18 year old girl feeling more like a dude everyday

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#1

hi, I never thought it would get this bad, but here I am. feeling worse than ever!
I’m an 18 year old (white…nope, not italian) girl, and I’ve been dealing with excessive body hair since I was about 13. I started noticing it on my upper lip, belly, and arms. my mother, handed me some bleach without a word…I can’t remember if I had asked her for help or if she just noticed, I was being bullied at the time so that might have been a part of it- I can’t remember, I think I blocked it out!

I started bleaching my tummy on my own, I remembered thinking, “if I do this- people can’t really tell!” I did this until I was about 17, then I noticed the upper lip hair was longer, and bleaching didn’t help anymore, it made it just as obvious in the sun.

I started tweezing/plucking the hair, and haven’t stopped since. sometimes it’ll make my face a little red, but for the most part I’ve gotten used to attending to it every morning.

at about 17 and a half, two long, dark chin hairs suddenly appeared. I plucked those too. they only show up once in a while, but they are a pain. Then, I noticed all of the hair on my chin was a light brown instead of blonde, and a tad longer than the average person…so I started bleaching that.

inner things are a disaster, I shave the entire area all the time because I can’t bear to look at it. I then noticed I had darker hairs all over the uh, cheek area, and in it as well.

But it didn’t stop there! over the course of the last year, the hair on my belly has extended to under my navel, above and around my navel, a large strip down my middle up to my breasts, between my breasts, on my breasts, around the nipples, upper arms, right above the pubic region, stretching all over the stomach, lower back, a few on my big toes…it never ends!

as I’m sure you all understand, I was scared, and surprised. I plucked some of the hair around my bellybutton in disgust…and unlike people say, (obviously this does the same as waxing) the hair DID grow back ‘thicker’ in that the hair was darker, coarser, and almost impossible to bleach. I was under the impression it wouldn’t do this, but the only way I can explain it is the hair growth isn’t like the fine hairs on the rest of my body, it must be more coarse in nature (I can’t think of the terms right now, sorry) but it was waiting to be shaved/taken off…like a 15 year old boy’s “dirtstache”.

I find all of this upsetting. I tried to accept myself, I did, really. I’ve felt better about it than I did a little, but when even my friends make a few comments, I want to just hide myself away and never come out. I feel gross.

I would love to have it gone forever, but electrolysis and laser are very pricey, and I don’t have a lot of money for that sort of thing. and it covers almost all of my body.

this is the time I’m s’posed to be proud of my youthful body, right? I’m sure not feeling it right now haha

I’m wondering if I have a hormonal imbalance or something, (I kind of hope I do, if that means there’s ways I can help it be reduced) and a few of the symptoms seem to apply, even though I am only 18. I’m not overweight, but I have anxiety, among a few other things. but it doesn’t seem to be a dead ringer.

I don’t know if any women in my family deal with this, but my mom seems pretty smooth all over. why, oh why, could I not be the same haha!!!

I have a question as well…I’m sorry if some one you aren’t cool with this, but I’m actually interested in primarily women. I know that a lot of guys think body hair on women is gross, (some don’t, of course) but how do women with other women feel? just curious.

I’m not sure what I should do now, if anything! thanks for reading!

#2

Im sorry to hear about your situation.

I think you are in the right place. There is a lot of help, information and other people in the same situation on this forum.
As you said, permanent hair removal cost money. I think you should try to save up, find a good electrologist and treat the area you are most bothered with the hairs.

And maybe if you talk to your mom, and/or other females in the family you will discover that you are not alone, and get advice. Anyway it helps to talk about it with someone you trust.

#3

Hello piloswine. Firstly I just want to say that I understand what you’re going through. I know what you mean when you say that “it never ends” because it definitely feels like that sometimes! But don’t let yourself get too down about it because at least there are things you can do to sort it out and there’s so much more to you than your excess hair. At eighteen, you’ve also got an early start when it comes to tackling it.

I’m no expert on different hair removal options but I would say do what you can for now (shaving, bleaching etc) and move onto more permanent hair removal when you can afford it. I have used an epilator on my legs / feet (particularly the irritating hairs on my toes) and found it worked very well and made the hairs stay away for much longer than shaving with a razor - and epilators aren’t too expensive. Also, electrolysis is working so far for me on my face, so maybe you could consider that in the long term. As for a possible hormone imbalance, I would suggest going to the doctor and asking for a blood test to check.

Best wishes!

#4

Hi Piloswine,
The good thing is that there are a variety of options out there for hair removal. The bad thing is that it can get pricey and some pose a risk for skin damage if done inappropriately. This site is definitely a great education tool and there are a lot of knowledgeable people here that share their experiences. One thing for sure, is you will find that you are not the only person going through this problem. During my teen years I started shaving the majority of my body. I hated it, as it was time consuming and embarrassing, but I should have been grateful for what I was dealing with then, because the situation has worsened over the years. The first time I put the razor to my face was about 16 years old and that was just for long, fine hairs. After getting off birth control I started developing chin whiskers. Thinking laser hair removal would in fact help the situation, it didn’t, and I found myself with beard whiskers. I suppose I should be thankful that it could be much worse, but I still hope that there will come a day that I will feel confident in myself again. But like I said, you are not alone and I hope you can find some education and support here. hugs

#5

thank you, all of you! I’m sad to see so many people have to deal with this, but at least we’re not alone, I suppose. I hope to be as positive a participant in this forum that I can be, and help at least one person! thank you!!