One of the side effects of my PCOS is excess facial hair. It’s kind of hard to find information about preventing or curing that. It’s easy to find hair removal information, but I’d rather prevent the growth. Over the years I’ve tried various things to get rid of the excess hair, and there are a few things that made a big difference.
Vitex / Chaste Tree Berry
I started taking this to regulate my period. I think it gave me only one period. But I noticed that it made a huge difference in my facial hair. Made me grow a lot less of it. So I kept taking it for that reason. It took a few weeks to notice any changes, though. It takes a while to work, but it works great.
Spirulina / Blue Green Algae
This one I wasn’t taking for anything PCOS related. I forget why I was taking it. Probably because it makes my period lighter. (I guess that’s sort of PCOS related.) Anyway, I noticed by accident that whenever I took it I had a lot less facial hair to pluck. I took the blue green algae sporadically. I tested it, to see if it really was making a difference, and sure enough it was. I would take one pill a day and the next day the hair was very noticeably less. Two pills a day would do even better, but after two pills it made no noticeable difference. The first pill made the most difference. So I took one or two pills a day. Now I take four, just because it has vitamins and minerals. I started out taking blue green algae, and now I take spirulina. They have the same effect. Very cool.
Beta Carotene
Getting enough vitamin A or beta carotene seems to make a noticeable difference too. Vitamin A helps regulate hormones. I think beta carotene might have worked better for excess facial hair, though. But I was taking more of it than I would have taken of Vitamin A. I was taking 25,000 IU of beta carotene. I only take about 5000 IU now. I don’t want to be orange!
Veganism
I notice another big difference when I give up animal foods. Now and then I fall off the vegan wagon and eat dairy, and my facial hair gets worse during those times. I believe it might be because of hormones in animal foods. I’m not sure why it works, but when I’m completely vegan, my facial hair is much less.
Blood Sugar Balance
I’ve noticed recently (after I stopped my crazy cinnamon roll phase) that when my blood sugar is balanced, my facial hair is almost nonexistent. Neat! Weird, but neat. When I eat too many carbs or sugars, the facial hair grows wild and out of control. When I eat less carbs and more protein, my facial hair is kind of barely there. This seems to be at the heart of PCOS. Insulin resistance. Very interesting.
Weight Loss
I’ve been thin and I’ve been overweight (60 - 70 pounds overweight), and I definitely have less facial hair when I’m thin. It’s a hard thing to accomplish, but getting down to a healthy weight seems to get rid of a lot of the excess facial hair. Excess fat stores excess hormones, which probably contribute to the excess facial hair. Easier said than done, but I’m working on the weight loss!
Certain Moisturizers
Aveeno Positively Smooth Facial Moisturizer (for reducing unwanted hair) made my facial hair a lot less. I used it because I had to be in a wedding. I’d rather prevent the growth with good nutrition and supplements, but this moisturizer does work. Also there is a prescription moisturizer that works the same way, Vaniqa. My mother uses it and loves it. They work by… I have no idea, but I think they have hormones in them, and putting them directly on the skin seems to help? I don’t like messing with hormones, so I have never used these things consistently. But they do work.
Now for some things that did not really help with my facial hair:
Electrolysis
Okay, this did work. But only temporarily. I had this done for years. It thinned out the hair some, but I stopped having it done, and after a few years the hair was back to where it had been before I’d ever had electrolysis. ! For as painful and expensive as that was, I definitely don’t think it’s worth it for a temporary fix.
Saw Palmetto
I see this all over the Internet listed as the best hope for reversing or preventing excess facial hair, but I have yet to read one anecdote that says it worked. Not even one! I took it for a few weeks. It made no difference in my facial hair whatsoever. But it did seem to make my skin more oily. ? It just made me look grosser, so I stopped taking it. Very weird. I can’t believe how much medical advice is just speculation. Educated guessing. I’d rather hear about things that actually worked for people. Which is why I started this blog.
There you have it, my experience with excess facial hair prevention. I think it’s funny that nothing, yet, has made it go away completely. There are always a few hairs to pluck. I suspect, though, that when I get my weight down to a normal range, the rest of the hair may go away. That will be awesome. Lol.
‘Til next time. ~Me.
