No one will ever really notice your period issues with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) because that’s the invisible part of the condition, what they will see is what (can) lower your self esteem – the acne and the excess facial / body hair (hirsutism). I’ve always looked to explore ways to understand and tame both these issues.
I speak about this in detail today…
I have a video version of this post which you can see right here on my YouTube channel, or if you prefer to read on, then you – just scroll through 🙂
Before jumping into the deep end, we should understand what PCOS is – but feel free to scroll down to managing hirsutism and acne if you know your bit on PCOS.
What is PCOS ?
Affecting at least one in ten women, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a condition in which women of reproductive years have imbalanced hormones.
Women can often develop multiple cysts (small fluid-filled sacs) inside their ovaries hence the name ‘polycystic’, but according to WebMD, not all women who have PCOS actually have cysts.
For me, I do. In fact it always shows up in my ultrasound as ‘bulky/enlarged ovaries’, which is an indicator of PCOS.
These cysts are follicles each containing an immature egg. Sadly, these eggs don’t mature enough for ovulation to occur.
Healthline explain further:
“The lack of ovulation alters levels of estrogen, progesterone, FSH, and LH. Estrogen and progesterone levels are lower than usual, while androgen levels are higher than usual.
Extra male hormones disrupt the menstrual cycle… “
What are the Symptoms of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)?
There are multiple symptoms of PCOS and not everyone will get all the symptoms, but here’s a list sharing the most common ones:
- Hormonal Imbalance
- Irregular Periods / or too Regular
- Pelvic Pain
- Heavy Bleeding
- Infertility
- Acne
- Oily Skin
- Excessive Body hair Growth (Hirsutism)
- Thinning Hair from Head
- Mood Swings
- Depression
- Weight Gain
- Patchy Skin Tone
- Headache
Relevant Read:
Which Hormones are Involved in PCOS?
The body produces multiple hormones, but it’s usually the following hormones which cause most trouble for women with PCOS.
Testosterone:
– This is a male hormone, which is usually found in small amounts in women, but if you have PCOS, this is usually elevated.
Luteinising Hormone (LH):
– This stimulates ovulation but if the levels are elevated then this process gets disrupted too.
Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin (SHBG):
– This hormone looks to reduces the effects of the testosterone hormone, but in women with PCOS, this is usually too low to perform its job.
Reasons for this hormonal imbalance isn’t known but according to the NHS:
“It’s been suggested that the problem may start in the ovary itself, in other glands that produce these hormones, or in the part of the brain that controls their production. The changes may also be caused by the resistance to insulin.”
What is Hirsutism?
Hirsutism is the term used to describe a condition in which excessive facial and body hair growth is seen in women. This is usually dark and coarse, but I have seen this vary in some people whom I know to have hirsutism.
Hirsutism usually occurs when the female body produces excess male androgen hormones, such as testosterone.
For many, hirsutism isn’t just about excess body hair, but it includes balding, decreased breast size and increased muscle mass too – the male hormone takes over multiple areas of the female body.
There are a number of medical conditions that are related to hirsutism like PCOS, cushing syndrome and congenital adrenal hyperplasia amongst others, but I’m specifically going to stick PCOS because I understand it better.
But if you would like to know more about the other causes of hirsutism, then you can right here:
How To Manage Excess Facial / Body Hair (Hirsutism)?
Over the years, I have figured three ways to manage my hirsutism, and I’ll share that with you here. All three are connected so you may feel like it’s all over-lapping because it is 🙂
So here goes…
1. Mental
I first encountered hirsutism when I was 11/12 years old. I didn’t know there was even a term for this, but I’m glad there was, somehow the issue got validation. A name to this meant that others had it too. I didn’t feel alone.
But that aside, hirsutism can really lower your self-confidence.
You constantly feel someone is looking at your face and when you’re going to school and it’s not happening to the person next to you, you can see them snigger or make fun of you.
Read Here For:
Tips: How to Manage School Work, Bullying and Endometriosis
My mum would constantly give me confidence and say that facial hair is normal but said that if it made me feel better, I could use a hair-removing cream.
Which I did. But with PCOS and hirsutism, you’ll find that the higher the imbalance the quicker the growth.
So I’d gain confidence for a few days and then the second half of the week, I wouldn’t feel so.
Over the years, I tried MANY things to reduce and hopefully stop the excess growth – I’ll list the ones that work best for me a little ahead, but speaking mentally, as I developed confidence in how I spoke and carried myself, my emphasis on my facial hair reduced because I knew I could not be picture perfect all the time – I had unfair expectations of myself and that was taking away from me being happy.
The one thing that PCOS, endometriosis or any hormone driven issue does is throw you towards depression and when you have facial hair to deal with, it can become quite depressing, so to save myself from that, just my shift in working on me the person helped me reduce the significance and mental impact of facial hair on my life.
View this post on Instagram
2. Hormonal
Let’s look at this logically. If the male hormone reduces and comes under control, then ideally so should the hirsutism? Right?
