My biggest headache with PCOS is the excessive facial hair on my chin and under it and on my neck, with a few stray hairs along my jaw and on my cheeks. The hair grows rapidly so I have to spend 30 minutes-1 hour every day tweezing my facial hair.

About a month ago I was put on birth control pills to help with my moderate PCOS. I've noticed some of the hairs seeming thinner and lighter but they still grow rapidly and are noticeable enough so I still have to tweeze every last one daily.

I typically plan my day around having time alone to sneak off and take care of my embarrassing facial hair. However, my boyfriend and I are taking a 5-day vacation together next week and I'm worried sick I won't be able to find time to discreetly tweeze my hair since I have such an excess amount and it takes so long to get rid of, plus my chin and neck are red and irritated after.

It might seem like a silly issue, but I'm quite worried and embarrassed about it. Does anyone have suggestions for what I could do? I've thought about trying to speed tweeze them right before taking a shower or pluck just a few each time I use the restroom but that seems like an awful pain.

I despise this part of PCOS.

I use one of the little battery operated bikini trimmers for my chin, upper lip and even to trim my eyebrows...they work beautifully. My daughter who is 13 uses one for her eyebrows. She doesn't deal with pain very well lol. She has never plucked

Have you thought about facial waxing? I have to do that for my PCOS.

Don't pluck for a few days, just trim and trim and trim, then the day before get it waxed. If you don't want to do it go to a salon and get it done- it's not too pricey.

Also I would try to not pluck daily but trim it down- sounds like your hair is growing on different cycles and if you wait and trim it down then do like a wax once every few weeks (or weekly if you need it) then you'll at least have SOME time where you are smooth.

And worst comes to worst in desperate situations I have shaved my chin!

Get waxed, professionally or DIY. I found one product that works well for me but for the life of me I can't remember the name of it <googling>. Surgi. I swear by it.

Or shave.

I haven't seen that one mentioned yet. I've done the tweeze, wax and shave thing at various times. So you aren't alone!

Hang in there...

A.

It won't help in the short-term for your trip, but I am a HUGE fan of electrolysis. Saying it changed my life isn't an overstatement.

I got laser hair removal on my lip and chin. I had three sessions and took a break for the sake of my bank account. Now that I've let it grow I do still need a few more sessions to finish up one stubborn corner of my chin, but the improvement is so remarkable. I dont know why I put off getting it done for so long. I've already got a list of other areas I want done! One session down on my underarms and I want my forearms, snail trail and bikini line done too!

I also like shaving. It may seem traumatic to do it at first, but there is no redness and it's so much faster. Plus plucking was making me break out, especially in the summer, so it only drew more attention to the problem areas (as well as gave me ingrown hairs).
For most of the face, you can use the same razor you use for your legs, but just change the blade more often. But for the upper lip, eyebrow razors are awesome.
Just be sure be careful with body razors on your face. They are sharper than facial razors. And with any kind, I cannot emphasize enough to go slowly.

I agree. Based on the research I did (before deciding on electrolysis) it seems to be a better route to go for people who suffer from PCOS-related facial hair. I saw way too many comments about facial hair growing back with the lasers to feel comfortable with that method. More reputable clinics will tell you that PCOS sufferers have a higher possibility of hair regrowth during the initial consult (and inform you of other methods that will work better), but others will not.

Thanks so much for the suggestions, everyone! I found those surgiwax strips on Amazon and I think I'll try those since they're labeled for sensitive skin.

I had no idea plucking daily was making it worse! I'll try to only trim a few days before I leave then do the wax strips the night before.

I really hope to get electrolysis eventually, once I can afford it. I've wasted so much time removing this hair and fretting over it that I would pay nearly anything just for the peace of mind!!

It IS a money commitment, for sure. But I budgeted for it as part of my regular, monthly budget (as opposed to saving up for it) and the cost dropped as my treatment progressed and I was able to get shorter appointments.

The self-confidence boost in knowing no one is staring at a hair you missed, or looking at red, bumpy skin . . . I can't describe the feeling of relief in that.

JenMusic, as someone who uses laser treatments but has found that the hair does regrow, did you find that electrolysis ended the unwanted hair growth permanently?

I tried electrolysis a long time ago. It's very expensive and painful and a very SLOW process. I'm not patient enough for it. Hair did grow back. The little battery operated bikini hair removal thing works wonders and is fast and easy and was only $9.99.

It's a good news/bad news thing. I think each person just has to weigh if it's worth it for you.

Electrolysis IS slow, because it's one hair follicle at a time and each follicle has to be treated during the right phase of growth to be permanently destroyed. So you will need multiple treatments on one area, but once a follicle is destroyed that hair is gone for good.

I've been told it's the only method of hair removal that can legally be called "permanent" but I don't know if that's true. I do still get occasional touch ups on my face/neck when I find a random hair, but that's going to happen no matter what, and an appointment that short is cheap.

For me, it was a hassle thing. I was constantly worried about having missed some hair (which, no matter how hard I looked in the mirror, happened all the time). Also, I was plucking and getting ingrowns on my face. Ugh. I thought it was bad acne, but once I started electrolysis my skin cleared up crazy fast.

And, like the OP mentioned, it's the time commitment. If I'm going to pluck anyway (and she's plucking for minutes each day, hours over the course of the week) why not have a similar time commitment to get them gone for good?

As for pain, yeah, it doesn't feel good. Some areas (upper lip for me) are more sensitive that others. But it's manageable. I'm no martyr and I can handle it.

Finally, cost. Again, it's not cheap. But knowing I will never pluck again, or feel that self-conscious again? It's SO worth it to me.

I'm sure a local electrologist would consult with you for free, and maybe do a test patch. They could give you a guideline estimate as to how long you would need. Generally, you start off going a lot - 1-2 times a week, then as regrowth slows, you go less and less for shorter and shorter appointments.

ETA: I've never had laser treatments, so I can't compare, just FYI!

Jenmusic, I'm confused by your martyr statement. Please explain.

Being a martyr is someone who suffers death rather than denounce their religion.

Riesz, there is some prescription numbing cream you can buy to put on your skin beforehand that helps ease the pain of electrolysis. It really only hurt where jenmusic said..right above the upper lip. Everywhere else was manageable. There was only one lady here in town who did electrolysis so she could charge whatever she wanted and her prices were very high. Maybe where you are it won't cost so much. I was young and broke and needed groceries so that didn't work for me! LOL! Good luck