Hi all,
i’m new to this forum, and am so grateful for all the information i’ve discovered from here! i am a 17 year old asian female with upper lip and chin hair. this hair is not coarse, but noticeable. i was wondering if electrolysis will work for me considering my age? any input would be greatly appreciated! thanks 
Yes, electrolysis will work for you. Just keep in mind that you have to catch every hair when it comes in phase, which will be at least a 9 to 18 month journey for you. Remember that even a normal male doesn’t even get all his hair on the face until he is between 23 and 25, so you will have shorter touch up appointments every now and then.
The important thing is that you can get bare faced, and keep it under control.
Thanks!
My main concern is that due to my young age, I might continue to grow coarser and more hair. How does the growth of facial hair occur on females? Is it the same as males? I am only 17 and I hope I don’t have 8 more years of facial hair growth ahead of me. :S
I am sorry to report that while men have a large amount of hair on the face that level’s off around 25, women have several events and situations where they can end up growing hair. The difference is women don’t usually grow as much hair as men, but they do often grow a small amount of new hairs at various times.
In the worst case, one would have short appointments every 4 to 6 months to keep ahead of the 5 or so hairs per square inch one may stimulate every 2 to 3 months, and in the best case, one won’t have those changes causing new hairs when one is done.
Any woman who lives long enough encounters some incident that causes new hair growth, since anything that causes a hormonal change can trigger it.
I like to say, what woman do you know who has not gone through puberty, gotten pregnant, gained or lost 20 or more pounds, had 2 weeks or more of continued stress, or reached menopause? Any of these could cause hair growth. Then there are other things like medications (birth control pills are notorious hair growers) food additives, medical conditions and so on.
Just keep in mind that one can keep on track and look like one has no problem at all, no matter what level of hair growth one is fighting against, just as long as one’s hair removal professional is good enough and is given enough co-operation to win the war against your unwanted hair.
Hi jfreebody… When I started reading about your plight it was obvious you have very little experience with this subject, therefore, you had to be very young. Also, you probably never read this web site before AS THERE IS A LOT OF INFO ABOUT YOUR PROBLEM…
To take it from the top…
THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES HAIR GROW IS MALE HORMONES AND/OR ANY HORMONES OR CHEMICALS (LIKE SOME MEDICATIONS) OR PLANT OR HERBAL SUBSTANCES THAT RESEMBLE MALE HORMONES (LIKE GROWTH HORMONE). ALSO BIRTH CONTROL PILLS, CORTISONE (USED FOR ASTHMA, ALLERGIES, ARTHRITIS, AND A NUMBER OF SKIN DISORDERS AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT…PREGNANCY AND MENOPAUSE. A NUMBER OF DISEASES THAT CAN INVOLVE SOME OF YOUR ORGANS AND STRESS (LIKE ADRENALS AND OVARIES, AND PITUITARY) ARE ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR SOME OF THIS. LATINOS (MALE AND FEMALE) HAVE A GENETIC PREDISPOSITION TO BE HAIRY AS DO MEDITERRANEAN PEOPLES (ARABS, JEWS. ITALIANS, FRENCH, PORTUGESE, AND ALL LATINO SOUTH AMERICANS AND ASIAN INDIANS.) ORIENTALS HAVE VIRTUALLY NO HAIR ON THEIR BODY AND MALES HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME GROWING ANY HAIR ON THE FACE, CHEST, LEGS AND UNDERARMS.
NOW… ABNORMAL EXCESS HAIR IS CALLED HIRSUTISM AND IT CAN OCCUR IN MALES AND FEMALES, HOWEVER, IT IS MORE NOTICEABLE ON FEMALES BECAUSE THEY HAVE LESS MALE OR MALE-LIKE HORMONES UNLESS THEY FALL INTO ANY OF THE GROUPS MENTIONED ABOVE. AND MALES CAN HAVE
ABNORMAL EXCESS FEMALE HORMONES, THEREFORE, THEY CAN GROW BREASTS.
