone in the normal female. However, there are some, and this number may be increasing, who do have alterations in their hormonal milieu that accounts for associations with acne, pattern hair loss in the woman, (similar to her male counterpart who loses hair with age), insulin resistance or diabetes, high blood pressure, menstrual or fertility issues, and cancer of the uterus. Distinguishing between the two subclasses of hirsute women is important, and involves presentation to a family or cosmetic physician who will consider the overall clinical scenario and determine whether a hormone blood test is a reasonable next step.

The woman with a masculine pattern of facial hair is usually highly self-conscious and fearful of discovery. She tries very hard to conceal the problem from others, sometimes even her spouse. She may shave morning, noon, and night to avoid the five o’clock shadow. She might tweeze incessantly, resulting in secondary skin abrasions that pose an even greater challenge to camouflage. She is obsessed about the emergence of new hairs, and even rises at night if she notices a new nub. Once she reveals the truth to another, she will disclose that she is afraid to be seen up close, so she physically backs away during conversations with others. She might not want to lie down on a beach because the underside of her chin might expose her dreaded growth, or, she will dread attending the dentist who will not only see, but also feel the hair. Facial touching is off limits for her spouse because he might notice the nubs. By mid-afternoon she is noticing the nubs, and this begins the countdown until she must "get away" to deal with her problem. Most affected women will tell you that during the workday her mind will be centered on fear and cover-up while others discuss business at hand. She probably will admit to the habit of hand on chin while conversing with others, literally hiding her face. Camouflage make-up is the rule and this is religiously and meticulously applied, and re-applied, throughout the day in another effort to camouflage. It is more diffucult to conceal in the outdoors, and so she chooses the seat away from the window when she is out for dinner. She struggles with her obsession and fears by relaxation exercises or positive thinking, but it seems that she cannot escape the fear that "people are always looking at me." Tears are private and common.

She may feel more and more frustrated as one method of temporary hair removal gives way to another and another until finally she is shaving or tweezing daily. The opportunity cost of temporary hair removal time and money becomes an issue. The patient is alone with the "problem" and she feels like she is "losing the battle". She might have presented to her physician to discuss this but until recently little was available. Now she must try to disclose her self-esteem impact to the physician and this is difficult to do, especially if she believes her problem is "trivial" while others are "really sick". And to be fair to the affected patients, physicians might have a tendency at times to trivialize the cosmetic problem, just as friends and family do. Or, perhaps lab tests were performed and reported "normal". Unless the patient understands that hirsutism is treatable, with or without a hormonal abnormality, she might just feel that further discussion of this escalating problem is "selfish" and instead she will return to life with her secret problem.

In conclusion, permanent hair removal by a Health Canada class 3 medical laser is the treatment that has "made a difference" for women described above. As long as the masculine hair is a shade of brown, or black, then the hair may be removed permanently and safely by a medical person trained in the safe delivery of laser energy from a class 3 medical device. The odds are extremely good that true permanence will be attained on brown facial hair with a true Health Canada cleared device. The cosmetic physician may choose to investigate the hormonal status of the affected individual, and possibly other measures might be suggested to reduce the hormonal impetus to hair growth. Most hirsute women cry after their first treatment, not because they are unhappy or hurting, but simply because the reality of life without hair is a tremendous relief.

[ Top of Page ]