Multiple Remedies
★★★★★
I can certainly sympathize with any woman suffering from excessive hair growth, especially facial hair.
I have had this problem, unfortunately, for about 20 years. Over the years I have watched it get worse and worse. I continue to research this problem and try different remedies. I can share some of my experiences.
Laser treatments help slow and diminish the growth. But lasers only work if you have very light/white skin and dark hair. Laser treatments are also very expensive, about $100 a pop where I live.
Various forms of electrolysis are also expensive, as well as terribly painful, and did not help me in the slightest.
For maintenance I do shave. If your skin is irritated, try applying a thick yet gentle facial cleanser when you shave. Wash it off and then apply a good moisturizer such as almond oil or other natural oil...nothing that will sting or clog pores.
The main cure is to look at your hormones. Yes, too much testosterone is the cause. I have noticed when I eat too much sugar or processed carbohydrates (such as popcorn and bread) over a long period of time (even a couple weeks) my hair growth will increase. The more you can reduce your testosterone levels and balance your hormones in general, the less hair you should have.
For us girls with pcos (polycystic ovarian syndrome) losing weight is a must. It is also very difficult. I've found ACV plus lots of exercise helps me lose weight. Exercise will also help your body convert testosterone into female hormones.
What has worked for me and what didn't? I tried Saw Palmetto (supposed to lower testosterone rates in men and some women) for years with no results. I also tried progesterone creme on several occasions and each time it made me hemmorage!!!
I also tried Ted's lime/baking soda cure for calcified ovaries/pcos and found it made me itch all over and dried out my skin.
Vitex - Vitex is recommended for women who don't ovulate and therefore don't produce any progesterone to counteract estrogen. This can cause heavy bleeding. I began taking vitex and did find it lessened my bleeding. After a while I realized I was taking too much (3 capsules x day instead of 1 capsule each day). When I reduced my dosage my bleeding lessened even more. Finally, I stopped the vitex all together and the bleeding almost totally went away. This was combined with weight loss and lots of exercise.
Inositol is a form of b vitamin (B8) that is supposed to be good for women with pcos and I do believe it helps me. "This vitamin prevents hardening of the arteries and is important in the formation of lecithin. It also plays a part in the metabolism of fat and cholesterol, and removes fats from the liver. Inositol is also known to have a calming effect. It is found in Brewer?s yeast, fruits, lecithin, legumes, meats, milk, unrefined molasses, raisins, vegetables, and whole grains." according to a site where I buy supplements.
I also tried Edgar Cayce's castor oil pack remedy, but I've never been able to do it consistently. When I wasn't having a period it would help me have one. But if you are bleeding you are not supposed to use them because castor oil can increase the bleeding.
I have also tried liver flushes and just about every remedy under the sun. The hardest is lifestyle change.
There is a book out about pcos written by a woman physician who helps women with pcos. But the diet is so strict it's ridiculous. And, she recommends tons of expensive supplements that she also happens to sell. I am believing more and more in EarthClinic remedies and less and less in tons of supplements.
In the past year I've read two articles that say mint (and green) teas lower testosterone levels. The first story said men in India complained of a lessened libido (lowered testosterone) after drinking lots of mint tea. A story I read yesterday in Allure magazine's November 2007 edition said women may benefit from drinking mint tea because it lowers testosterone levels.
I've been taking BSM (black strap molasses) for a month and it took away my heavy lingering bleeding, a side effect of too much estrogen. It has helped me the most in regards to my hormones of all the remedies I have tried. I will watch to see if it lessens my hair growth and pcos symptoms.
PCOS is such a tough ailment to address and has many symptoms. I constantly have to remind myself that it involves a huge lifestyle change including LOTS of exercise, elimination of sugar and processed carbohydrates, lots of veggies and the right supplements.