SOME OF THE CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE FEMALES TO GROW HAIR ARE QUITE COMMON, HOWEVER, FEMALES ARE NOT AWARE OF THE FACT THEY MIGHT HAVE A TREATABLE MEDICAL CONDITION UNTILL THEY REACH LATE TEENS OR UNTIL THEY GET MARRIED AND TRY TO GET PREGNANT. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE ALL THESE SYMPTOMS BUT HERE ARE A NUMBER OF POSSIBLE SYMPTOMS. THEY ARE IRREGULAR PERIODS, SKIPPED PERIODS (THATS ANYTHING OVER 35 DAYS OR UNDER 21 DAYS), PAINFUL PERIODS, LIGHT FLOW, HEAVY FLOW, SKIN ERUPTIONS THAT RESEMBLE ACNE, AND RARELY A DEEPENING OF THE VOICE. These are seen most often in a condition called “Polycystic ovarian syndrome”. It shows up when a female starts her periods. When hair starts growing she tweezes, shaves, waxes and anything she hears about. Due to the fact she has not yet reached the peak of this problem she thinks that shaving or waxing makes it grow in heavier but in reality the condition has not yet reached its peak. There is a second condition called “Congenital adrenal hyperplasia” or “adrenogenital syndrome” that is visible as soon as a baby is born in some cases, however, in most cases it becomes obvious during teen years. Females start growing hair in the wrong places and bra cup size may shrink while hair continues to spread to areas where males nomally do grow hair and females, ordinarily, never grow hair. The name stems from… congenital means “born with it”. Adrenal stems from “ADRENAL GLAND”. HYPER means “too much”, and plasia means “activity” or too much activity of the adrenal glands. Adrenal, hormone is “cortisol” which has a lot of activity that is similar to male hormone and includes hair growrth. It is treated with pills…NO SURGERY.
Drs. check you by doing 2 blood tests to verify what your problem is so they can tell which medication to prescribe for your condition. Most often the treatment is birth control pills but sometimes they add a second pill called
“spironalactone” and there is also another drug called “finasteride” (generic).
You can see this can be complicated and requires a specialist who cares about YOU… NOT THE HAIR. There are a few gynecologists who understand this disorder, however, the specialists to see are called “reproductive gynecologists” and/or “endocrinologist”.They can be found at the large medical centers. Try to find one who is a female as they will be more understanding towards you. If you do not treat this while you are young it can only get worse and you may become infertile.
Treatment is covered by medical insurance, including electrolysis. IF your company will not pay … remind them there is precedent for this. That means other companies have paid. The law maintains… IF ONE COMPANY PAID THEY ALL HAVE TO PAY. THEY WILL TRY TO GET OUT OF IT, HOWEVER, WHEN YOU LET THEM KNOW YOU ARE AWARE OF THE PRECEDENT THEY WILL PAY RATHER THAN GO BEFORE A JUDGE. THERE IS A CODE FOR THIS TREATMENT IN THE ICD9 CODE BOOK. YOUR DOCTOR KNOWS ABOUT THIS BOOK BECAUSE EVERY CONDITION OR DISEASE HAS A NUMBER TO PUT ON THE CLAIM FORM TO GET PAID, THEREFORE, HE KNOWS.
GOOD LUCK
Thanks a lot! I actually am oriental lol. What I have is obvious upper lip hair, fine dark hair lining my cheeks and very fine dark hair on my chin which is noticeable in bright lights. I went to the doctor, who couldn’t see anything, and my parents insist that it is normal and nothing will happen. However, they are amazing and assure me that if it becomes pronounced enough they will do everything to make sure I am okay. Personally, I think it is as pronounced as it should be, which is why I am looking into electrolysis now.
I have had blood tests and ultrasounds taken when i first got my period, and everything seems to be fine.
Avoid artificial sweeteners, and as many of the other things that cause unnecessary hormonal reactions and you should be fine. If you have not already, find out if your Library has a copy of The Diet Cure by Julia Ross. You will find lots of good information there.
Eugh. Okay, I’ll try to eat healthy goods, but it sucks to be so young and restricted already. I was hoping to put off eating healthy till my twenties. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone else out there remembers the phases of development of their facial hair and if they would enlighten me on what to expect? Females only please, lol!
