How long does Spiro take to affect new hair growth

Hair Removal Methods Prescription oral medications
#41

Ah, the college-age angst. I feel for you.

Tanning beds are worse for your skin than the sun. Tanning rays from either source are the cause of the worst skin cancers; it’s NOT the burning rays as people think. That’s why I said avobenzone. A lot of store-bought sunscreen is junk. They all stop the burning rays, but unless it contains one of the three ingredients I mentioned, forget it, it won’t stop the tanning rays which are what will cause you to get spots and shading. I choose avobenzone because it doesn’t clog pores.

As for SPF–15 is high enough. Statistically, anything higher really doesn’t work better OR longer because it has to be reapplied anyway. And, BTW, tanning bed tans look crappy. You get a weird shade of brown instead of that golden brown from the sun.

I doubt you’ll have much trouble on your legs as far as sun sensitivity ('sides, you need your Vitamin D, right? :slight_smile: ). Just look out for your face, neck, and chest big time. Those areas will get the spottiest by far, and will burn easily.

If you wear makeup, Paula’s Choice makeup has an SPF of 15 and blocks both kinds of rays. I don’t know what other brands have. Wearing sunscreen AND makeup is a bit much, so usually I wear makeup (or if I’m staying inside, nothing on my face at all). And don’t think that after 3:00 p.m. that you’re safe. I’d wait to go out without sunscreen at maybe 6:00 or 7:00 depending on where you live. Also, I have been burned right through my car’s windshield and side window! In Summer and Winter both! Even my lips are not immune.

The only sunless tanning lotion I know of that doesn’t turn you orange is Fake Bake. Check out the reviews at Amazon.com. Also look at the different companies selling Fake Bake on Amazon, because the prices range anywhere from $13 to $40 for the exact same product!

#42

you might also want to look into department store tanning lotion. lancome makes a good one, although it smells kinda weird. but it looks natural.

or clinique probably makes a good one.

just a thought :]

#43

Research here [ http://tgmeds.org.uk/downj.html ] would indicate that the maximum benefit of a common anti-androgen is nearly reached within four months. In this study Cyproterone acetate was used which is generally more effective than Spironolactone. Though this is a different drug being used under different circumstances, I think it serves as a useful benchmark.

#44

well, still no results that i can see from the spiro. still some hair spreading on my chest (not very noticable to anyone but me, but it’s still spreading.) it’s VERY frustrating… especially because summer is coming but i really don’t want to shave my whole chest and back because it will make the skin rougher… i have noticed that now that i shave my entire lower body the only parts that are really still soft are the parts i’ve never shaved… :frowning: i just wish i could be a normal woman.

i dunno what to do really. i have started using a gradual self tanning lotion (the dove one) which looks pretty good and i hope that it will help disguise the hairs by making them contrast less with my skin. i hate being hairy!!! but honestly, i have to start wondering if maybe my doctor was right and it isn’t hirsutism, maybe it is hypertrichosis? because at first, it presented in a male pattern, although the hair was fine and not coarse. but now it seems to just be everywhere, covering every part of my body except my face, and while it is sparse and fine in many places it still has pigment, it’s dark, and the hairs did NOT used to be there. but i can’t find information on anything that would cause hypertrichosis in this form except certain drugs, and i’ve never been on any of them (in fact before getting on birth control and then spiro i hadn’t taken any prescription meds for many years.)

#45

What is hypertrichosis? I know I’ve read about it before but I can’t remember what it is. I feel your pain about wanting to be normal woman, especially around this time of year as I am starting to find out. I too feel like I keep getting more hair all over but am not sure if it’s my imagination or if it really is starting to creep to new places. Hang in there!

#46

hypertrichosis is when you have increased vellus hair growth all over your body, not just in androgen sensitive areas. and the vellus hairs can become longer or darker, but i guess they aren’t considered terminal hairs? the information on it is a little confusing. but it doesn’t seem possible to just develop it out of the blue even though it kind of describes what has happened to me. either you are born with it in an extreme version (like those “wolfmen” who are covered in animal-like hair) or you can get an induced version that is much less extreme (like what i am experiencing) but this only seems to happen from certain prescription drugs.

my hirsutism started out very slow, only on my stomach, and then all of a sudden it exploded and hair appeared everywhere within a matter of months. but i am not totally sure if it is hirsutism or not. the hair on my stomach is more coarse and was originally in a male pattern but now i have hair everywhere, not in any pattern at all really! and thankfully it’s fine hair, but that’s also more frustrating because no one has answers and there seems to be little hope for getting rid of it…

but the hair is everywhere now, even in areas that are supposedly not androgen sensitive. it literally covers every inch of my body except most of the tops of my feet (i have a little line of hair on my feet which i shave with my legs but i don’t have to shave the whole foot), the underside of my arms (slowly shrinking area) and my face/neck although i do have longer than normal blond vellus hairs in that area. everywhere else has this fine pigmented hair, some areas more sparse than others, but it is everywhere… and it originally appeared in a male pattern… so maybe this is still what it is… but i don’t know :frowning:

#47

How long did the body hair take to see a difference ??

#48

In myopinion, spironolactone is one of the weaker antiandrogens, it will drop your androgen levels, but in order to see the effect on hair growth one must be on in spiro months to years.It takes time for the androgen levels to drop ( a few months) and then it can take many more months to see any noticable dimishing of body hair. Facial hair will be unaffected ( other than new hairs not forming) . verage transperson, doesnt see noticeable diminishing of hody hair for 3 years or more after beginning hrt.