Excessive hair growth (hirsutism) (2024)

FAQs

Excessive hair growth (hirsutism)? ›

Hirsutism is excess hair most often noticeable around the mouth and chin. With hirsutism, extra hair growth often arises from excess male hormones (androgens), primarily testosterone. Self-care methods and effective treatment options are available for women who wish to treat hirsutism.

things you can do at home to remove or lighten the hair – such as shaving, waxing, plucking, hair removal creams or bleaching. a prescription cream to slow hair growth on your face (eflornithine cream) taking a contraceptive pill if you've not been through the menopause yet – this can help control hormone levels.

Treating the underlying cause of hirsutism can improve your symptoms. Long-term medication may slow hair growth, but it usually will not get rid of existing hair on the face and body. Some cosmetic techniques, laser hair removal and waxing, can reduce unwanted hair.

Hirsutism is excess hair growth on the body or face. It's caused by excess hormones called androgens. For women, the hair may grow in places where men often have a lot of hair, but women often don't. This includes the upper lip, chin, chest, and back.

Hirsutism is most often due to hyperproduction of androgens, of ovarian or adrenal origin. Hyperandrogenism of tumor origin, which is very severe, must be distinguished from non-tumor hyperandrogenism, which is often minimal or moderate.

Ancestry. Women of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and South Asian ancestry are more likely to have more body hair with no identifiable cause than are other women. Obesity. Being obese causes increased androgen production, which can worsen hirsutism.

If left untreated, higher levels of androgens can lead to the development of virilization which can cause: Balding. Deepening voice. Increase in muscle mass.

Your facial hair may thin a bit and grow slower but it will rarely go away entirely without electrolysis or laser treatments. If you have had any scalp balding, hormone therapy will usually stop it, however the extent to which it will grow back is variable. Some people may notice minor changes in shoe size or height.

Dietary supplementation with magnesium and zinc are also thought to help prevent growth of excess facial hair. In one of the clinical studies for patients with hirsutism, participants were given a combination of magnesium, zinc, calcium, and vitamin D supplements over the course of 12 weeks.

Does hirsutism get worse with age? ›

Androgen production in women may decrease because of ovarian aging or decreased production by the adrenal glands over time. The prevalence of hirsutism and acne decreases with age.

The most common cause of excess body hair in people assigned female at birth is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which is a hormonal disorder causing the body to produce too many androgens. The condition accounts for more than 70% of hirsutism cases. Doctors do not fully understand the causes of PCOS.

But some women with hirsutism don't have PCOS or any other cause that can be found. Their hormone levels are normal, and so are their menstrual cycles. These women may have been born with hair follicles that are more sensitive to androgens. Hirsutism may also occur in some women who have diabetes or who are obese.

How common is hirsutism? Hirsutism affects 5% to 10% of women and people AFAB who are around child-bearing age. It affects over 40% of women and AFAB at some point during their lives.

Electrolysis can permanently remove unwanted hair. Once your hair is gone, you won't need maintenance treatments. It works on all hair types, including light-colored hairs, which lasers cannot remove.

The most popular treatment for hirsutism are oral contraceptive (OC) medications, which suppress circulating luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), leading to a decrease in ovarian androgen production.