How Much Facial Hair Is Normal For A Woman?
It’s perfectly normal for a woman to have facial hair. In fact, everybody has facial hair. But how much facial hair is normal for a woman? The answer is: It depends on a few different factors. In this article we’ll attempt to explore a few of them.
Society
Modern society has us believe that women should have no body hair except head hair. Hair on the legs, underarms, and facial hair is generally not accepted. Many women feel pressure to conform to these standards, and look for hair removal methods to remove any excess hair.
A study of 1000 UK women found that 50% of women were too embarrassed to discuss their facial hair with their families, and 70% wouldn’t discuss it with their friends. 30% of the women experienced varying levels of anxiety if they weren’t able to remove excess facial hair immediately.
Genetics
The amount of facial hair a person has is partially determined by genetics. This is true for men and women. If a woman has a family history of above average facial hair, then she is more likely to have above average facial hair as well.
Facial hair determined by genetics does not tend to appear suddenly. Sudden appearance of excess hair should be examined by a physician.
Ethnicity
Ethnicity can determine the amount of facial hair a woman has.
Women from a Mediterranean background, such as Greece, or Italy, or women from India tend to have more facial hair than women from other backgrounds. In these countries, some amount of facial hair is considered normal, and these women may not feel the same anxieties that women in the US or UK would. Some experts have said that the above average facial hair on these women is possibly due to a genetic hormonal abnormality.
Women from an African-American background tend to have an average amount of facial hair. However, African-American women who do have more than average facial hair can suffer from in-grown hairs after hair removal methods. This is because the hair tends to be curly, and when removed can curl back into skin, which causes painful in-grown hairs. African-American women who do remove facial hair need to be sure they choose appropriate hair removal methods, and appropriate after care.
Women from Asian backgrounds tend to have very little facial hair, and they aren’t necessarily as concerned with removing body hair as ‘Western’ countries. Some people estimate that only 40% of these women are concerned with body hair removal, and it is considered socially acceptable to keep body hair.
Puberty
The body goes through a lot of changes during puberty. This means that some of the soft vellus hairs react to the release of hormones, and become darker, coarser terminal hairs. It also means that some of the vellus hairs stay soft, but lengthen. Terminal hairs tend to grow on the legs, armpits, and pubic area, while the facial vellus hairs grow around the mouth and chin.
In some cases, the facial hair can become more like the darker, coarser terminal hairs. This can happen in cases of precocious puberty, which is early onset puberty before the age of 8.
Pregnancy
A woman’s body goes through many changes during pregnancy, and many women report experiencing changes in their usual facial hair. Some women experience longer, darker and even thicker facial hair than would be usual during their pregnancy. The options for facial hair removal at this time are limited, as some options are unsuitable during pregnancy, while others can affect the hair permanently. Pregnant women can shave facial hair, but care must be taken to use suitable products. Most experts recommend waiting until after the pregnancy, as in most cases, the hair returns to normal.
Menopause
The menopause usually begins between the ages of 40 to 60. It can begin earlier, or later. During this time, a woman’s body goes through a series of changes. In particular, the hormone levels in the body change. The amount of estrogen decreases, but the amount of testosterone might remain the same. This can mean that there’s more testosterone hormones than estrogen hormones, which may result in excess facial hair. These hairs can be removed with hair removal methods.
Abnormal Facial Hair
Essentially, any more facial hair than is usual for you is abnormal. If you feel that you have more facial hair than normal, you should seek an opinion from a doctor. Excess facial hair can be a symptom of several conditions. It’s often linked to PCOS, which is an hormonal condition. Sudden onset excessive facial hair growth absolutely need to be seen by a doctor as further investigations will be needed to find out what the cause is.
Removing Facial Hair
One study looked at how women who have excess facial hair feel. It found that 98% feel negatively about their appearance as a direct result of the facial hair. Other experts have said that excess facial hair can lead to low self esteem, and can be psychologically damaging. These feeling lead many women to find methods of removing facial hair.
Very few methods of facial hair removal are permanent. Some last a few days, such as shaving. Others can last a few weeks, such as waxing. Other options such as laser hair removal can last for months, but several sessions are needed, and you will usually need at least one maintenance session per year.
Electrolysis is the only permanent option of hair removal, but it also needs a number of sessions to be fully effective. It works by destroying the hair follicle, rather than the hair, so that the follicle can never grow a hair again.
In order to achieve quick relief, many women who struggle with excess facial hair of hirsutism, choose to shave their face.
Conclusion
So the answer to how much facial hair is normal for a woman depends on what life stage the woman is at, where in the world she is, what her genetic make up is, and to some extent, how much facial hair does she feel comfortable with. If having even a small amount of facial hair makes you feel uncomfortable, or unattractive, then you may want to look at hair removal methods.
