What Vitamins to Take for Female Facial Hair

Hirsutism is a condition that affects women and is characterized by the growth of undesirable male-patterned facial hair and excessive hair growth on the body. This condition is caused by elevated androgen levels in the body; androgens are male hormones that include testosterone. Sometimes hirsutism is a hereditary trait, and may affect as many as 10 percent of all females in the United States. There are vitamins and supplements that can be consumed that can reduce the symptoms associated with hirsutism.

Symptoms

• Hirsutism involves the appearance of pigmented hair on a woman's body where it does not characteristically grow. Hair can grow on the woman's face above her upper lip, below her bottom lip in a beard-like formation, on her chest, and on her back. The condition can prove embarrassing and few women like discussing the issue. Hirsutism is also associated with other symptoms including a deepening of the woman's voice, balding, the onset of acne, a decrease in breast size, the enlargement of the women's clitoris and sometimes an increase in muscle mass also occurs.

  It should be noted, that pre-menopausal and menopausal women may develop course hair on the face and chin, but this is not the same thing as hirsutism: this is caused by rapidly changing hormone levels in the pre-menopausal and menopausal female. Self care for hirsutism often involves painful hair plucking where the female uses tweezers to pull out hairs by the roots, shaving with a razor, waxing and using chemical depilatories that break down protein structures within the hair shaft and destroys them. These solutions are temporary, since the hair grows back within a matter of days or weeks.

Vitamin B6

• Vitamin B6 is one of many B complex vitamins required for the healthy growth of skin cells, hair, eyes and liver. This vitamin also benefits your nervous system by promoting proper functioning. Vitamin B6 helps to reduce prolactin levels in your body, which is a hormone that helps to cause testosterone to be accumulated by your bodily tissues and used by the body. Some women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome have excessive levels of prolactin in their body as well as facial hair development. Vitamin B6 can lessen your body cell's responsiveness to the testosterone levels in your body. In contrast, a deficiency of Vitamin B6 can result in an exaggerated response to hormone levels in your body.

  Vitamin B6 can be derived from foods such as beef liver, bran, brown rice, carrots, cheese, chicken, lentils, milk, salmon, shrimp, soybeans, spinach, sunflower seeds, tuna, turkey, wheat germ and whole-grain flour. Consume Vitamin B6 as a supplement by taking 100 mg per day in capsule form. Excessive levels of Vitamin B6 can cause neurological complications, a loss of leg sensation and dizziness. You may also develop sensitivity to light when consuming Vitamin B6, so you should limit your sun exposure. Some side effects associated with the consumption of B6 include nausea, abdominal discomfort and decreased appetite.

Calcium D Glucarate

• In The Health Detective's 456 Most Powerful Healing Secrets, Nan Kathryn Fuchs explains that Calcium D Glucarate is found in fruits and vegetables. Calcium D Glucarate helps your liver remove carcinogenic chemicals in the body and helps your body re-stabilize estrogen levels by inciting glucuronidation: a process that occurs in the liver where water soluble substances attach to toxins to be flushed from the cells in your body. Consume two 1000 mg of Calcium D Glucarate a day with two meals to help rebalance your hormones and diminish symptoms associated with hirsutism. Calcium D Glucarate may increase your body's excretion of certain prescribed and/or over-the-counter medications. Pregnant and nursing women should avoid use of Calcium D Glucarate unless directed by a doctor to use the supplement.