I am taking ACV (apple cider vinegar) and BSM (black strap molasses) and I believe these help lessen my sugar cravings. (The more sugar/processed foods I eat, the more I crave them.) I also think green tea does help. My sugar cravings are almost non-existent these days. I have had basically zero sugar and alcohol for the past 6 weeks. If you have to have something sweet try eating a little dark chocolate, preferably following a meal.
Ted recommends drinking a large glass of water after eating sugar to lessen the effects on blood sugar and hormones.
I also eat regularly. Do not starve yourself because allowing yourself to be hungry further messes with your hormones. Eating every 3-4 hours and making good food choices will help speed up your metabolism. Find exercise that you love and do some every day.
I had fibromyalgia for 9 years and was able to heal my body from it. I have to remind myself I can heal from pcos, too. But I think it's even tougher than the fibro! It's so hard to make lifestyle changes...especially when you have a huge sweet tooth and your body is prone to manfunctioning...but you will only change when you get sick and tired enough of your problems.
Be patient with yourself and keep trying. Try only changing one or two things until you can incorporate them into your lifestyle. Fast change does not work. If you can't change your diet drastically, then at least start exercising. If all you can do is start drinking green tea with mint added then drink tea. Find something you can change and get started.
It's very hard, but I know some women have successfully shed the weight and reduced or eliminated their symptoms altogether.
Good luck. I am trying right along with you all
(Fairfax, VA)
02/21/2009
Hello there thanks for posting all this info on your experimentation with treating pcos. I self diagnosed myself with this about 8 years ago. I'm 35 yrs old and my diagnosis was later confirmed when I complained to my doctor and my test came back with elevated hormomes, especially insulin and testosterone. I must admit I dont really follow any diet but I know that reducing sugar and carbs are KEY with pcos. Studies have shown that elevated insulin levels throw off many other hormones including testosterone. Therefore lowering carbs and sugar is essential to this. I recently started taking ACV before meals and I do notice reduction in appetite. I too was on saw palmetto but didnt notice much on it. You're 100% correct the right diet will work wonders alone, but of course that's the hardest thing to do. For now I'm gonna stick to the ACV and see how that goes. Good luck to you!
(Barrie, Ontario Canada)
03/26/2009
Lola, your message is helpful to me. I'm glad I came across it. I've had a low thyroid and high levels of testosterone for quite a while and as you can guess, have been really struggling with weight loss. It's a major issue for me, as is excess hair all over me. I do everything I can: exercise a few times a week, eat a reasonable diet and go to laser appointments. Nothing really helps. In fact, doing all this, I'm not even able to maintain my weight - I'm still gaining. About a pound or two a month I think. I was beginning to think I was a freak. Your mentioning the insulin levels and reduction of bread products was the first time I'd heard of it making a difference.
I did sort of suspect that I just couldnt' eat bread, but since the doctor didn't confirm this suspicion, I let it go. Now I'm going to try it again. It's hard - I'm a vegan with an already restricted diet, but if I can lose weight and facial hair, it is worth the attempt. I do wonder though, how long it would be before noticing a difference. Do you have any idea?
(Laguna Niguel, california, usa)
03/26/2009
Hi, I also have PCOS and I'm only 15 years old. It is really hard to deal with this; but for all those women with PCOS please stay positive!
My doctor told me I had to loose weight; for 6 months striaght 5 times a week I got up at 5 A.M to go to the gym I would stay for 2 hours my mom was very supportive and I was determined! After those six months I went back to my doctor for a check up only to find out I had only lost 5 pounds! I was shocked I had worked so hard for nothing... but when my lab test came back there was a huge change In my cholesterol and my high blood pressure which I had to take medication for was almost gone! So stay positive + + + + + Everyone
(Orlando, Fl)
03/27/2009
Have you tried coconut oil? I know that hormones are created from saturated fats, and coconut oil is rich with them. Along with lauric acid, which can help with your body with healing it's self. I like the book Eat Fat Loss Fat, by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig. It talks more about the good fats your body needs to keep healthy and balanced.
