joyblack

Nothing wrong with being curious :-).

Of course I've thought about all the various options. I recognize fully that each of these options is likely to be the best for some women and I don't want to denigrate any of them, but for me in my personal situation, the way I look at the options is as follows:


* Bleaching -- Not for me, because when someone would see me against the light I'd look as if you had a glowing moustache and beard. In any case, I've far too heavy a growth for that to make any sense at all.

* Waxing, plucking, threading, epilating all pull the hair out by the roots and since my moustache and beard growth is hormonally-driven there's a distinct possibility that in my case it might actually stimulate a dormant follicle into producing more hair quicker. Those methods of hair removal also distort the root if done repeatedly, leading to hair growing at strange angles. And I would have to let the hair grow to quite a length before I could repeat the exercise. These methods can also damage the skin and discolor it and long-term use of waxing can also cause wrinkles. And added to all that, my moustache and beard growth is so coarse that it's questionable whether those methods would work effectively anyway. Not to mention the fact that I'm chicken when it comes to pain.

* Chemical depilatories strong enough to remove coarse, male-type hair are very likely to burn the skin, cause swelling and cause long-term discoloration of the skin. My skin is very sensitive indeed.

* Laser is effective in a lasting way only when the hormones are under control so that they remain within the range normal for females. If I had had major fertility problems I would have been willing to try something that would help with infertility problems and that would also probably reduce male-type hair growth. However I was able to conceive naturally and didn't want to do anything that might risk affecting that ability, so I've simply let my hormones be as they naturally are. Additionally, I wouldn't want to risk a declining libido or have the sort of personality change my older sister had when she went on hrt. On top of all that, I know several women who have been burned and suffered discoloration by incompetent use of laser and in any case it only works effectively on a dark hair/light skin combination -- my moustache and beard growth are certainly very dark on my upper lip and chin, but some of the rest of my beard growth is quite light in color.

* Electrolysis also requires hormone balance to be in the female range in order to be lasting and again I know women who have suffered scarring and disoloration of the skin.

Which, like it or not, leaves shaving which does not damage the skin and does not cause the hair to grow more or coarser or faster. I have to admit that I really don't find shaving any problem at all and perhaps I even enjoy it.

I certainly enjoy being who I am and I enjoy the hormone balance I have. At 15 I would have anything to be a "normal" female with proper breasts and no moustache. Now, I'm happy to have the hormone balance that's natural to me and I really reckon has given me far more fun than most women have.