Sticky: Hormones and hair

Special Issues Hormonal issues
#1

Both male and female hormones can affect hair growth. While much hair growth is hereditary,

If you believe you may have changes in hormone levels that are affecting hair growth, you should contact a physician. This can be caused by a number of things, from pregnancy to puberty to menopause. It can also be a sign of other medical issues.

If a physician gives you a blood test and determines that your hair growth is affected by hormone levels that are outside certain ranges, you may be prescribed a prescription oral medication. For more on this, please see the Prescription oral medication forum.

Hormone levels can affect how well a hair removal product or device works, so be sure to discuss this with a physician.

#2

In response to “Hormone levels can affect how well a hair removal product or device works, so be sure to discuss this with a physician.”

In a case of a M to F TG who is about to begin HRT, is it better to begin hair removal regiem “after”, or “prior to” beginning hormone therapy ?? Or does it matter ?? I have heard both sides. I would really like an “experienced” answer because I am about to begin hair removal “and” HRT and need to know.

#3

I would urge you to see an experienced endocrinologist right away, instead of a regular physician. Most regular MDs just don’t have enough knowledge about hormonal issues and tend to dismiss it as unimportant.

#4

In my area there is only one reproductive endocrinolgist and it is a man. There are, however, many females under the heading "endochrinology/ metabolism."I have read that females may be more understanding regarding hirsutism. Do you think I should try one of the women or go to the man b/c of his specialty? I once saw a reproductive endo years ago who said there was a small possibility of PCOS but to come back when I wanted to have kids so nothing came of it. I am not looking to have kids yet but I find my hair growth getting worse and more frustrating each year. If it is indeed hereditary, is there nothing that can be done? My mom’s facial hair growth is way worse than mine, but it didn’t happen to her til later in life and I’m only 31.Can low thyroid affect hair growth? My mom has low thyroid and thinks I might too.

#5

Electro and laser most definitely hurts more on estrogen as opposed to testosterone - but…

Take it from anyone that’s been on HRT - you’re not going to understand your mind or your personality until you get on estrogen. It’s amazing. It’s like your mind starts working for the first time.

Best to get started. Best to start developing too. :wink:

Lala

#6

Do you need a referal to see an endocrinologist? Would it be from a general practitioner, family doctor, internal medicine or OB/GYN?

#7

it depends on your insurance. if you have HMO where you need referrals from your main doctor, that is who you go to to get it. if you have a PPO, you usually don’t need a referral. you just find one that accepts your insurance.

#8

My inquiry is in regard to home laser treatments for permanent hair removal. I’d like to know if it’s a good idea to do this for someone that’s not experienced. How risky is it? Also, Can you recommend any specific home laser treatments that are safe to use and effective?

#9

At the moment, none of the products advertised as “Home Use Hair Removal LASERS” are anything other than flashlights scamming to take your money, and we don’t advise buying a real LASER (GentleLase, Radiance et, al) to use on yourself, even if you have the $50,000 to $250,000 to spend on getting one.

#10

You are wise to research this and I’m glad for you that you came to hairtell so you don’t get scammed. It would be very risky if you purchased a real laser that works in the $100,000 range.

What area(s) are you concerned with for permanent hair reduction with laser?

Dee

#11

there are no home laser products that work. if they did, we would all be using them.

#12

I’m wondering if there is anything that can be done if hormone levels are normal, but there is abnormal hair growth in female? In my case it could be hereditary, but my mother has way less hair than me, except her face (but she is in menopause now, so it’s kinda expected), she is not hairy in other areas of the body. I had my hormones checked, everything came out normal, so i’m guessing that my problem is hyper-sensitivity of the receptors on normal androgen levels. Should i try with androgen blockers, would it have any effect?

The thing is that in the last year all of my facial and body hair grew longer, and it’s completely ruining my life, since i can’t afford laser, and even if i could most of the hairs are not suitable for laser, and second - i started electrolysis, but my face is just too sensitive,after a month or so it still didn’t completely recovered from that first session. You would probably advise me to find another electrologist, but here where i live there is no very much choise, it’s like two or three places where they do electrolysis, and that’s it…

So i thought that i could try with this androgen blockers, but i’m not sure how many damage that can make to some other things in my body…

#13

You could be in the normal range, but on the higher end of the scale.

You’d need to see an endocrinologist to explore medications. Many people here discuss spiro for example. But the drugs are pretty serious and it may be an overkill for this area. Also, they won’t remove the hair completely. They may just make it finer.

Have you considered temporary methods until you find a good electrologist? Shaving, waxing, bleaching, or threading are all options and what the majority of women with this problem still do.

#14

Talk to a doctor. You may have totally normal hormone levels, but just be reeeeally sensitive to small amount of androgens. Sometimes certain birth control pills can make hair better for this reason, but they can also make it worse so you might need to experiment. Spiro is a popular choice, but it’s also pretty hardcore and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have more severe hormone issues (terrible acne, excessive facial oil, and whole-body hirsutism) because it can cause you to retain potassium which has a 60% chance of killing you once it gets bad enough for you to notice something’s wrong. Many people on spiro need regular blood tests for this.