We are on week two of PCOS Awareness month so today is another symptom related to PCOS: Unwanted/Excessive Hair Growth.

Hair growth is natural we all have it somewhere on our bodies at some point in our lives, but for PCOS sufferers this can be more than the average person. Excessive hair growth also known as hirsutism is often dark and thick and can appear anywhere on your body. The most common areas for this to occur are your face, neck, upper lip, chest, thighs, tummy, bum and/or lower back.

My experience

For a long time I hid my hair growth from anyone even my doctor because I found it so embarrassing, but then I realised I needed to be honest in order to get help with my diagnosis and other symptoms. Whilst I suffer from hirsutism in a certain area I also find that my ‘normal’ areas of hair growth grow back rather quickly. I can shave my legs one day and two days later it is visibly growing back. I guess that is one plus point for the colder weather – I get to cover up more and not have to keep thinking about any unwanted hairs showing!

My top tips for unwanted/excessive hair growth – As always please check with your doctor/specialist before trying any new tips or ideas.

• Identify your hair removal technique – There are so many ways nowadays to remove your hair – it’s just finding what suits you best. You need to ask yourself what’s important to you; do you want to do it yourself or go see a professional? Do you want something that is fairly straightforward, but may mean having to do it quite regularly or do you want something more fiddly in the short term, but may have longer results? You also need to consider where on your body you need to remove the hair and which technique would work best. The techniques you can explore include waxing, shaving, hair removal creams and plucking.

• Decide if hair removal is what you want – Not everybody wants to remove their hair perhaps because they have to do it so often or because actually they don’t see it as a big enough issue. If this is the case you may consider bleaching techniques instead to lighten the hair. I have no experience of bleaching so you will need to do your own research if bleaching is something you want to explore.

• Speak to your doctor/pharmacist about specific areas – If you have hirsutism in certain areas your doctor may be able to prescribe you creams which can help with the speed of your hair growth. Doctors can also discuss with you contraception options to help with your hormones based on your individual circumstances.

• Review your lifestyle – People with PCOS tend to have higher androgen levels which can cause some of the horrible symptoms of PCOS. If you are overweight loosing just a slight bit of weight, (in the healthy way), can help to decrease your androgen levels and help with your unwanted hair.

• Accept yourself for who you are – This is probably the most important tip of all, yet the hardest to master. Hair growth can be an embarrassing symptom, but once you accept it for what it is – a symptom of your condition – then you can start to take control on how it makes you feel. Feeling better in yourself mentally will help you deal with your body physically.

In conclusion, there is no rule book saying how you should deal with hair growth and it is up to you what you do about it. Whether you remove it, lighten it, keep it and embrace it; the choice is yours.

Next week is dedicated to my fellow tickers. I am talking Tourette Syndrome and next week’s symptom of the week is: Tics