(Abu Dhabi, UAE)
03/29/2009
(Fairfax, Va)
07/11/2010
Heather,
Hopefully, you are still reading this blog. Sorry it has taken me this long to respond, I have been soo busy with in my life the past year. I hope you found something that works for you to balance your horomones. To give you an update, I have lost about 25 lbs since I last posted, I took the acv off and and on and I came back to earth clinic to see if I could find a treatment for eczema when running across this old post. I lost my weight by cutting down my carbs to about 30grams a day while doing some activity but not much. Also I was not too consistent with my dieting. From reading your post it sounds like you may also have PCOS if you're unable to lose weight and your testosterone is running high. The main problem with PCOS is that in most women it throws off insulin and makes it spike up. PCOS tends to run in women that have diabetes in their family. The theory behind the elevated insulin is that the cell receptors responsible for processing sugar and insulin are not working properly so after eating a meal containing carbs, or sugar the body cannot properly metabolize those types of food and instead of using the food for fuel our bodies store it as fat because after the cells wont use up the sugar/carbs in the food the body cannot let all this sugar roam about so than the body produces LARGE amounts of insulin to counteract in order to lower the blood sugar. This is also the reason why diabetes is a risk factor for pcos because after the pancreas has spent countless years trying to produce insulin to counteract a high carb meal, eventually the pancreas will start to fail and the body has no way to bring down sugar levels in the body and that's what diabetes actually is "high sugar. " The problem with PCOS however, is that as long as your body is producing these large numbers of insulin your body will almost find it impossible to go into its fat storage in order to use fat for fuel. And that is the main culprit of PCOS. Once insulin is high than it will cause a chain reaction to testosterone to elevate and other hormones as well. So the key again is to lower insulin and unfortunately one of the quickest and most effective ways to lower it is by either being on medication such as metformin or others, or by following a low carb diet (but not necessarily high fat). Now since you are vegetarian I'm sure that it may not be an easy thing to do but you can still cut out the bad carbs such as simple carbs and sugar. You can eat things like beans such as lentils, eggs or egg whites, veggies, and if you're gonna eat bread I found a GREAT low carb bread from a company that sells online only (just type in low carb bread, they are based out of CA) that has breads that are made from all organic, high fiber foods (9 grams of fiber per slice or so) That has been a lifesaver for me. Good luck to you, btw exercising with some weights is also good. Studies show that it helps the cells process sugar better therefore, allowing fat storages to have a decent chance to be burned. Good luck to you!
(Barrie, Ontario)
04/21/2017
Hi Lola,
lol. Well, 7 years later, I've unintentionally found my old post, and your response. Thanks. You were right; I do have PCOS. I was diagnosed a couple years ago. I have been doing some reading - trying to piece everything together - and what you've written is a confirmation for me. So thank you.
It is SO hard to eat low carb as a vegetarian. Even harder when you can't have dairy or anything that spikes insulin. I have found that Dr. Eric Berg has a few recipes that look decent on youtube. He does them with his wife. I'll try to get back on the wagon, and make it stick this time.
Thanks again. Maybe in several years, you'll run across this post. lol
(Nc)
02/20/2018
(New Jersey)
05/10/2018
Pea Protein Powder
★★★★★
I have suffered from facial hair growth for several years during and after menopause had to check daily and was always plucking out lots of hairs. However, at the end of April this year I decided I needed extra protein in my diet as I had given up eating meat I bought whole coconut and pea protein with probiotics here in Australia which I started having every morning in almond milk and continued checking my chin and tash every day for hair growth low and behold my hair growth started reducing, am I dreaming I thought? No, it has become very sparse I am now into the third week of June. I think this product has balanced my hormones and the great result is totally reduced facial hair. Who would have thought pea protein for brekky! So girls give it a whirl and post on line if it works for you too.
