And what’s the best way to remove them?
Q: Why do women sprout chin hairs as they age — and what’s the best way to remove them so they don’t grow back darker and thicker?
If you’re a woman who is growing new, unwanted chin hairs, the first thing you should know is that most of the time, “this is perfectly normal,” said Dr. Joel L. Cohen, a dermatologist and director of AboutSkin Dermatology and DermSurgery in Denver.
As women get closer to menopause, he said, the balance of hormones in their bodies shifts, and they can start producing more male-type hormones known as androgens. These androgens, Dr. Cohen said, can transform the kinds of hair follicles that women typically have on their faces — ones that produce short, thin, light hair known as peach fuzz — into follicles that make thicker, darker hair.
As for why some women sprout these hairs and others don’t, that’s often down to genetics, said Dr. Angela Lamb, a board-certified dermatologist at Mount Sinai in New York City. If you’re growing unwanted hair and your mother, sister or grandmother did too, then that’s a good sign that this kind of hair growth runs in the family.