By the way, I’m oriental, so any other oriental females out there could probably help me most. But I doubt it :S
Okay I see there are no oriental females with this issue. Bummer!
I’m planning on getting some electrolysis on my face soon. I still need to find a good electrolysist however. I know that during consultations, I will be asking for samples of how the electrolysis will go. What is a normal reaction to have on your skin after electrolysis?
It doesn’t matter that you are oriental, as electrolysis works on any color of skin. The most important step is to enlighten yourself about how electrolysis works and then find a skilled, modern electrologist (sometimes a hard thing to do). Normal reactions can range from looking like nothing has happened to being a little pink for a couple hours if this is done properly. Some people look really red for hours. With all the skin types in the world, it’s hard to give a hard fast answer. You shouldn’t have scabs all over your face or other skin manifestations beyond a week for your face. Body work can be totally different. The newer computerized epilators are great for skin sensation and skin reaction if they are used properly.
Where do you live? Sometimes we can help you hook up with recommended electrologists in your area.
Dee
Thanks for replying!
I should mention that my skin is really sensitive and extremely pale. It burns really easily but I don’t get pimples that often. Would that help in determining the skin reactions? I’m really scared of scarring and people noticing anything done to my face.
btw, I live in Scarborough, ON which is pretty much part of Toronto, but I would rather stay in the Scarborough area. I have looked up electrolysists in Yellow Pages, and I found one five minutes away, and two twenty minutes away.
I would start close to home and work my way out. But get those consultations and sample treatments. Here are some hairtell Super Friends as James has called them:
Kathy Lynn is located in Orangeville, Ontario, one hour from Toronto.
Her number: 519-938-8585. She uses the Silhouet-Tone Sequentium VMC.
Lucie Desrochers, is an hour away from Toronto as well.
Her number: 905-628-0010 http://www.transelectrolysis.ca
I think she uses the Apilus SX-500.
Scarring is not the same as normal skin reaction after an electrolysis treatment. The healing time should be short, less than a week for most cases. You just need to get treatment and see how your skin reacts. Your electrologist will be your educator on what to expect. You can always come here and get more information if she or he does not educate you. We will do our best to help you along even though we can’t see and treat you. A skilled electrologist that knows how to use the best computerized epilators available today, can leave you looking very good afterwards so that your secret remains a secret between you and your new best friend, your electrologist. If you have too much fear and no trust, then it is best to stick with temporary methods.
jfreebody- the ppl Dee mentioned have good epilators so that is a hopeful, reassuring first step. You are by far not the only asian person who deals with this; just no one is posting at the moment with the exact same situation. We all have our own personal perceptions of what is acceptable and what is offensive. I have many Japanese, Korean, and Latina friends who haved a similar pattern of hair on their faces and I don’t think it is unnatractive at all yet I am repulsed at the site of my own blond hairs all over my face. Each person has their own ideas and struggles. I would actually prefer the darker fine hairs as long as they followed parallel to the face but my blondies that stick out drive me nuts!
Good luck and keep the faith.
There are plenty of Asian women with similar issues, including many on this forum if you run a search. You may not have a hormonal problem. Even if you do, they’re hard to detect. It sounds like what you have now is minor, so it may be just hereditary. Electrolysis is the way to go, just expect to need touch ups once in a while until maybe 25-26, or when any hormonal changes happen (like pregnancy). If you do get a lot more hair, it may not be a bad idea to check with an endocrinologist to make sure everything is in line.
But at this point, I would concentrate on finding a good electrologist. Run a search here for previous recommendations too. There have been plenty of people from Toronto posting here in the past. With good treatments, you won’t have any side effects and definitely no scarring. But do read through the forum and learn what you should be looking for when trying out electrologists.
I’ve read a lot of these threads, and I’ll be sure to read more. In any case, I have a silly question. What exactly is considered to be artificial sweeteners? Diet sodas, and what else?
Anything that contains fake sugar, like Splenda etc.