Namaste
Peppermint Tea
| 5 star (1) | 14% | |
| 1 star (5) | 71% | |
 (1) |
14% |
★☆☆☆☆
Thank you so much for the remedies. Will try them out. I just hope I get all those things from here. Any idea how much time it will take to get rid of al these excessive hair.. I have heard about alum in rose water, does it help should I try that out too. I tried drinking peppermint tea 2-3 times a days but that did not help.
Peppermint Tea
★★★★★
I read on ec that excessive hair growth can be treated with blackstrap molassses and spearmint tea so i tried. i couldnt find spearmint so i got peppermint. its been 2 weeks and i cant believe the difference! I drink the tea 2x/day but am kinda lazy about the molasses..i used to have to "pluck" EVERYDAY because the hair on my chin was so coarse. its been so frustrating for so long and i think ive finally beat it.i bought the sand paper type thing they sell for unwanted hair just to get the few light hairs off that were left and now my face is so smooth, it has to be the tea...
(Dublin, Ireland)
03/28/2010
★☆☆☆☆
Hi Nw ,I also suffer from really coarse hair on my chin, I have been taking peppermint tea now for about 3 weeks (2 cups per day)I have not seen any improvement, as yet!
Could you tell me what blackstrap molassses is? please.
Thanks Beth.
(Durham, Ontario)
03/30/2010
I think spearmint tea is what you want to try.
(Birmingham, Uk)
09/10/2010
Hey guys read your comments and I thought I would clarify it is spearmint NOT peppermint tea. You need to drink two cups a day for 5 days in order for testosterone levels to decrease. Hence, not good for men!!! There are many websites which will explain the spearmint tea. However, I can recommend alum powder and rose water. Mix the two and apply with cotton wool on areas where hair is removed. This should be washed after 15 minutes... (but some may keep it on longer about an hour max) This will overtime reduce the growth of unwanted hair and coarse hair will reappear as fine hair and may eventually disappear overtime. The alum powder and rose water formula has worked miracles for many I know!!! Good Luck
(Dublin, Ireland)
10/04/2010
★☆☆☆☆
Hi Sara, I have started taking the spearmint tea, (I have had to order it from the USA, as it is not available in Ireland) I've been drinking 2-3 mugs a day now for the last nine days and have not seen any improvement yet! You mentioned alum powder, what is alum powder?( I never heard of it) and rose water, I would like to give that a try, the only problem is I cant get alum powder here. Do you know of any sites where I could order it?....... Many Thanks, Beth.
(Dublin, Ireland)
12/26/2010
(Toronto, Ontario Canada)
04/19/2011
REPLY to Sara Khan from Birmingham, Uk
SARAH, we are not GUYS... That's why we are here... Try not to use YOU GUYS to girls/females as it is offensive.. That's like saying YOU MEN.. We already have problems with excess hair.. We don't need to be compared to men!
(Los Angeles, Ca)
04/25/2011
★☆☆☆☆
(Dublin, Ireland)
05/11/2011
(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
05/17/2011
(Los Angeles, Ca, Usa)
05/18/2011
(Dublin, Ireland)
06/03/2011
★☆☆☆☆
(Austin, Tx)
06/28/2011
I heard alot of you saying that laser did not work for you but remember that there are alot of different kind of laserers out there I tried the candela laser and I did not have any luck then I tried the IPL intense pulse light and it worked great I needed 5 treatments on my face and I would say that 97% of the hair is gone I have the occasional hair pop up here and there but nothing like it was before, Hope this helps....
(Toronto, On Canada)
07/17/2011
(Dublin, Ireland)
08/02/2011
Hi J1012. No, I'm not saying the tea made my condition worse, all I'm saying is the all the remedys I have tried have being unsucussful for me.
Jmilicia, (or anyone else who can answer me) I have being thinking of trying the IPL treatment, what I would like to know is does it get rid of white hair growth?
(Richardson, Tx, Usa)
06/13/2012
Saw Palmetto
★★★★★
My Gyn. nurse told me to take one 500 mg saw palmetto every day to combat body hair growth component of my natural hormone creams. It definitely helps.
