I realize this has all probably been said a million times on this forum, but sometimes it just helps to get it all out there and talk about it.

I'm a 19 year old female. I never even noticed the hair on my jawline and cheeks until last December. When I noticed it, I became obsessed. I started looking through old pictures of myself to see if the hair has always been there, I became scrutinizing other females to see if they had hair in those places, and I basically became a mess.

I've always had a "stache" as my friends and I always joke about. That wasn't really a big deal to me. It was easy to handle and I knew a lot of girls dealt with it. The hair on my jawline [which I call my beard] and my cheeks is very fine, but dark. You can't even see it from any distance, but when I look in a mirror it's the only thing that captures my attention. I really don't want to shave it just because it would be too emotional for me. I wake up everyday wishing it would just be gone, but I know it won't be. It has completely changed my life. I've always been a good student, making mostly top of the line grades, but this past semester I couldn't ever concentrate on any of my work because my hair consumed my thoughts. It affected my social life tremendously as well. All I wanted to do was sleep and cry. However, I did talk about the problem. I couldn't imagine not sharing my feelings about this. All of my best friends know and I told my mom. All of them said they never noticed it, and when I pointed it out, they said it was normal peach fuzz, just darker and thicker because my hair is naturally very dark and thick. My mom made me an appointment with the doctor as soon as she could. I went in May and I had seven different blood tests done, and my doctor also put me on Yaz. I've been on Yaz for a month now, and I haven't seen any changes, but I know it takes at least three months. I also have really bad acne. I always have. I've been to dermatologists before and it seems like nothing ever works. My periods have always been normal, so I don't feel like it's PCOS, but then again, I don't really know. My blood test results are in, but every time the doctor calls I'm at work and I can't answer. She left me a message saying there was nothing "too abnormal or critical and not to worry." However, I still don't know exactly what that means.
I am overweight, probably about 40 lbs, and I know that's probably the cause of all of this, which is what devastates me the most. I've made myself this way. I have no one to blame but myself for my hairy face, and now there really is no changing it. And it's not just my face, my legs are super hairy, the hair being really dark and thick. My neck and chin are like my jawline, dark but very fine hairs. And I have the infamous line of hair underneath my belly button.

I've always had super long, thick, dark hair, so I always just thought that's why my body is so hairy. I never realized it was a medical issue until I saw the hair on my face. Everyone in my life has noticed a complete change in me. I was an overall happy person. A very stressed out person, but still happy. I have now become this depressed mess of a girl who has no hope for a future. I find way too many flaws in myself now. I used to dream about getting married, and now I know I probably won't. I know this all may sound ridiculous, but it's honestly how I feel. I used to love wearing my hair up and now I wouldn't dare in fear of someone seeing the hair.

It's a constant struggle, as most of you know. I have to tell myself daily it's not a huge deal, but I know I'm lying to myself. Any time I start to have fun and I start living my life again, the thought of my hair pops in my head and brings this sick feeling over my body. I hate myself most days. I have lost all confidence in myself.

Thanks for reading if you did. I know these posts come frequently, but it's been a hard morning, so I thought I should get this all out.
For all of you who have this problem, my heart genuinely hurts for you. I tear up every time I read a post like mine because I know exactly what you're going through. Good luck with your hair and remember no matter what you look like, you are truly beautiful. Just remember to tell yourself that

Well, I would say you are normal. Sure you sound a little on the hairy side, but many many women have it worse. I would get a second opinion from another doctor as well and another blood test. Doctors don't take these issues too seriously and don't run tests at appropriate times. The blood test is to check different things like hormones, but hormones can fluctuate during the day and especially during the month (menstruating), thus possibly showing some inaccuracy in your levels. More than likely though, it's basically just that your skin is overly sensitive to the normal levels of hormones in your body, such as testosterone and it reacts to that by growing some extra hair and having acne. It doesn't make you any less feminine or mean there is something horribly wrong with you.

If you don't want to shave, then may I suggest you try bleaching the hair. It's perfect for the dark peach fuzz type of hair. You would only have to do it maybe once every 3 to 4 weeks or as desired. The only downfall that I've read is that it may make the hair thicker when it's bleached, but I never noticed a difference when I did it. The only other option is electrolysis. It would permanently remove your hair, but it can be costly. If your mom is willing to pay the price, than go for it. Otherwise, bleaching cream is around $10 a box and it's good for more than a few times use.

