Heredity plays a crucial role in deciding where you will be hairy, but medical conditions can also cause excessive hair growth.
Hirsutism
Hirsutism is a disorder some women experience when they begin to produce too much androgen, a male hormone. An abundance of androgen can be caused by other disorders a woman has. Androgen can cause a woman to have hair growth patterns that are similar to men. Areas of the growth can be the back and chest as well as the face. Also, the normally fine and light texture of hair will become thicker, courser and darker.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome & Cushing's Syndrome
These two disorders can cause hirsutism in women. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a disorder that causes cysts to form on the ovaries because of an imbalance of hormones. "Cushing's syndrome is a disorder that occurs when your body is exposed to high levels of the hormone cortisol," according to MedlinePlus, a medical information resource established by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. This can occur when women take corticosteroid medication, which is a treatment for asthma.
Hypertrichosis
"Hypertrichosis is the term used to describe excess hair growth in any part of the body as compared to that of a normal person of the same race, age or sex, excluding androgen induced growth," according to Hypertrichosis.com. Hypertrichosis comes in two types: congenial and acquired. Congenial means it's a genetic disorder while acquired hypertrichosis occurs to people who might have been diagnosed with cancer of some form, or from drugs and chemicals, or metabolic disorders.
Seek Medical Attention
Seek medical attention if you think you're producing more hair than usual, and in places you normally don't produce hair. Your doctor can review your medical history as well as your family history to find the cause of excessive hair growth. Your doctor can recommend a form of treatment.
Treatment
Laser hair removal and electrolysis are two methods that you can consider to remove the body hair. Electrolysis is found to be the most effective and permanent hair removal treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to the American Electrology Association. Laser hair removal is a semi-permanent method. "Since hair cycles as it grows, repeated treatments are necessary to destroy about 80 percent of the hairs," according to the American Academy of Dermatology. If the doctor determines the cause of the hair growth stems from a hormonal imbalance, anti-androgen producing medication can be taken to block the production of the androgen's. Depilatories and waxing can be done in the home and are reasonably quick methods of removing excess body hair. But they are not permanent solutions.
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