I have read all the articles I can about PCOS, and I notice the hirsutism I am experiencing seems to be different than what is considered "textbook" hirsutism. I want to know if others experience this as well.

I can't believe I'm about to do this, but let me tell you where I am hairy:

let me preface this by saying I am not descent from anyone with heritage/ethnicity known for having a lot of hair. I have dirty blonde hair (not dark at all).

I have hair on my knuckles, enough that I want to shave it but am afraid of the upkeep (my legs are enough!). It's pretty dark. My arms have very dark hair (I use a "smooth away" on it, it rocks!) I also have hair on my belly--those are more like stray hairs though, although numerous. I have hair on my neck, and I cannot pluck it myself because I cannot see it until it is very long (eww), so my fiance plucks those for me so I do not have to be in public with big long hairs coming out of my neck-yes, he's a keeper!). If you drew a line straight down my neck from my earlobes, just under the jawbone, you would come to a small patch of where my neck hair grows, on each side (like where you take your pulse on your neck). It's weird. I also have hairy toes. My chest gets hairs too, which has been getting continually worse since I found the first hair when I was fifteen. I pluck it a lot. The worst, and I still cannot believe I'm telling this on the world wide web, is my behind. I have a hairier *** than my fiance. It's just as hairy as my legs, if not more. the hair is a mixture of dark, coarse hairs, and the fine, lighter ones.

Am I not only hairy, but also weird because of the location of that hair? I have never heard anyone else talk about butt hair, but then again, I don't suppose it's ever a pleasant subject, especially around girls. Unless I'm the only one with it--please say I'm not! :-D

No, you are not alone... Until I got the PCOS diagnosis, I thought that the hair in "weird" places was just supposed to be there... (I was a blonde for my whole life and was freaked out that there was darker hair all over!)

I have butt hair too... my fiance' is extremely supportive about all of it, and does the same thing with my neck/chin hairs that I can't see. My arm hair is slightly darker than I would like it to be, but I'm scared that if I mess with it, it will turn extremely coarse like the hair on my belly/ lower legs. I promise that you are not the only one out there with this problem!

Hopefully, one of these days I can get lazer hair removal and pew pew all of it away... but until then, we just have to deal with it

oi....I have tuch hair too...it is extremely annoying too because the skin is so uber sensitive that I cannot shave it or I get razor bumps HORRIBLY. Do my DH will Nair it for me (he is a keeper too).

I also have upper lip hair, chin hair, facial hair in general which seems to be getting thicker the older I get, fingers, toes, hands. I have super thick eyebrows too.

I had really thick sideburns, a very thick mustache and hair in the other places women try to avoid having hair. Probably the most obnoxious place were on my toes and knuckles. That drove me insane because it was SO painful to wax there.

where doesn't it really! I'm glad I can't see my back that well. I shave my arms occationally (and hands and feet and face, etc) and I shaved them last night and the razor must have been dull? I don't know but I got a burning rash on the inner upper arms OUCH!

I get health insurance next month. About a month ago my blood sugar was at 106 (12hr fast) and I'm gaining the massive weight.

Oh, I've been increasing my biotin intake lately and I'm not sure about the hair on the top of my head but everywhere else the stuff seems to be like miracle grow Whats a girl (?) to do?

hugs!

omgosh! kudos to you for bringing this up, I am always so embarrassed about things like this and always feel like im the only girl with this problem. But on my hand i don't have a keeper yet! So I get extra frightened when meetings boys because i am so conscious about hair on my body and I think they will run away if they see it !! IT helps a little to see other girls have a the same and did find someone eventually who didnt mind it as much !!

I have a little on my upper lip, but the absolute worst is on my chin and a patch that is under my chin. I shave that patch, and it's not noticeable. I pluck my chin every morning when I put on my make up which takes a good 5-10 minutes every day. It stinks. I hate it.

I've noticed the hair most under my chin and all along my jawline, but also my stomach and big toes. It's a little heavier than I'd like on my upper lip, forearms and yes, on my butt, but not super noticeable. I also have heavy hair growth on my inner thighs, up to the crotch region. It's so annoying to have to take so much extra time to get it all under control. SO far I haven't noticed any hair on my neck, but I'll start looking closer. Glad to have a place to talk about it and know that I'm not a freak!

knuckles, toes, backs of hands, chin, upper lip, sideburns or is that a beard?
Arms (going to try that smooth away trick, thanks!)
thighs

and the pièce de résistance.....

my dh says when I am ready for grafts on my head they can take it from my butt.

(sigh)

whatever

Lizzyloulou - Let us know if that Smooth Away thing works - I've been wondering about that.

I'm so glad that you were brave enough to bring this up!

You are not alone in your stuggle - as you can see - many of us PCOS'ers have the same problems you do. Since I was a teenager I started developing hair everywhere (and I too do not come from a family background that would indicate a lot of hairyness).

I have hairy knuckes, very hairy arms, side burns, upper lip, hairs under chin/neck, hairs on my breasts, a hairy tooshy, and hairy toes! It's a pain to keep up with it all!

But to me - those are all clear signs of PCOS - and I don't believe that all women with PCOS have the same signs and symptoms. Some women may have PCOS and still not even experience the hair growth aspect of it.

Your fiance' is definitely a keeper! My hubby also helps me a lot when it comes to sensitive issues like this, that's how I knew he was a keeper too.

- Kari

Same here... I have dirty blonde hair and fair skin. the hair on my arms has become darker over the years, so I use my epilator on them. Hair on my inner thighs, butt, my toes, my fingers are fine though. I also have thick eyebrows, when I get them waxed I always hear how thick they are..

The only place I really would pay to get permanently removed is my chin, upperlip, jawline... the face is what everyone sees anyway and trying to keep it hair free make my skin breakout.

So smooth away acutally works?! Do the smaller pads work well on facial hair?

Jenn - Yes, but...if you have sensitive skin, it'll make it kind of red. It's basically really fine sandpaper. Removes the hair, exfoliates the top layer of skin, and can be painful if you're sensitive.

Cool! My skin endures waxing pretty well. It's gets red for about 20 minutes then is fine. If my face ends up being too sensitive for it, then I can use it on my legs!