Video
Consultation: Excess Facial Hair
Excess facial hair affects around one in every ten women and it can take a severe toll on their social lives as well. Dr Dawn Harper talks to a patient who feels she is living like a recluse because of this embarrassing illness, and advises a course of laser treatment to alleviate the symptoms – with remarkable results!
If you’re suffering from any of the conditions featured on this site and want to apply for an onscreen consultation with one of the EB team then you can find more details here >>
Remember that you should always check with a health professional if you have any concerns about your health.
Comments and Questions
You can share your experiences and thoughts with other Embarrassing Bodies site-users below. Comments & Questions are reviewed by moderators, but if you see anything on the site that worries you, please report it and one of our moderators will look at it as soon as possible.
Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.
Hi I also have suffered with this condition or curse as I call it for 32 yrs, it has got far worse as I have got older. I have reddish blonde hair so dont think laser will work for me, the unwanted hair is face, nipples, tummy, bikini line, bottom, legs , toes, fingers, basically everywhere, its blonde but very course,after many yrs I had the courage to visit my doctor who didn't know what to do, I went to a skin specialist at local hospital who recommended vaniqua cream (which didn't work), I split up with my long term partner seval months ago and the future looks totally bleak to me as I don't like anyone touching or seeing me naked, I am constantly shaving, waxing, plucking,I'm so ashamed I feel like a man, I cry myself to sleep some nights, is there any cure for this soul destroying curse??? Desperately in need of help!!!!!!!
To add to above I have been told its hereditary as I have had regular periods and have had 3 children so have nothing wrong with me!
hi im 26 i have facial hair on my chin upper lip and sides ov face i have sufford from this for 2 year i have pcos im very deprest i wont go out i wont kiss lads im so imbarrsed i cant afford lazor i dont no what to do all i do is cry and hide away is there any funding for lazor or any thing can any body help xxx
some advice from someone with PCOS. I am about to try to take some Spearmint tea which you can buy relatively cheaply ready-made or buy a little pot plant and then it is more of a one-off cost. I intend to use the tea bags and boost them with as many fresh leaves as I can to help things along. A Turkish study has found that woment with PCOS ...and I would guess other hormonal factors would also benefit...drank the strong tea twice daily for apx 5-7 days in the second week of their periods around pre-ovulation (beginning apx on the 6th day after their periods started). They were found to have quote "significantly lower testosterone blood levels" after about only 6 weeks!...this in turn would after a few more months etc lead to a decrease (or hopefully elimination) of the excess hair that the excess free testosterone creates! more info is on internet etc so fingers crossed and good luck to us all...!!!
I had a facial hair problem. I plucked it for years. Recently it got worse and seeing a program on Embarrassing Bodies, got the ccourage to find a Laser Practitioner. I got treatment over two months (2 treatments). Ever since hairs appear but they are only millimeters. They must be the skin shedding dead folicles. Session felt like tiny pinpricks. Recommend it to anyone.
hi could you tell me if you have solved your problem has the hair gone with this treatment !!! thanks
Im 23 years old. I have hair growth on my face and body a lot of hair at the back of my bikini line. I have normal hormone balances after several blood test and nothing is wrong. I have had 3 years worth of ipl on my face and the hair is still growing i dont know what to do. I cant even go swimming due the hair on my bottom and the hair on my face is a problem.
hi my mane is sandra and is growth hair im my face and some times is very ambarrassimg a take lot the times but i dont know i go to do somethimes thank you
I NEED HELP PLEASE I NEED HELP WITH MY FACEIEL PROBLEMS
Hi, like many of you i to suffer with facial hair and as we all know unless you suffer with this condition yourself you cannot appriciate how it effect's your everyday life. I have been on my own for 12 year's now and do not socialise at all, i worked night's for 8 year's as then i don't have to see anyone. I have recently started to work day's and how traumatic is that! I have an appointment to see a Dermatologist with ref to having Laser Treatment, i am being referred by my G P after having suffered for 30+ year's, cream's, electrolosis and being on long term low dose antibiotics for 15year's, i am having to travel 2 hour's from my home and take sick time from work, but as we all know we would go to the end of the earth for a solution for this condition that we have. I must say that i was very perplexed when told that the P C T would have to authorise funding and that i should not get my hopes up, but if i were a male having a sex change clearence would be granted immediatly? Thankfully i was one ofthe lucky one's. Good Luck to all of us in finding help and solution's to our problem and to one day being able to face the world with our Head's Held High.
Wow.... i think me & you are in the same boat. I am sooooo ridiculously hairy, i often wonder why was i not born a man. i too do not have a social life,and even when i did-my suppposed friends would snicker in front of me. I avoid parties and gatherings as well. It is very intimidating to look at other women, i also admire how lucky they are to be "all woman"!. By the ways i have excessive facial hair and body hair. I know and have accepted the fact that i will never have a partner, i think the thought of that hurst the most. Your message really hit me, therefore I sincerely hope that you discover a cure and will achieve happiness.
Hi, I have suffered with severe facial/neck hair and body hair for over fifteen years and I understand your story and sympathize. Please explain your abbreviations- GP and PTC? I don't know what those are but very interested if financial funding assistance is available for laser. (which I've had three times on my face but need continuously because it grows fast, dark, and thick just like a man with a 5 o'clock daily shadow) I stay home and avoid going anywhere during daylight hours. People don't understand and think I'm selfish, but I refuse to let everyone know my real problem if they can't see it or haven't noticed it already. It's the most embarassing and humiliating condition to have.
Hello, Can someone could tell me what kind of laser this woman had please? Or mayby the name of the clinic please? Many thanks Karolina
I am 23 with excess body hair just about everywhere. My problem is, I'm blonde so I'm not a good candidate for laser. I'm having laser on my lower back at the moment but I presume it's not going to work :( It affects my life everyday and it's become so debilitating that its ruining my sexual relationships. Sometimes I just feel like ending it all. I'm depressed but I can't get treatment because I'm a healthcare student and it will ruin my medical records and job applications. I can't afford a million hours of epilation. Can anybody help me, I'm getting more and more depressed and I can't take it anymore.
hi am 23 yeears of age, i have savere facial hair starts from chin all way dowm my neck it seems to get worse and spreads. ive tried waxing, threading for few years now not helped what so ever. am going for ipl at the moment, had 1 treatment so far and between the treatment ive been advised to trim or shaving.the ipl machine she uses is called ecolite i dont know if thats any good. ive visited the gp, my blood results are negitive i dont have imbalane hormones or anything related to facial hair. would you please help me thank you
hello, i want to do laser treatment for my face ,can you let me know any good clinic in london.i am doing with one of the clinic but its not good,i will be very thankful to you thanks


