Coarse Facial Hair: Mortified!
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Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:06 pm

I have blonde peach-fuzz on my upper lip. I can't stand having any hair there, no matter how fair I may be. Fuzz: gets waxed-off (by myself) every couple of weeks.

Over the past two years, I've noticed that there are a few COARSE, darker hairs which continually return on the left side of my upper lip.

Though not noticeable to others' eyes, I can feel them when I touch my upper lip. Shock

I use my tweezers, and pull `em out just as they've come-through my skin. They feel like barbs! Thank God for good, precise tweezers!

Anyone else have this starting to happen? I also have one that has reappeared several times under my chin. I can feel it as it starts to poke through, and rip it out with fine tweezers as soon as their tips can grasp the sucker!

Perhaps I'm just neurotic, but ... Oh. My. God. Shock

I turn 34 in about 2½ months. Please tell me that it doesn't get worse than this! I do not want to bear whiskers!

free skin care · Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:19 pm

Don't panic. Just keep checking and keep your good tweezers handy. And make an arrangement with a trusted friend or relative to pluck for you if you're incapacitated. Laughing

I'm not making fun. I've had this for about ten years (I'm 49) and I think it's an aging-hormonal thing. Mine haven't gotten worse, or increased. As long as I can pluck them out, I won't worry. I'm more concerned about all the wiry white hairs turning up in my eyebrows. I can't pluck those out, there are too many of those! Maybe I'll have to color them or something.

Though one thought - if your dark hairs get worse, increase in number, you might have a hormonal imbalance that needs to be addressed by a doctor.

Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:36 pm

zephyr wrote:

Don't panic. Just keep checking and keep your good tweezers handy. And make an arrangement with a trusted friend or relative to pluck for you if you're incapacitated. Laughing

I'm not making fun. I've had this for about ten years (I'm 49) and I think it's an aging-hormonal thing. Mine haven't gotten worse, or increased. As long as I can pluck them out, I won't worry. I'm more concerned about all the wiry white hairs turning up in my eyebrows. I can't pluck those out, there are too many of those! Maybe I'll have to color them or something.

Though one thought - if your dark hairs get worse, increase in number, you might have a hormonal imbalance that needs to be addressed by a doctor.

There are only a few which keep reappearing. As mentioned, I feel them starting to poke-through, just as they erupt. Sometimes, they're so new, that even my finest, sharpest tweezers can't grab them! Actually, I've scraped my skin with those tweezers, trying to get at those barbs ... even before they've really poked-through! Usually, I feel them before they've erupted, but when I try to get at them, they're so minute, that even the best of tweezers can't grab them. And then I end-up with irritation, redness, or otherwise where I've been picking at their miniscule heads ... but still haven't grasped the diva whiskers!! (aaargh!)

When I've managed to snag a newly poked-through/virgin hair, I've noticed that they have a tiny, dark tip on them (scary!), but the everything else is blonde/nearly translucent.

I'm considering laser to put an end to my bi-weekly `stache waxing, but from what I gather, I may have to resort to electrolysis to kill the roots of those few, sharp, prickly b*stards!

In case you wonder what I'd look like with a mustache: voilà! Mustachio'ed diva! Laughing

free skin care · Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:46 am

The dreaded hairs are a part of life. I have them too and have had them for years. I get similar ones to yours on my top lip and just on the tip and under my chin. I probably have developed about a dozen of them. I have plucked them for years and they just keep returning in the same place. I never seem to get any more but if you only have one or two now, you can expect to get quite a few more as the years pile on.

free skin care · Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:05 am

i think tweezers are a bad idea........and its not just an opinion of mine i have read about it and even been told by electrologists........that is because when u use the tweerzer. it pulls out the hair and when u do this..........more bloood goes to the area (due to that so called skin injury from tweezing, of course not noticeable to the eye)...........the bloood is like pouring water to a dried up plant............so there hair bulb/root there gets more blood........which leads to being more stronger and therefore you see more course hair.

