Are you battling with facial hair? I feel your pain. The faster you pluck or wax them, the faster they grow back- argh!

I have done my fair share of hand-tweezing using the car mirror while stopped at the red light.

While facial hair in women could point to a hormonal condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), almost all women will grow an errant hair or two under the chin while being perfectly normal.

You are not without options for taming the chin hair beast but know that there is no “cure” for this condition.

Stop the treatment and your chin hair reappear in no time. Aggravating right?

Here are a few dandy (albeit temporary) solutions to banish those unsightly chin hairs:

1. Plucking and tweezing

Pro: Easy to do, no fancy equipment is required.

Con: Hair grows back within days to weeks of plucking. The plucking could cause some inflammation around the skin when the hair was pulled out leaving a bumpy skin texture.

2. Waxing

Pro: Gives a nice smooth finish to the shaved area.

Con: Not a painless procedure to go through.

3. Depilatory Creams

Vaniqa cream is also a good option. It’s a prescription cream but tough luck getting your insurance to pay for it.

Pro: Painless!

Con: Expect to need multiple applications in order to get rid of the chin hair. Vaniqa may also cause some darkening of the skin area it is applied to.

4. Prescription medications like birth control pills or diuretics like Spironolactone

If you need the chin hair gone yesterday, this is not an option for you. Better to have other reasons to use these medications besides getting rid of facial hair in my opinion.

Pro: Painless

Con: Slow as molasses! Expect to use the medications for 3-6 months before noticing a change in your chin hair eruptions. Potential side effects like increased blood clots for birth control pills and frequent trips to the bathroom for Spironolactone.

5. Laser Hair Removal & Electrolysis

Need a 2 year break from shaving, tired of DIY options and not hurting for cash? This is the option for you.

Both options involve “burning” off the hair follicles so the hair does not grow back (in a hurry). Laser hair removal is usually less painful.

Pro: You would not have to shave for years!

Con: You would need to have it done by a medical professional, usually a dermatologist.

Expensive. Nobody needs laser hair removal or electrolysis to live so your health insurance considers these procedures “cosmetic” or elective procedures at best.

You probably get your share of advertising pieces offering you some sweet deals on these procedures. As always, do your homework before signing on.

 

About the author

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Dr. Bola

Family physician. Works for the "man" by day, wife & mom 24/7.
Loves the work of translating "medicalese" to plain english.

7 Comments

  • I have this one stupid chin hair that I have to pluck every week or so… very annoying. I’d love to get my eyebrows done too! They grow out of control so quickly!

    • Those chin hairs could be so stubborn!

      My hubby likes the Brooke Shield’s eyebrow- thick and lucious, one less place for me to trim or shave.

  • In had 13 sessions of laser hair removal and it did nothing for me. I still have to pluck with tweezer every single day, and it’s not a little of of hair, its a lot of coarse dark hair. I’m so frustrated.

    • I feel your frustration Kris! You might want to look into being o n the anti-hormone medication; Spironolactone.

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