Yep, makes sense.
As my testosterone was brought under control, I could see a difference in the hair-growth cycle and the quality of my skin.
Testosterone being a male hormone also promotes aggression and it was in my 20s that I started to realise that I was being controlled by this hormone just a little too much for my liking.
I would regularly engage myself in slow breathing, eating right, meditation, yoga, stretches and even early morning tai-chi to help control my hormones. These practices worked really well for me.
My other option was to be on hormonal medication which wasn’t working well with my endometriosis, so I chose to stay away.
Today, my testosterone levels are where the should be – in control, but I still have hirsutism which is far far farrrr more controlled than ever in my life.
3. Physical Action
So you can say tai-chi, yoga, slow breathing, meditation all come under this heading of Physical Action – yes they do but those were all to work the mind and the hormones.
Here I wish to explain the methods I tried to reduce the actual hair.
I started with…
Hair-Removing Cream:
The hair-removing cream never worked well for me in the long run because I have sensitive skin and it added to my acne woes.
And because this only removes hair from the surface, the hair came back too fast for me, plus as a teenager, my hormonal imbalance was at its worst so I’m sure that didn’t help the situation either.
Waxing:
Ouch ouch! Waxing for yourself with hairs growing in different directions led to in-growths and aggravated acne.
I would always suggest to get this done from a professional because they can see your face better than you can!
But, I do love how the growth came back slower because the hair was being removed from the root itself, but this could not be a regular option for me because of the acne and sensitive skin.
Laser:
To be a good laser candidate, you need to have dark hair on lightish skin.
I was both, and luckily I knew someone who was just starting out with their laser machine so I was happy to give this laser hair reduction treatment a go.
This worked so very well me.
The hair growth didn’t stop entirely, but it made most of the hair thinner and softer making them less visible from a mile away!
This is an expensive option and after the friend who was doing this fell sick, I could never really go anywhere else, but her efforts did give me long lasting joys 😀 …so I’m grateful for that.
Shaving:
Shaving was done at the beginning of every laser appointment by the technician to prepare me for the session.
I don’t need to adopt this method, but I have seen many online who use facial razors designed for women and no, the hair-growth isn’t known to come back thicker, instead it’s a super quick and convenient option if you’re in a rush.
Threading / Epilator:
Both threading and epilating remove hair from the root – more like pulls it from the root giving a nice clean, smooth finish.
Threading is great if someone else is doing it for me and the epilator is perfect if I have to do it myself.
This, so far is my favourite way. I use the Braun Face Epilator, which you can get from Amazon – US here | India here.
For me, a combination of working on my mental state, taking action to keep the hormones in check and aiding my appearance through good skin care and threading helps me the most.
If I look back now, I wish I could tell the 11-year-old me all of this, I may have faced lesser stresses but that’s not possible so I’ve done the next best thing – shared this with you.
Now on to the last part… Acne
How to Control Acne
Another visible issue that comes up with PCOS / endometriosis is acne and it creates havoc when you have additional hair follicles coming up because of hirsutism.
Other than eating right, I would use a face / body pack which worked out for me.
I’ve shared my story that explains my battle with acne in great detail and the remedy I use in the two articles linked below – you can read them here:
- My Battle with Endometriosis and Acne
- My Acne Skincare Remedies – Endometriosis & Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Also, here’s a list of all my skincare remedies, with videos:
Before I end, I wish to say… anything which is connected with our hormones can be helped and worked upon by improving our mental state – it’s also the toughest thing to do (definitely tougher than popping more pills), but its benefits and lessons are essential for growth, happiness and hormonal calm.
Do what you need to do to medically combat your chronic illness, but just don’t forget the mental side. 🙂
Thank you for reading.
If you’re a social media person, then you can follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or YouTube.
I have a podcast too. You can check them out here along with their transcripts or if you don’t wanna read them then they’re available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts too.
See ya soon… and have a good day!
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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I am a patient and have created this platform to share my experiences. This is all purely informative and in no way am I providing medical advice. Please consult a medical professional.
Whilst I don’t have PCOS, I can imagine this as I too faced similar issues with steroids during my teens. My face bloated up and I had hirsutism too you could say, and I just looked like a man. I think I felt most depressed in those years looks wise. It was an awful feeling that shouldn’t be invalidated as ‘it’s just hair’ (male doctors don’t understand, do they haha).
I also love how you shared what you tried and tips in this post. I do threading for my eyebrows and some facial hair actually, and sugaring for anything else! Sugaring really does feel better than waxing in the long run as it pulls against the hair direction naturally too 🙂
This is a topic that not many talk about. My daughter lives with PCOS and deals with both of these issues since she started her period. We took her a dermatoligist who tried the normal route. Her GP knew the various issues, but didn’t put them all together. Finally, she went to see a OBGYN who immediately diagnosed her with PCOS, but this was 10 years into it.