You do sound like you have developed a lot of psychological issues due to this and you may want to seek help, but the best place to look is within yourself. Just keep telling yourself that you matter and you are beautiful with all your flaws. As cheesy as it may sound, it will work. I would stop paying attention to the television and media and focus on the reality. No one is perfect and we all have at least a couple things we don't like about ouselves...at the very least. Believe me when I say this..."you are a product of what you think" and everything you think will happen to you, WILL happen. So if you keep telling yourself that you won't get married, then you won't. I can tell you that many women who live with the same situation, including myself, are regarded as beautiful and have boyfriends and husbands. You just have to not shut yourself off from the idea. You'll get through this.

The only other advice I can give is to get healthy. Start exercising and eating right. Drink lots of water. Get those 40 extra pounds off b/c they are doing you no good. One of the most difficult aspects of the hair situation for me personally, is that I have no control over it and there's no cure and very few permanent options. That always makes me feel out of control and other parts of my life out of control, for example work or school. If you start aiming your focus toward eating right and exercising and school and gain control of those aspects, the hair will be a minor hindrance and a lot easier to manage.

Good luck!

You're definitely not abnormal and I know this problem seems huge to you and like it's your fault, but it's really not. The fact that you have the hair, acne, and are somewhat overweight may be the result of your hormones going wild, and nothing you can help without intervention by medication etc. You are correct that it takes a few months at least for the birth control pills to start leveling out your hormones.

I would also make sure to see a good endocrinologist to get all the right tests. Hormonal issues are hard to detect. Either way, there are also many solutions to your problem, both temporary and permanent. Many women, especially of middle easter descent, go through lives waxing or threading their faces and many other body parts. It's just a part of life for many. You can also get back in shape through the help of a trainer at a local gym etc.

If you want permanent hair removal down the line, electrolysis is a good option for this area.

Hey EchoPark.

I have the exact same thing as you, but I'm only seventeen. Its really horrible, and I can relate to every single thing you're saying. (I also refer to it as my beard! How uncanny) I've felt every feeling you described, and obviously these feelings still run through me. They usually happen in bursts of fear and paranoia and depression. I totally understand what you're going through and it really made my day to know someone else knows how I feel. I just want to let you know however, that all these feelings of paranoia and self-doubt have been at a minimum lately because I've been praying a lot. I would say I'm a pretty religious person, and praying to God, and knowing that He has a solid plan for me just makes life so much easier to live! So when I get really upset over my stupid hairy face, thinking life would be best if I became a hermit, I think "GOD LOVES ME" and nothing else should matter because thats all I need. Now, I have to say I am not completely satisfied with that reassurance, so I started going to an electrologist xD She works really slowly, but it has helped me gain confidence in knowing that something is being done to get rid of the hair! We are still beautiful and no doubt strong enough to handle it.

Keep your chin up babe! And I'll do the same

Thank you everyone :]
This site is so encouraging. I know I'm not alone and that's a huge comfort.

My doctor finally got ahold of me and after reviewing my test results, she seems to think I have PCOS. I know the biggest part of PCOS is having irregular periods, which I've never had. They've been exactly the same since I was 12. All my blood tests came back great except my cholesterol was a tad bit high and the adrenal gland test [I forgot the name of it] was high. Testosterone, insulin, blood sugar and everything else was perfectly fine. My parents are very supportive and want me to get a second opinion just to make sure. My dad wants to take me to a good endocrinologist before my doctor puts me on Metformin.

So I guess my question is can one have PCOS when their periods are completely normal?

This definitely caught me off guard. I never expected her to say I have PCOS. Diabetes runs on my mom's side of the family, so now, more than ever, I'm going to try to start losing weight and becoming a healthier person. I'm going to start putting on focus on defeating this, rather than letting it defeat me.

Thank you again!

Absolutely!

PCOS is complex. You can have all the "symptoms" or none at all. That's why it can be difficult to diagnose.

Agree with Choice. You can have none of the symptoms and still have it. Have they checked for thyroid problems?

Yes, they also checked my thyroid, and it was normal. I had seven different tests done, but I can't remember all of them. My results are coming in the mail soon, so then I'll know for sure.

