I am a 17 year old female in the last few months to a year I have noticed hair on my stomach. This seems like such a weird place, no one else seems to have this problem. Most of it is very light and fine, but i have some darker, coarser hairs below the belly button. I never had this problem before, and with swimsuit season here I really don’t want to have to deal with this. How is the best way to get rid of it? I don’t have a lot of money, so im not sure about electrolysis, but am willing to spend some. Would depilatories work? Or waxing? Would either of these methods make the hair come back more?
Please help!
The only thing that will remove the hairs, without potentially causing them to get darker, thicker or stimulate more hairs to grow is shaving or clipping.
You should avoid artificial sweeteners, as they are notorious for causing hair growth in the area you describe. Birth control pills can also lead to increased hair growth as well.
Boggle! James didn’t suggest doing electrolysis?
If you have but a few hairs, electrolysis won’t cost that much and it works. Be prepared mentally to go in a number of times.
While I personally believe in the artificial sweetener/hormone connection, I have not found the one scientific article that stated this. (And I did read one in the '80’s.) If anyone has found any please post the information/website here.
I must add that some birth control pills can result in less hair for women with the right hormone issues.
If you are just starting to see a few hairs, be aware that you might have a lot of new growth in the next few years. Most of my teenaged girls begin with a few hairs and think that any new hairs are the same ones growing back, but they are not. If you were to wait until you were older to begin electrolysis, you might have grown a wide and heavy amount of hair on your abdomen, so beginning now and treating them as they come in will result in shorter appointments and more time without hair.
The “secret” of being satified with the treatments is to be consistent in getting the area cleared. (After choosing a good electrologist.)
I find stomach hair growth very misterious. As a teen i had none. Then i got married , and pregnant at 23. During those 9 months my entire stomach area looked like a stuffed toy, and hairs were dark and long. I remembered being very upset, and scared, and i thought they were there to stay. In the year following giving birth, they slowly disappeared. Since then, i noticed that there are periods (or months, if you will), when my hairs grow back, in different ammounts and shades, sometimes dark sometimes blonde, and then they go away,without shaving or waxing. I find the issue worse in the winter months, allthough its not that bad or visible where its actually going to bother me enough to try and remove them. Right now i have none. I dont know if this is hormonal issue, and if not, what could be the cause. I dont take any kinds of medicines, other than otc pain killers occasionaly.
Sgirl, i know that they say that shaving will not cause hairs to come any different, but i dont find that particularly true either. I had full sleeve tattoo done three months ago, and artist shaved my arm hairs. Hairs on my arm were thin and blonde and uniform in growth. As of now, three months later, they are dark, they feel different and they grow in every direction imaginable. My arm looks horrible. I might even take pictures of both arms and post them here as proof. If i knew id never even get the tattoo.
In any case, if you start shaving your tummy, be prepared to deal with stubble, and i dont know how desireable it is for a girl to have stubbly tummy. Id opt for electrolysis in any case.
sanny, I have noticed that “wax and wane” (not hair waxing) for some areas on myself, too! There is just so much that we don’t know about the individual physiology of hair growth!
I heard mixed things about the use of birth control pills. It depends on the amounts of hormones for various brands. Pills that are high in androgen levels have been heard to cause increased hair growth. However, I have read that others tend to inhibit hair growth (have the apposite effect).
One of the more popular brands, allesse, I believe has the effect of increasing hair growth. Can anyone confirm this?
I’ve posted a link to a site that outlines various birth control pills and what various ingredients in each can do. Depending on the combination of ingredients, the effects could be to either increase or reduce hair growth. Yasmin is one of the pills that tends to decrease it for example. I’ve used Alesse myself before and didn’t find it did anything in terms of hair growth.
The growth mostly depends on the hormones and the balance you have initially. Some pills etc work to stabilize the hormones, thus decreasing the growth. However, effects are different and depend on the individual too. You just have to try them out and see what works for your body.