The Surprising Way Your Hormones Could Be Messing With Your Hair

The Surprising Way Your Hormones Could Be Messing With Your Hair

When I told my coworkers that the first stop on my quest for full-body laser hair removal (a casually discussed topic here at Allure HQ) was my face—lip and chin, to be specific—reactions were mostly similar: "But you're blonde!" Yes,

I'm naturally blonde, but I'm unnaturally platinum blonde. The ashy-white hair on my head might throw people off, but make no mistake: My eyebrows are quite dark, and so are the stray hairs on my chinny chin chin. And lip.

My first round of laser hair removal seemed successful, and so did round two—but then I realized that my hair had grown back to its normal thickness in less than a month. I emailed my expert dermatologist who's been conducting the treatments, Joshua Zeichner, with concern. "Is there something wrong with me? Is it not working?" I'm only two rounds in, so I might have been overreacting, but he suggested that I get a blood test to be sure that my hormone levels are normal. Wait, what?

"If women develop dark hair in areas where men typically have it—lip, chin, neck, stomach, chest—there may be a hormonal imbalance," says Zeichner. "In some cases there may a testosterone excess, but in others, women may just be extra-sensitive to what appears to be a normal level of hormones." Other indications of imbalance include irregular periods and acne breakouts.

If you think you have any of these warning signs, it's important to get checked because, although it's not always a bigger issue, hormonal irregularity can be associated with conditions more serious than just facial hair growth, like polycystic ovarian syndrome (which affects fertility), obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Luckily, under a doctor's careful supervision, Zeichner says that there are common treatments that can reduce symptoms and rebalance your estrogen levels: oral contraceptive pills and spironolactone. Both of them require prescriptions, so you'll need to make a trip to the doctor. (Side note: One Allure editor is now a spironolactone worshipper, after having found that it cured her seemingly incurable acne. But it's not for everyone, and it's not without side effects, so again, talk to your doctor.)

Although it's not a sexy topic—men don't Internet-stalk their dates like women do, right?—we're here to tell you that your hair growth may be totally normal, especially if you have a deep skin tone and/or dark hair. But if you suspect there's something off, it's a good idea to talk to your doctor about getting a blood test, especially if you're planning to become pregnant in the future. I haven't been tested yet, so I can't report on my own situation, but that would probably be verging on TMI anyway, so I'll just leave you here with the facts. In the meantime, happy grooming.

For more on how hormones cause adult acne, watch:

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