If all your tests have come back normal, congratulations. This means that if you just do something like, read The Diet Cure, by Julia Ross, do a program based on what your body needs, based on the information and questionairs in the book and you can end your symptoms in 30 to 90 days, and start a new life free from this problem.

I'm 20, I've been suffering from unwanted hair on my face, back, breasts and stomach for about two years now. I mean I guess I've had it all my life, but it just recently started to REALLY bother me a couple years ago. It isn't EXTREMELY noticeable except for in direct sunlight or any sort of harsh, direct overhead light. You can see ALL of it in direct sunlight, especially on my face. I pluck my chin and cheeks daily. This has resulted in two red, bumpy spots on my chin which are pretty gross looking, although they're on the lower part so they're not too noticeable. I know that to get rid of them I'll have to stop plucking, at least periodically--but I feel like I can't because if I do, the hair will grow in thicker than ever. I can't stand the thought of being an ugly, hairy girl, and that's what I feel like. All the time. I'm not really overweight, I'm like 120, 5'5' but I'm hairy, and it's grossssssss.

I've never shaved my face and I never will. I feel like thats the last straw and when I do that I'll probably kill myself. (exaddurating, but still, it's how i feel). But I feel like the more I remove the hair, the worse it will get, but if I don't remove it everyone will notice it. I don't know if it's just me but everytime I talk to someone theyre always glancing down at my chin and I think it's because of the hair, or the red spots. Although I cover them up pretty well with foundation/concealer.

So basically I feel trapped. You can't really see it at all in any other light than direct sunlight, so I go outside on my back porch everyday and pluck all of the extremely noticeable hairs out. When this all started I was using depliatories, but those were really harsh on my skin and gave me rashes. So I started plucking my chin, and vowed not to start on the rest of my face, but failed and started plucking my cheeks too. Now it's almost impossible to remove all of the hair, and takes nearly an hour. They're all blonde, so they refleft the sun. Although the ones on my chin are darker, yet very thin and hard to notice unless you're looking really close. When the light hits my face a certain way though, I feel like you can see it all anyway. I'm constantly comparing myself to other girls and wondering if anyone has the same problem as I do that I know. But I don't think so.

This is doing a serious number on my skin, so I wear quite a bit of make-up to cover it up. I use aloe-vera moisturizer everyday, as well as facial toner. I exfoliate daily with Apricot scrub, which seems to help with the smoothness, as well as Vaseline. I apply Scar Serum to my chin 3-4 times a day just incase I'm causing scarring, which I'm sure I am. I've been plucking daily for almost two years. I tan because being tan covers up a lot of my flaws. I'm a redhead though, so I don't get as tan as other people do. The plucking, the hair removal, IT HAS TO STOP but I don't know what to do. I drink spearmint tea daily because I read online that it may reduce hirsutism in women. I tried electrology but that requires stopping removing the hair and letting it grow to long enough where it's visible, able to be felt when I touch my face and I can't stand it. I just want to be normal but I don't know how anymore. I feel like if I would have just left it alone I'd be a lot happier. But I don't know. I do suffer from PCOS and irregular periods, so I'm sure that has a lot if not everythinig to do with my unwanted hair problem. I'm on birth control which is supposed to stop the hair form getting worse, but I feel like since I'm removing it so frequently it's inevitable that the problem will worsen with time.

I've shaved the lower part of my back a few times, and am satisifed when all of the hair is gone, but then it grows back prickly and gross and I feel disgusting when my boyfriend touches it. Or any part of my body with hair on it, for that matter. I pluck my breasts about 3 times a week and that results in ingrown hairs which look disgusting. I shave the lower part of my stomach, just the small area under my belly button, and that doesn't really bother me too much.

But I feel really awful about myself and dont understand why my boyfriend is still with me when I'm so gross. I mean, he says that it doesn't bother him, everyone has hair all over their body, it's just peach fuzz, blah blah blah. But I feel like he's just trying to protect my feelings. I can tell when we're in the sun and he's afraid to look at me because he knows he'll be grossed out. I don't know if this is all in my head or what, but I can't take much more of it. BLAH, I don't know what anyone could even say back to this, but I just wanted to get it all out.