I just discovered this forum and have spent an hour reading posts about facial hair removal. Thank you all for sharing your info and experiences Thanks to all, esp Andrea. I'm kind of surprised with 850 members in this forum, there are not more people with posts/experiences re: Vaniqa.

I have a rather small amount (I guess, relative to some of the posts) of dark, tough chin hairs. I'm very into Holistic Health and would not take drugs to affect hormone levels. I have struggled for MANY years with severe hormone imbalances, and went thru menopause at 38. I'm 42 now and on natural hormones, and cycling again, although somewhat sporadically....but hardly have any hormone imbalance problems anymore...thand GOD! But I do have the chin hairs and some lip hairs. So, I assume I'm having too much testosterone/androgen conversions. Or it could be that I still eat too many carbs, and the insulin thing...although I probably have one of the healthiest diets in world! The reason I'm stating all this is because I also have other health challenges that take all my time and money, and I'm not willing to go see a endocrinologist and do all the hormone tests. So, I'm just wanting to deal with the facial hair, more topically, rather than biochemically. I don't want to pluck, wax, electroloysis, or laser. Probably can't afford the laser. And it sounds like, from the posts I've read, that until my hormones are more balanced, there's a good chance the laser will not work that well for me, as there would be a good liklihood that the hair will keep growing back. So, now that I've said all that...I'm curious about Vanique. Has no one else tried it? Or with success? or not? I'd love to know. I'd love it if you would email me directly as well. Thanks so much for your time and consideration. katrina44@earthlink.net

kat, thanks for the nice post!

Our little forum has only been up and running for a few months now, so we don't have a ton of long-term consumer results.

Vaniqa can be pricey, and it may not end up working. If you talk to your doctor and decide to give it a shot, a published study found that 40% of women had no results. While there are several happy consumers who have written to me, others have been disappointed. I'm not sure if it's more or less effective with your hormone situation-- there are no data on that.

It's hard to get people to talk about long-term hair removal results, so I'm hoping we can remedy that here. Wish there was more here!

I have what many teenage boys must dream of, a goatee that is wirey and almost impossible to remove, with a set of sideburns that would be the envy of Elvis. My friend teases me and says I can join the circus etc. etc. I have had this for sometime, and I am 35--YIKES!!! I don't imagine this will get any better by menopause. I am on oral medication which makes me loose weight, but did not seem to change the growth, unless of course (of coarse?, it is getting a lot worse and the spirolatoline (sp) is keeping it at the same rate. I have been to an endocrinologist and things are relatively normal hormonally, so I have some sort of genetic hereditiy to thank for this. Vanqia does seem to work for me, but only if used as recommended. I shave and pluck without Vanquia, but with it I have to be careful of plucking as it can make the skin rather raw. Unfortunately I have red hair and the drs have said laser is generally ineffective on red hair.

For me this is a hideous problem, embaressing, depressing etc. etc. I look at those women with smooth chins with great envy--what in the world could they have to worry about?!? It has been a blessing to find this site and to get perspective on other people's struggles with this. Deepest thanks for the time and energy you devote to this project.

Wow, thanks, tess!

I have red hair, too, and I had to tackle my own chin hair with electrolysis to get rid of it. Laser wasn't an option, and Vaniqa wasn't out yet. It's great to have it gone for good, but I would have spent more time looking for a practitioner if I knew how important it was, especially on the face.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, and hang in there-- I was going to say keep your chin up, but I changed my mind!

hi i am peder, 42 year old male, i have been using it for 7 weeks now, and i only shave once every 2-3 days, its slowed down the growth. my Dr has no probs in giving it to me, i will post here when i see more results as time passes.

been on this for just over 3 months, and still need to shave, only once a week though, it takes that long to get a days growth, so it does seem to work, just not sure how long before i never have to shave again.

I've had extremely good luck with Vaniqa. I've been using it for about 3-4 years now. It took about 8 weeks to really kick in, but I apply it morning and night, and haven't had to wax my lip or chin in over 3 years. It's been amazingly convenient. I never had any side effects. HOWEVER, I'm wondering, Andrea could there be a connection between hair thinning (on my head) and Vaniqa (HCL) usage? My hair has been thinning for the last year, though in spurts. I've been assuming it's linked to anxiety that I've been dealing with, but now wondering since the anxiety's gone and it's still occuring, if there's any possible linkage to my long-term Vaniqa use.

Any insight would be GREATLY appreciated.

Peg,

Has Vaniqa stopped your hair growth completely? Or do you just pluck what little hair grows? I started using Vaniqa 1 1/2 weeks ago, right after I waxed, and I only see a few hairs growing in, but they are there.

Roberta

It has stopped it completely. I don't even have to tweeze.

That's amazing. No such luck for me. But it's now been 4 weeks since I waxed and I have had to tweeze 6 hairs; that's it.

I would love to know how much people pay for their prescriptions. I paid $64 for one tube.

Roberta