Am 20 yrs old..I had no idea other people felt the same. Mines hereditory and ive had this since birth. When i was 4 i hated myself. Remember crying loads and the kids at school as i got older treated me differetly. Needless to say i got depressed. Humbled me with god also i felt. Im confident but i have no self esteem. Its a wierd combination- i know why. ive had lots of electrolysis to point where im scared stiff of needles. So doing laser now for 4 years!!!! And little sucess- thats just face. Wax everywhere else. Never had a bf and have troubble keeping friends due to depression i think. I just despise myself. Anyways hope maybe il find someone some day. Have lots of treatments but my life revolves around this.

Should be seen as illess realy. Had hormone tests etc- mine normal. My laser woman was shocked. My hairs are tough and pure black and thick- people always say to me how lucky i am my hair is so thick and jet black. Also my face fairly light for asian. Thats when i think- thankgod that must mean they cant see a hair on my face at the moment. not lucky at all- every hair can be seen and am mentally scarred from this x

I am sad to say there are men (and transgenders) who also suffer from the same self image issues too. Regardless of gender presentation or how much unwanted hair I had at the time, I have always felt I looked like monster. I was tortured by kids growing up because of the way I looked, and I have struggled with depression my whole life. Sometimes I wonder if I had body dysmorphic disorder, because people today tell me I don't look like a monster but I just can't believe that

mirror, what areas do you have problem hair on? how much hair and how coarse? do you experience any other symptoms of PCOS? hormonal problems are difficult to detect, so many doctors misdiagnose. if you are having serious issues with hair, you may want to consider seeking out a specialist (endocrinologist) with a great reputation in PCOS in your area to get retested.

The hairs pretty much everywhere. Not coarse everywhere, but is thick and long. Hate talking about it- lol! I used to have irregular periods but theyre ok now- think it was maybe more stress related. My aunt had pcos but the doc checked her recently and said its gone! Aparrently that can happen. Im not over weight so I cant figure it out. But it is serrious and worrying. The lady who does my laser now does it for 30 pounds for face- think she just feels sorry for me as its not working but her equiptments pretty much what every ones got and she updates them also.

Hi

I'm also new to the forums and find them very informative and uplifting:) I've also been struggling with excess body hair for a long time and I feel like it's a worse problem because I'm a female and we are supposed to be beautiful with silky soft skin(according to the media, which is sooooo discouraging!) I've gottn blood tests taken but to no avail, I don't even think my doctor took me seriously! He started telling me that I was just acting this way because of how many women look to the images we see in society and try to emulate them. I wanted to tell him he should try being me for a month and see if his opinion changed, ofcourse I didn't say that. I'm hoping that sometime in the future i'll be able to afford electrology or permanent laser hair removal.

Any way you all are so great and honest and you give the best advice. I hope that you all find a solution that works for you an dwhen you do tell Me!

mirror, it sounds like you may have PCOS or at least a hormonal imbalance problem, especially since it's in your family. you don't need to have all the symptoms to have it. many people have none of the symptoms and still have it. i would really advise you to see an experienced endocrinologist. also, what machine and type of electrolysis are you getting? there are electrologists who do great work. 30 pounds is still a lot of money for something that's not working. you can pluck for free yourself. but making sure you don't have anything in your body causing the growth is important as well because hair removal methods like electrolysis can only kill what's currently there. they cannot prevent NEW growth that your body may be developing due to a condition.

Ritz, you may want to look for an experienced endocrinologist if you truly think you may have an underlying medical condition causing the hair growth. you haven't mentioned specific problem areas or what type of hair you have there, so it's hard to judge over the internet. I can tell you though that hormonal conditions are hard to detect, so you really need someone experienced who specializes in this issue to take a look.

Thanks ,lagirl for the advice. I think i will try to get a referal to an endocrinologist from my doctor...when I got the blood tests done I was mensing so that might have changed the results. I have very coarse hair on my arms and legs,but espicially on my legs,and I have hair that reaches down to my jawline(aka elvis side burns )and also in a few more areas that I'd rather not touch on...(too embarrassed)
But I don't really know if it's a medical condition or if it's just heridtary...:(

I agree that having excess hair makes you feel depressed. I'm not depressed every day but I am always conscious of my hair and it has sometimes stopped me from leaving the house, phoning in sick to work because i'm doubly paranoid about myself or have horrid shaving rash. It has stopped me from doing other things like getting married, having a family, all becuase I want to enjoy these experiences without excess hair hanging over me. Until my hair is treated, my life is on hold.

On the upside, I feel that due to having this problem, it has made me more understanding and empathetic. I would never judge someone on their appearance and consider more people to be beautiful than I may have if I never had this.