What Causes Excessive Hair Growth In Females ?

Are you a female experiencing excessive facial hair growth? Are you finding the excessive facial hair growth unpleasant? If yes, you might be suffering from hirsutism. Excessive hair growth or hirsutism may bother some females, and it is an unpleasant condition. And, if you are wondering what makes hair grow excessively on your face, back, or chest, stress yourself no further. Keep reading to learn all about it.
Generally, women have only fine hair on those areas of the skin where men usually happen to develop thick, dark body hair, for instance, upper lips, cheeks, chin, chest, back, and abdomen. But, these days, about 8% to 10% of women have a condition called hirsutism or hypertrichosis which causes excessive hair growth in these skin areas.
The main difference between the normal hair on a woman’s body and hirsutism is the texture. Unwanted hairs are usually coarse and dark. The growth pattern of unwanted hair is similar to normal hair growth in males.
Women happen to develop excessive unwanted body or facial hair due to greater than normal levels of male hormones. Male hormones are called androgens, and they include testosterone. Normally, all females produce androgens, but they are maintained at a minimum required level. Androgens are produced by the adrenal gland located just above your kidneys, testes, and ovaries. Majorly, androgens get converted to testosterone (male hormone).
Certain medical conditions can cause a woman to produce excess androgens, causing male-pattern hair growth and, sometimes, other unwanted male features, such as deep voice.
PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) is a common cause of hirsutism. Non-cancerous cysts that form on the ovaries can affect the production of hormones, thereby resulting in an irregular menstrual cycle and decreased fertility. Women with PCOS often have symptoms of moderate to severe acne and tend to gain weight.
Other forms of hormonal imbalance that can cause excessive unwanted hair growth include
1.Cancer of the adrenal gland
2.Tumors growing on the ovaries or adrenal gland
3.Cushing’s syndrome, which happens to develop when your body experiences high levels of the hormone cortisol, also sometimes called ‘stress hormone’, either due to overproduction by adrenals or by taking prednisolone for a long time.
4.Congenital adrenal hyperplasia, wherein people are born without an enzyme that is necessary to produce adrenal hormones. It’s a group of disorders that interferes with the adrenal gland and causes the body to produce more androgen.
All of these conditions can affect the way your body produces androgens.
In addition to these, certain medications can also lead to unwanted hair growth. They include:
1.Minoxidil (BP lowering medicine)
2.Certain steroids
3.Cyclosporin (used to suppress immunity)
4.Testosterone
Hirsutism may also run in the families. You are more likely to have unwanted hair growth if your mother or sister also has it.
Treatment for hirsutism involves treating the underlying hormonal imbalance. Depending on the underlying disease (Cushing’s / PCOS / Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, etc.), homeopathic treatment can offer relief in stabilizing the hormones (subject to the pathology being reversible). To know more if your hirsutism can be helped with homeopathy, do get in touch with Dr. Rajesh Shah’s associate doctors at Life Force Homeopathy. You can leave your contact details in the form below or email us at info@lifeforce.in or call us at +91-22-66888888.