Comments on: How to Get Rid of Unwanted Facial Hair

By: lisak

lisak — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:58:58 +0000

I have to chime in and say that Vaniqa cream has worked for me. I don’t have a huge facial hair problem, but have always had a faint mustache (as did my mother and my sisters)on my fair skin. I used to bleach it or use a mini epi-lady that hurt like hell. Now, I put on a teeny, tiny, smidge of Vaniqa every morning, usually not on weekends, and it is no longer remotely noticeable. The cream is ridiculously expensive, but I’m still working the first tube I ever bought more than a year and a half later. So cost per use is very reasonable. It did irritate my highly, highly sensitive skin at first, but doesn’t seem to anymore. That’s mostly why I use it only once a day and not on weekends. I don’t seem to need it more often. And it beats the heck out of waxing (0wie!!!) and the lovely scabby red rash I got the one time I tried a depilatory.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:25:41 +0000

I am Italian (like you) and Spanish with fair skin and dark hair. I’ve been bleaching/waxing my mustache and beard for 20+ years! At my dermatologist’s recommendation, I am waiting until our family is complete before getting laser hair removal. Hormonal changes from pregnancy, childbirth and breast feeding can make new/old hair come back. Given that you have dark hair and fair skin, you will be an excellent candidate for laser hair removal when the time comes.
In the meantime, for a large patch of dark, coarse hair like you describe, bleaching may only make your dark beard look blond, which may still bother you. You should try it though, I recommend Sally Hanson extra strength formula, and see if you like the results. If you still think the blond hair needs to go, I would professionally wax/thread the most problematic areas, and bleach in between treatments. Waxing will thin out the hair and bleaching in between treatments will help camoflage the new growth.
Good luck!

By: Krista

Krista — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:48:08 +0000

I can’t wax (still have faint red rings around my eyebrows from the last time I waxed, over a year ago) and can’t afford laser/electrolysis. My solution is as seen on TV (but bought at Target) — the facial hair trimmer ($9.99) and the Emjoi Tweezey ($14.99). I felt ridiculous buying them, but they work. I use the trimmer on my upper lip — it cuts the hair off right next to the skin, but since it’s not shaving or pulling the hairs out by the root, there’s no coarse “regrowth.” The Tweezey is for chin hair — it’s not foolproof, but it catches about 90% of the hairs. Much quicker than tweezing (although I have to go back with a tweezer for touchups). A bit painful, but no worse than waxing. Plus you don’t have to keep buying stuff — after the initial investment, you just have to replace the batteries maybe once a year. (They are noisy, though, so if your husband is under the impression that you have no facial hair problems, you’ll have use these only when he’s out of the house.)

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:56:52 +0000

I recommend sugar waxing. I have similar issues as the OP, and at some point in my young adult life, my skin decided it HATES to be waxed. MAJOR irritation always happens… unless I use a sugar paste instead of “normal” wax. The best part about sugaring is that if you make the paste at home, it is super-duper cheap. If you Google “sugaring,” you’ll find a recipe in no time, and it’s really easy to make. All you need is sugar, lemon juice and water. And the technique is the same as waxing. It’s just much gentler on the skin.

By: jessica fantastica

jessica fantastica — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 23:49:32 +0000

I use laser treatments. My gyno has a laser tech in office and I get a discount since my need is from PCOS. My biggest issue with it is that they said I’d need 6-10 sessions. More like, the rest of my life, every 3 months. But at $50 a session (face and neck) it’s just a cheap as any other removal method, and I only have to worry about it every 3 months.

By: Meghan

Meghan — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 23:38:49 +0000

So glad to see a bunch of other ladies recommending threading! My skin is super sensitive and I’ve always looked like a big blotchy freak after getting waxed. Threading has been a godsend for me, the lady I go to charges $14 total for eyebrows, upper lip and chin. She uses witch hazel on a cotton ball after to soothe the skin and reduce swelling, which I have found to be the ONLY after-product that doesn’t make my skin get red and ANGRY.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:38:24 +0000

I totally agree on the threading! I recently switched from waxing my hairy-scary eyebrows and I couldn’t be happier. I will warn that the second time I went I tried a different spot that was closer to my house (the first time was with my mom as recommended by some of her friends and was close to her house)… anyway, the second lady I went to was not as gentle and I was more irritated. So you may ask around about who people like, or if you may try a couple different places. I also think, for eyebrows anyway, they give such a better shape. Good luck from another hairy girl!

By: Jasmine

Jasmine — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:37:03 +0000

I have the same problem as the Bearded Lady — whilst many of you have peach fuzz, I have black fuzz. And I learnt the hard way that after having threaded all of it off, the pores look waaaay bigger (since it’s ripped off at the roots) and the parts where my hairline met my face only grew back with denser baby fuzz! Argh!
There’s a cream bleach called Jolen that I’m thinking of trying but right now I’m growing out my facial fuzz. I tweeze my upper lip nearly every day.
I’m not sure you have access to things like Intense Pulse Light? IPL apparently also removes ‘em permanently, or so I heard. I’m sorry I’m just throwing out suggestions here, they’re waaay out of my budget but maybe you’d consider it!

By: Della

Della — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:09:15 +0000

Ok so just chiming in on laser hair removal. I have wanted to do that ever since it became available, and when I was getting married I thought, well, now is as good a time as any to schedule my first treatment, right? So I went to two places for consultation, called several more.
Here is the info I gleaned, condensed for you (as well as I can remember it now, 4 years later). It’s really long and I didn’t want to threadjack, so you’ll have to go to my site to read it – click my name above or go here:
http://daily-della.blogspot.com/2010/01/laser-hair-removal.html

By: cagey

cagey — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 10:03:11 +0000

Oh hi, there! I am big hairy beast thanks to PCOS. I have done everything that Amy mentioned and by far, had the best results with laser. However. What the nice laser people did NOT tell me is that when you get pregnant, all bets are off. So, after two pregnancies, 20 months apart, I am pretty much back to where I started, except for my upper lip – the laser was a miracle worker on that spot. Anyway. Now that I am done birthin’ babies, I want to do the laser AGAIN, but I am still pretty pissed that the nice laser folks did not warn me the hair could grow back after pregnancies. Til we can fit laser back into our budget, I am making non-deductible donations to a nearby salon for waxing. They love me there.
To help with the ingrown hairs, I use a prescription strength gel called Ziana.
While I am grateful I had my babies so easily, PCOS is a rotten bitch.