Excessive Hair Growth on Face, Neck, etc. What to do????

Sigh...I've had this problem for years but its escalating to my neck and cheeks. I've noticed that the hair growth has gotten worse every time I stop prednisone. I also break out more once the medication is stopped. I really don't know what to do anymore. I am a vibrant 31 year old who has all this excessive hair growth. Its disgusting and unattractive. I've had at least 10 or 15 laser hair removal treatments which only worked temporarily. I've paid over 2,000 dollars for this procedure over the span of four years. I am really upset about this. I've been thinking about doing threading but don't know if that's good for the neck and face. Any suggestions?

The hair growth from Pred typically goes away when you go off the drug, so perhaps there is something else going on as fruitgirl mentioned. You might also consult a dermatologist; there is supposedly a new prescription product that helps prevent facial hair growth.

Does this seem to be a permanent thing or a temporary one? I had temporary (several months) insane hair growth from prde--my face, neck, back knuckles!!
The writer of the book Coping with Prednisone, recommended Surgi Cream--a hair removal product similiar to Nair, etc, but one that will not burn skin made sensitive by pred. I used it faithfully. It was a giant pain in the butt and I did give up on the back, but I pretty much put it on my face, neck, and knuckles weekly. It made me feel so much better. I have sensitive skin and it did not break out as long as I followed the directions exactly and it did temporarily get rid of the hair. The good news for me was that the hair stopped growing in after I was off the predniosne. Is this not the case for you?

b

It's temporary! But it can be the last thing to go away, in my experience.
I have some luck using exfoliators, the hairs are not particularly strong so it scrubs some of them away.
I also think some of the those new creams to reduce hair growth might help.

I think I am going to try a different Laser center than the one I've been going to. The doctor spoke to me on the phone yesterday and said that the laser removal is not permanent and the hair can grow back! What's the point then?

Kate- I like the device you mentioned. I am going to check it out.

Surgi cream- I think I have it. I will try it this week.

Thanks for the advice. So annoying!

Heather

This is a response to iluvsunflowers15's 4/19 post: This is a long one, but I am a peer who is dealing with the same man-hair problem..

I am 32 and I have a hormone imbalance - polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) that has caused thick hair growth on my chin and upper lip (a very common symptom due to the body producing increased androgens - male hormones). When left unplucked, it looks like straight-up thick manbeard hair and it covers an area on my chin about the size of two silver dollars - one on each side of my jowel, not to mention it's sliding down my neck. Totally obvious. I found that plucking them produces ingrown hairs and dermatitis. So, I tried laser hair removal in Feb. 2010. The laser tech burned my face causing cystic acne which left pits and scars after only one treatment. That, and most if not all of the hair returned within one month.

I recently found a forum on healingwell.com where women were posting who had both UC and POCS. My father had UC (really advanced stages), and my aunt (his sister) has IBS as do I in addition to the POCS. That forum suggests that there may be a link between the two syndromes, or at least that they often occur simotaniously. Increased hair growth occurring after discontinuing steroids may indicate a hormonal imbalance. You might want to see an enodcrinologist about getting your hormones checked out. At the very least, you could research polycystic ovarian syndrome on the healingwell.com website and see if any of the information helps you.

Many laser hair removal clinics will not even work on someone with POCS because the excessive testosterone creates new hair follicles even after the old ones are killed. And though I've heard that you need to undergo several treatments to make it permanent, I won't go back.

Some advice was given to me just yesterday by a skin care specialist while she was examining my excessive man-hair growth problem. She told me that once my hormone imbalance was addressed and corrected, the hair removal should be more permanent. However, she insisted for me not to use the laser procedure: it is too easy to mess up the setting on the laser, and it should only be administered by a doctor (unfortunately for my newly pitted skin, my procedure was not). She then described in detail some of the laser messup horror stories that she saw first-hand where they have permanently bleached, scarred, and damaged skin and nerves. She even told me about a doctor's wife that messed someone up pretty bad with that laser. She said that electrolysis is a much safer way to go for permanent hair removal, so I will probably do that next time. I trust her and she has had years of experience with different people and their skin issues.

In the meantime, I am just going to wax and pluck until I get my hormones figured out with the hope that once they're back in balance the excessive hair growth will slow down. Good luck!

Threading is fabulous. You can have them remove just the longer hairs if you want or go smooth. It hurts the first time and then gets easier (just like waxing). I get microdermabrasion for my UC acne and use benzoyle peroxide. Oh I'm a 14 year cosmetologisy btw.

Hi, sorry just checked this page. Yes threading, if done correctly, doesnt touch the skin. Its good to thoroughly cleans afterwards because you can still get razorburn from the exposed follicle. Good luck!