I Am (Not) My Hair
Hey guys, well, more like hey ladies because the guys might have to sit this one out. I have decided to invade the Monday Rush section this morning to deal with an issue common among women. I’ve taken time to write this post based on some minor research but I’m hoping the experts here can also chip in and help get to the ‘roots’ of this problem.
Ever heard of Hirsutism (pronounced: hur-soo-tiz-um)? Well it is the medical term used to describe excessive hair growth in women specifically in places where hair usually grows on men. This includes the face as well as the neck, chest, tummy and back. Unfortunately a lot of Nigerian women do not know about this or they seem ‘okay’ with the unwanted facial hair; they walk around looking like Angelina Jolie’s with the jaws of Rick Ross… and I’m not even trying to be funny.
Everywhere you go in Lagos, yes, lets not even talk of the eastern part of the country, you sometimes find that fine babe, speaks with a ‘bri-merican’ accent, has a blackberry, Brazilian weave and maybe some ‘aba-loutins’ heels to match. Take a good look at her and you’ll realize that this is actually a beautiful woman buried under (a lot of) UNWANTED facial hair. Unfortunately she tries to cover it with layers of foundation, which only makes the appearance of the hair even worse and quite irritating if I may add.
Unwanted facial hair is usually not related to any serious illness and it really does not mean the chic is wicked (according to popular village beliefs). However, it can be caused by several different factors, sometimes in combination. These factors include:
- Hereditary – yup! She got it from her mama, grandma or maybe papa :) and if she is from the eastern region, the chances are quite high…:(
- Medication – could be a side effect from some drugs she may be taking. Most allergy and asthma medication contain glucocorticoids (big big medical word) that triggers the growth of unwanted facial hair.
- Hormones – in summary, her body is producing more male than female hormones. Or it could be a hormonal imbalance caused by pregnancy, menopause or being overweight.
The good news is there are different ways of getting rid of unwanted facial hair and it is important you inform others of these options. This way we would have less fine babes with ‘bia-bia’ and ‘moustache’ around. Anyway there are cosmetic, professional and medical treatments but being that I am Miss Affordable, I’ll only talk about the cosmetic treatments that can be done frequently.
- Epilator – This is a form of plucking that uses an electrical device to rapidly grab multiple hairs and pluck them out from the root. I am yet to find where they are sold in Nigeria but you can tell anyone in the UK or America to get one
- Hair removal cream – These are creams that dissolve hair above the surface of the skin. They are very easy to use and you can find them in almost any pharmacy. Feel free to use them on your legs too, we don’t want to see an untamed forest of legs either :)
- Plucking – Using tweezers or fingers to pull out hair from the root is perhaps the simplest way to deal with unwanted facial hair. This takes a lot of time and the pain can be annoying.
Shaving – Cutting off the part of the hair above the surface of the skin with a razor. I do not recommend it because it causes bumps which is another problem on its own …so we’ll strike this through.
- Threading – A twisted thread is rolled across the skin to catch hairs and pull them out from the root. You can get your threading done in salons like Bnaturals and Lefeminic (only naming a few because I know there are more salons)
- Waxing – Hot or cold wax is used to stick to hair and pull it out from the root. Be warned that it can be painful and the hot wax can burn your skin if too hot.
- Laser therapy – Although this is not a cosmetic treatment but a professional one, it is important I mention it. Laser therapy permanently damages individual hairs so they are removed and do not grow back by targeting the melanin, that is the pigment that gives hair its colour. You would need about 5 to 7 sessions, depending on how hairy you are and each session is usually done every 4 to 8 weeks. Bnatural in Ikeja GRA currently offers laser treatments for $450 a session. (That one na investment).
So now that you have been educated, please go ahead and educate others because we need to see less Amazonian women on our streets :) And like I said above, if you’re a professional in this field, kindly enlighten us more or share more solutions with us. Cheers.
About the Author
Sheila Jack of all trades, master of all... When I am not here, you'll find me at www.sheilaspeaks.com and on twitter as @Mxscharles.
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