Circus and carnival barkers used to cry out “come see the bearded lady” as they moved from town to town. People would stare and children would point at the sideshows. Unfortunately excessive hair growth on the face and other areas is something that women still deal with today. It is called Hirsutism and it is estimated that nearly 25% of women will have to deal with it.

Hirsutism

Hirsutism is characterized by the growth of thick dark hair on the face, abdomen, chest or back. Most of the time this is experienced only by women but on rare occasion’s men can have it as well. It may be that men are accustomed to facial hair growth of this sort and are less inclined to notice it than their female counter parts.

All human beings have hair, and it is all over the body. The number of hair follicles you will have is actually determined in the womb. This hair that is found all over the body can be categorized as one of two types:

1) Vellus- The majority of the body is covered in this type of hair; it is light in color and very thin, many times nearly invisible. Both sexes have this type of hair.

2) Terminal Hair- This is the thick course hair found in eyebrows and the top of the head.

The long dark hairs that a woman may begin to notice under the chin or other areas of the face are a situation where vellus hair has transformed into terminal hair. This most commonly happens to women as they age. At times thick hair on the face can point to an underlying medical condition, but not often. Most of the time it is a simple matter of increased levels of the male hormone testosterone in the female body that is to blame.

Hair Be Gone!

Now that you have a little background on what and why you probably want the answer to only one question, “How do I get rid of unwanted facial hair?” Well the answer is you have many choices, but as you will see, the best choice is laser hair removal.

Shaving is probably the most widely used default answer that women turn to. Nevertheless, as you are surely aware shaving is not the best answer. Getting a baby bottom close shave is something that only happens in the commercials and while men can get away with this stubble or shadow is mortifying to a woman.

The next line of defense for most women is depilatory creams or wax. The problem is these creams make a mess and stink to high heaven most of the time and that is nothing compared to the skin irritation that can occur on someone with sensitive skin.

On the other hand, laser hair removal has none of these issues and several more benefits. To begin with, laser hair removal goes to the source of hair growth by affecting the follicle itself.

A strong light is passed through the skin until it encounters melanin, the substance that gives hair color, the laser then damages the follicle. This damage inhibits hair growth and can result in a completely hair free area with several treatments spread out over a few months. In some Chicago laser hair removal clinics, they can remove even light white, blonde or grey hair.

The staff at many of the Chicago laser hair removal clinics is excellent, but even if you are half way across the country one thing is sure. Laser hair removal is easy, painless and a potentially permanent answer to the presence of unsightly facial hair in women!