the best way to treat this is electrolysis which will get rid of the problem for good......and for you this would be goood because it is only a few hairs...so eassy to do. just be consistent with treatments and in no time youl be done...hair gone for goood Very Happy

free skin care · Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:09 am

by the way i forgot to mention............laser is abig NO NO for this area............as you have other dormant hairs on the face........and the peace fuzz............i have read many cases where doing laser treatment on the face caused more hairs to occur......this is because it causes those dormant hairs to grow.......LASER DEFINATELY MAKES PEACH FUZZ HAIR MUCH WORSER.............BAD IDEA TO TREAT THOSE WITH LASER. And i also say this from personal experience! Mad

free skin care · Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:57 am

Don't worry - this happens to all of us sooner or later. Smile

I also think that electrolysis is the way to go as it will remove hair permanently. It's important to go to a skilled and experienced therapist who has specialized in electrolysis. You can also do it yourself, but that will require a little patience and practice.

free skin care · Wed Aug 06, 2008 4:42 am

Caspers Mum wrote:

Though not noticeable to others' eyes, I can feel them when I touch my upper lip. Shock

I use my tweezers, and pull `em out just as they've come-through my skin. They feel like barbs! Thank God for good, precise tweezers!

Anyone else have this starting to happen? I also have one that has reappeared several times under my chin. I can feel it as it starts to poke through, and rip it out with fine tweezers as soon as their tips can grasp the sucker!

that sounds soooo much like me i have 2 on my chin im 25! they also are thick black and coarse every time i pull it out i think a tear runs down my face lol!

free skin care · Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:36 am

Hi
I have them too! Both a few course hairs (black) on the edge of my lip, mustache area and about 15 on my chin. I think I am getting more, but I have so many it is hard to tell! They are so course that I can feel them as they start to erupt, but like some here, I can not get them at first. But I could go during the day and look in the mirror when I get home and they are sticking out (ekkk-did anyone see them). When they first start to come out, they look like blackheads. Some of them I can squeeze the hair right out of the pore! The strange thing is, I pluck them all (or extract them all) and they all start erupting at the same time again. So one day I could be "hairless" and the next couple days they are all trying to break through again. I have days where I have to apply dots of cover up on them, because I could maybe scrap the skin to get them (which I have done, would rather have a scrap then a black hair), but can not pluck them. So I have to cover them up and wait a day! UGGGH! It sucks

free skin care · Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:19 am

Keep plucking the coarse hair off and after many years (maybe 10-20 years), they will not return.

free skin care · Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:19 pm

ruk1 wrote:

Keep plucking the coarse hair off and after many years (maybe 10-20 years), they will not return.

Tis true,... it will all be gone just in time for the dreaded menopause .. Laughing

Now that's a hairy situation altogether.. Shock

Epilating works great, if you can stick with it, and get by the pain. The longer you do it, the less hair grows back. I have barely a hair left on my legs as well!

free skin care · Wed Aug 06, 2008 4:43 pm

I know I talked about it before- lots of times, but I am way past the point of being embarrassed about my facial hair. I'm probably the hairiest one here. If I were to leave it alone I would look awful, but I don't, so nobody knows what I would look like in my natural state. I shave. I've also been doing laser hair removal and I see some results.

free skin care · Wed Aug 06, 2008 5:15 pm

OH yeah, I know what you all mean when you say you can feel them before they erupt!! I like my epilator if I can wait for them to get long enough. If not, I pluck. Waxing is too irritating for my skin.

I have those nose hairs that tickle all the time if I don't keep them plucked. I swear I can feel them growing! drat!! @!!%*

(BTW Caspersmum: I must say, you look divine in your mustache!)

And ISN'T it all about hair in all the wrong places! Too much, too little, wrong color, wrong texture, wrong place, too long, too short!!

free skin care · Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:44 pm

And ISN'T it all about hair in all the wrong places! Too much, too little, wrong color, wrong texture, wrong place, too long, too short!!
You are so right Fawnie !
I have one black one and a white one on my chin and I pluck as soon as I see them.
I think it is a sign of inner beauty,and good luck ! isnt it?

Smile

free skin care · Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:14 pm

Oh yes and it gets worse! Dry shaving is so much better and painless. I use a disposable razor and just zip it around my face and voila! DONE. I do this once every two weeks.

free skin care · Thu Aug 07, 2008 4:02 am

Yes, unfortunately the growth of facial hair gets worse as we age due to the decline of estrogen. More and more of the fine vellus hair in the face turn into thick and coarse hair, called terminal hair.

