The Beauty Spot
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from June 1975.
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She's sensitive, so don't be brash Or she'll wind up with a moustache." Do you have an excessive amount of hair on your body?
Your arms, your legs, your upper lip? Why does this happen to some women? And what can be done about it? As you probably know, the presence or absence of body hair depends upon the body's hormonal balance.
A woman's glands produces not only the female hormone estrogen but also the male hormone androgen. THE BALANCE CAN BE UPSET In the majority of women, the estrogen hormone is dominant and, consequently, the hair distribution follows the normal womanly pattern.
Occasionally, however, a woman may have a little extra secretion of androgen. This extra bit may not change a thing; but if it occurs in a woman whose hair follicles are sensitive to the male hormone, it can cause an excessive growth of hair in any or all of the same areas that the male has hair.
The condition is called hirsutism and there is no known cure for it. But there are ways of making it less noticeable.
Electrolysis is by far the most permanent method since it attempts to destroy the hair follicles. Bleaching, depilatories and shaving are other methods.
Incidentally, don't be misled about shaving. It does not coarsen the growth. HOME REMEDIES MAY WORK, BUT... Be very careful about any remedy that includes the use of estrogen, either by external application or by injection. For one thing, additional estrogen will not suppress hair growth; more importantly, it can cause serious side effects since it can upset the natural hormonal balance, including the normal ovarian cycle.
Most women tend to exaggerate, in their own minds, the amount of body hair they have. Chances are, it's nothing more than a normal growth which appears to be more noticeable than it should be. The best thing to do is to see the beautician at your salon. If she can't help you, she'll be the first to advise you to consult a reputable dermatologist.
FROM UNDER THE DRYER: "She has one of those new, all-electric homes. Everything is charged!"
