Anyone else have hirsutism?

[Crescent Cat]

I've had it since I was eight and it has seriously had a negative impact on my life. I'm not trying to get all sob-story and "woe is me" but it really sucks when you're an eight year old girl and you have classmates making fun of your "mustache". It sucks even worse when you start to get hair on your chin as an already insecure adolescent. I'm so tired of it. Creams leave chemical burns and don't even remove the hairs, shaving leaves a 5 'o clock shadow and waxing works but they grow back just as thick and dark a few days later.

So I'm finally getting laser treatment to get rid of them. I'm going to be getting 12 total treatments and hopefully that will be the end of it. My first treatment is on June 22nd but what sucks is that I can't pluck or wax until then. I really just want to hide in the shadows until my appointment or be able to wear a mask around. Hopefully it'll all be worth it and I won't have to worry about it by my wedding day. I think I'll be able to get two sessions in before the big day. If not, I'll wax and wait the additional 3 weeks or so for my next treatment. I am not letting this fucking hair ruin my day like it's been ruining my life!

[Aethian]

I'm thankful I only have to shave every three days but I think the bf prefers it when I shave my chin and upper lip every day. I just have to make sure I have good lotion for after the shave.

[AnaKhouri]

Chin and jaws. I shave every day, as depilatory creams tend to be bad for my skin (shaving is better but not much). I can't wax as I have thin pale skin, so the couple times I tried it, I broke the blood vessels beneath the skin so I had a nasty red bruise-thing that lasted until it was time to wax again. I also have to shave my legs almost every day in the summer to wear shorts; I have beautiful, thick, dark hair which people often admire...the downside is I have thick dark hair all over.

Good luck! You are not alone!

[MnR]

I've had it since I was a kid as well. Chin, lip, sideburns, dark hair everywhere in other embarrassing places. I hate it so much. I had to shave every day in order not to get 'teased' in school. I want to try laser treatments, I just need to get the funds together.

I refused to wear shorts because of the pain in the behind it is to shave my legs, only to need to do it again the next day to wear shorts again.

The salon ladies who tend to me when I go in for a trim always complement me on how dark and thick my hair is, and the natural curl I have underneath, but I have to go in once a month just to have my hair thinned out so it's manageable.

[42_42_42]

I had the laser treatment done last year. You can shave while you're in the process. In fact, the place that did mine wanted you to be shaved when you showed up.

[MaggieTheCat]

I am 28 and have had it for as long as I can remember, as well. When I was in my early 20s, I had laser treatment done on my neck, chin, and upper lip.

I do not want to discourage you but in my experience, it was not worth the money after the first one or two treatments. The first treatment was awesome; I saw a great decrease in the amount of hair coming in. But they did warn me that the first treatment shows the best results and after that, results can vary. I had I think 6 treatments done total and I still have to shave about every 3 days (I could probably do it more often but I honestly don't care all that much at this point, I have just learned to live with it.) None of the treatments were covered by my insurance since it was considered "cosmetic" so I shelled out around $1200-1500 for 6 treatments I think? It was not worth it. I would have stopped after the first or second treatment if I had known what the results would be. My results from the later visits were practically nothing.

Keep in mind that this was 8-10 years ago (I don't remember exactly when I had it done, I may have still been a teenager, or very early 20s) so the technology may have progressed since then, or maybe it is cheaper or insurance companies cover it now so it may be more worth it. I would ask before or during your first appointment what kind of results they typically see, though. The people who did mine were very honest about it and warned me upfront that later appointments may not have much success.

Also, regarding the "no shaving" rule before your first appointment, they told that to me too but apparently it was because they wanted to be able to see exactly where the hair is so they know where to zap you. With some people who have very fine or light-colored hair, they have a hard time seeing where the problem places are if they shave before coming in. But for people like me -- very dark and thick hair -- they said I could shave right up until coming in since they could see the hair follicles even after I shaved.

Good luck! I hope you have good results.

[Crescent Cat]

The total for my treatments is only around $420. I do realize that it may not get rid of the hairs completely but if it can significantly reduce the number of hairs and make those that remain less thick/dark then I will be happy.