Curly, unruly, fast-growing. For ladies, chin hair is regular. However when would possibly it sign a well being situation?

People are bushy, and typically that hair pops up in locations we’d relatively it didn’t. Think about unruly chin hair, which is one thing most ladies take care of — a lot to their annoyance. “Why did nobody let you know once you grow old your one chin hair goes to deliver, like, 4 different mates to the get together?!” one girl vented in a TikTok final yr. “The period of time I spend plucking my chin hair is past me,” one other TikToker complained, “Laser doesn’t work, shaving doesn’t work. What works? I want help!”

Not even film stars are immune. For her position within the upcoming movie Nightbitch, actress Amy Adams stopped plucking her stray chin hairs to assist her get into character as a harried mother who transforms right into a canine. “The hair on the face — that was mine,” Adams informed Selection. “I noticed it as a beautiful expression of the human expertise with none artifice or filters. Or tweezers!”

Lengthy story quick: Chin hair is frequent. However why do ladies get it, and why does it appear to get extra uncontrolled with age? And what kind of underlying well being points may very well be contributing to your hair progress? Right here’s what to know.

What causes ladies to get chin hair?

First, let’s speak about two different types of hair. That peach fuzz in your face known as vellus hair, which additionally covers the physique. The thicker, coarser, darker hair that includes your eyebrows, eyelashes, head hair and different physique hair known as terminal hair — and that’s usually what individuals goal with their tweezers.

Androgens are what trigger thicker, darker hair, Dr. Bruce Dorr, an ob-gyn and menopause and hormone well being specialist, tells Yahoo Life.

Androgens are a group of sex hormones that assist with puberty and reproductive improvement. Whereas testosterone — probably the most outstanding of this hormone kind — is often related to males, all individuals make testosterone of their our bodies, because it aids in issues reminiscent of bone density, muscle improvement and puberty. Ladies make testosterone from their ovaries, which is then transformed to estrogen, Dorr explains. This helps kick off the menstrual cycle and results in the expansion of underarm and pubic hair.

Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is an androgen derived from testosterone, and it will probably have a powerful impact on hair progress, says Dorr. DHT stimulates hair follicle progress in areas extra aware of androgens, just like the chin. Some ladies naturally have extra delicate DHT receptors, that means that even regular hormone ranges might stimulate elevated facial hair progress. In response to Dorr, that’s because of genetics and nothing to fret about, although it could be annoying.

What else could be contributing to chin hair progress?

Exterior of regular hormonal adjustments and genetics, there are some well being points that will result in hirsutism, a situation resulting in extreme hair progress, which can crop up on the chin, higher lip, chest, abdomen or again. Hirsutism impacts 5 to 10% of ladies of reproductive age, in response to the Cleveland Clinic, and will be brought on by:

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

One potential perpetrator of chin hair is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which impacts round 8 to 13% of women of child-bearing age. With PCOS, ladies might not ovulate usually, which suggests estrogen “builds up and up and up,” Dorr explains. This hormonal imbalance can lead to elevated testosterone and, finally, extra DHT.

As PCOS is troublesome to diagnose and deal with, it’s attainable for ladies to solely develop into conscious of an issue due to chin hair progress or different extra facial or physique hair. Different signs embrace zits, hair loss, weight acquire and insulin resistance.

Menopause

Many ladies say that they’ve seen extra chin hair as they grow old. Sometimes, it is a results of perimenopause and menopause, throughout which estrogen ranges are lowered and androgens like testosterone develop into extra dominant.

Weight acquire or loss

Important weight acquire can throw off hormone ranges, as can an excessive drop in weight. With the latter, an individual with an consuming dysfunction might develop lanugo — gentle, skinny hair — because the physique works to maintain itself heat.

Cushing syndrome

Cushing syndrome, a dysfunction through which individuals make too much of the stress hormone cortisol, may trigger this extra hair. It’s because elevated cortisol ranges improve androgen manufacturing, which stimulates hair growth.

Late-onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is a situation through which the adrenal glands produce too little cortisol and an extra of androgens. In ladies, this will result in signs reminiscent of a deeper voice, zits and extra facial hair.

Medicines

Medications that may cause excessive hair growth embrace anabolic steroids, testosterone, cyclosporine (Sandimmune), minoxidil (Rogaine), danazol (Danocrine) and phenytoin (Dilantin®), per the Cleveland Clinic.

Androgen-secreting tumor

Although uncommon, an androgen-secreting tumor (usually discovered within the adrenal glands or ovaries) might result in extra hair progress. Other symptoms of this tumor might embrace a deeper voice and zits.

What can we do about chin hair?

For those who wrestle with chin hair, your first step must be to ask why. Dr. Alyssa Dweck, a gynecologist and chief medical officer of complement firm Bonafide Health, tells Yahoo Life that if chin hair is “extreme or fast in onset,” it could be price in search of medical care — together with blood work — in an effort to rule out circumstances that will trigger facial progress. She notes that administration of the underlying situation, reminiscent of PCOS, is “essential” for addressing ongoing chin hair points.

However no matter what causes your chin hair, you don’t should have it if you happen to don’t need to, says Dr. Ross Kopelman, a hair transplant specialist and facial plastic surgeon. He says that there are a number of medical interventions one can bear in an effort to handle chin hair.

“I usually advocate a mixture method relying on the person’s wants,” he says. “Prescription lotions like eflornithine might help gradual hair progress, whereas hormonal therapies, reminiscent of contraception capsules or anti-androgens like spironolactone, can deal with the basis reason behind extra hair.”

There are aesthetic interventions one can take to take away chin hair. Tweezing, threading, waxing and shaving are choices, however they’re not everlasting; you’ll should groom usually, as hair will return.

Dr. Gabriela Soza, a dermatologist at PFRANKMD by Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank, tells Yahoo Life that laser hair can be an effective treatment for chin hair, so long as “the hairs are pigmented” — aka brown or black, not “blonde, white or grey.” Laser hair removing targets the pigment within the hair follicles, so darker hairs soak up the laser mild extra successfully. It’s additionally not a one-and-done therapy: a number of classes have to be achieved over a span of weeks in an effort to zap away chin hair, and it’s attainable for it to return over time and for upkeep classes to be required.

Electrolysis, in the meantime, makes use of nice needles or wires to kill the hair follicle, guaranteeing that no hair can develop from it ever once more. It really works on all hair colours and kinds, making it efficient for nice or light-colored hairs that lasers might not successfully deal with, and it’s the only treatment for permanent hair removal authorised by the Meals and Drug Administration. Nonetheless, you’ll nonetheless want a number of cycles to eliminate all of your undesirable hair.

The underside line

If it bothers you, you don’t should reside with chin hair — there are everlasting and momentary options to scale back it.

Nonetheless, it’s price noting that there’s nothing inherently improper, and even unusual, about ladies with chin hair — many will see it as they get into perimenopause, if not earlier. However if you happen to’re battling new or uncommon chin hair progress — particularly if it comes with a number of different signs — your finest wager is to hunt out medical help to ensure all is OK.