I have heard good things about the prescription cream Vaniqa that's supposed to inhibit the growth of facial hair.

http://www.vaniqa.com/

free skin care · Thu Aug 07, 2008 4:37 am

Vaniqa didn't work for me, unfortunately. I now swear by the little Epicare device.

free skin care · Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:54 am

Does Epicare work if you have more than just a few hairs? How long do they have to be?? Is a little regrowth enough that you see within 24 hours to catch them?

free skin care · Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:33 am

Kalo Hair Inhibitor can be used to treat facial hair: http://www.nisim.com/catalog/23
Kalo will prevent about 10% of the hair from growing back when used after the hair has been removed by the root.

Maybe it is possible to remove hair by say threading, and then apply Kalo Hair Inhibitor.

free skin care · Thu Aug 07, 2008 12:20 pm

Yeah, the Epicare thing-y is like threading. It's effective for one stray hair or for more extensive areas, like the cheeks or chin. The hair doesn't really have to be that long to get at it - I try to use it as soon as I feel it poking out there.

If the Epicare doesn't get the hair, and I can't see it, I use the Silk-Epil by Braun that I use on my legs to find it. That usually takes care of it.

Please don't scrape at the hair! I used to dig around with a tweezers to yank them out too soon and wound up with a nice divit in my chin. oops.
Hard for us OC's to wait for it.

free skin care · Thu Aug 07, 2008 4:15 pm

Has anyone used this with success? (Kalo Hair Inhibitor) 10% of reduction in hair is not very much, would it even be measurable?

free skin care · Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:06 pm

bergquis wrote:

Has anyone used this with success? (Kalo Hair Inhibitor) 10% of reduction in hair is not very much, would it even be measurable?

I think it could be used multiple times with hair diminishing after each time.
I have not used the product, but read good reviews about their hair growth products, which of cause is opposite from what is discussed in this topic..

free skin care · Sun Aug 10, 2008 7:56 pm

I think it is quite common with hormonal changes and such. Don't worry. Women feel self conscious when they see a bit of body hair. Just imagine being South Asian instead. I usually stay away from plucking my face. Upper lip okay. Eyebrows fine. Anywhere else no way. But if it truly bothers you, electrolisis or laser is something you could try. Since it is for a small place, it shouldn't be too pricey.

Anyone ever try threading? My eyebrows are quite thick so plucking doesn't work well. I have to get them threaded because it removes a lot of hair in one go. Less pain.

Fri Sep 12, 2008 7:48 am

bergquis wrote:

Hi
I have them too! Both a few course hairs (black) on the edge of my lip, mustache area and about 15 on my chin. I think I am getting more, but I have so many it is hard to tell! They are so course that I can feel them as they start to erupt, but like some here, I can not get them at first. But I could go during the day and look in the mirror when I get home and they are sticking out (ekkk-did anyone see them). When they first start to come out, they look like blackheads. Some of them I can squeeze the hair right out of the pore! The strange thing is, I pluck them all (or extract them all) and they all start erupting at the same time again. So one day I could be "hairless" and the next couple days they are all trying to break through again. I have days where I have to apply dots of cover up on them, because I could maybe scrap the skin to get them (which I have done, would rather have a scrap then a black hair), but can not pluck them. So I have to cover them up and wait a day! UGGGH! It sucks

I know I'm probably a little late - but didn't discover this thread until now. Bergquis: you and I seem to have exactly the same beauty problems Shock

(all the congestions problems, and now this) I keep plucking the hairs on my chin constantly, and it's driving me crazy. Have tried waxing, but they keep coming back, just the way you describe. I think electrolysis is the way to go. I'm just worried that I'll have to leave the hairs for a few days so that they grow out and can be treated, and they will be really visible.

Oh, and I did try the Kalo Hair Inhibitor. I haven't been very consistent, have to say. You're meant to apply it right after hair removal, and then 2 more times that day, and then 3 times the next day - so for me it would mean that I'd have to carry the bottle around with me everywhere, as I pluck hairs from my chin daily...
I have used it on my legs though, after epilating, about 5 times I think. I can't really notice any difference.... Sad

But I will keep using it, at least until I finish the bottle.

free skin care · Fri Sep 12, 2008 8:39 am

I think using epilator machine is the answer to your question. I would be recommending laser hair removal, but if the hair is blond, it might not be very helpful.

HTH

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