Women with hirsutism grow hair on their faces, breasts and stomachs. This can cause great distress. The hair grows because they have abnormally high levels of the ‘masculinising’ androgen hormones. Androgens travel around the body in the blood stream, and a key way of treating hirsutism is to reduce the level of these androgens.
Data just published in Phytotherapy Research shows that drinking two cups of spearmint tea a day for five days could reduce the level of androgens in women with hirsutism.
“Current therapies use either oral contraceptives to suppress androgen production, or medications such as spironolactone that prevent the body responding to androgen – but this study shows that spearmint could be a good natural alternative for women who have mild symptoms,” says researcher Mehmet Numan Tamer who acts as spokesperson for the research team. The research was carried out at the Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey.
In the trials the herbal tea was made by pouring a cup (250ml) of boiling water over 1 heaped teaspoon (5g) of dried leaves, and leaving it for 5 to 10 mins.
The team decided to study the effects of spearmint on hirsutism because of previous reports that extracts of the spearmint plant (Mentha spicata Labiatae) could reduce libido in men. A possible reason for this reduced libido could have been that spearmint was reducing their androgen level. Other research had shown that these extracts reduced androgen levels in rats.
“We now need to do further studies to test the reliability of this finding, and to see the extent to which the reduced androgens do help women with mild hirsutism,” says Professor Tamer.
From John Wiley & Sons
hi I am 13yrs old & I understand how u feel. i try 2 shave but it takes tooo long can u e mail me because I have sum questions about the hairy situation plz contact me. my e maiil is thenewmariahcarey@ymail.com
hi I have the same problem u have but I’m 13 yrs old & it sucks… I was wondering if we could e- mail each other 2 tlk about it. my e- mail is thenewmariahcarey@ymail.com
u can e-mail me if u want it would really help me out
Hi , girls
who drank spearmint tea?
does it effective?
I definitely know how you all feel. I’m going to be 35 next month and I have dealt with unwanted hair since I was in my early teens. I use to have the hairiest arms (plus the tops of my hands and fingers). I got made fun of all the time when I was younger so I started going and getting my full arms waxed. This was great, plus over time the hair grew back finer and there was less of it (I went once every 5 weeks). In recent years I’ve started using Veet on my arms as it is quicker and MUCH cheaper. I use the Veet once every 3-4 weeks and it works just as well.
Additionally, when I was 28 my hormones started getting all crazy. I broke out with cystic acne all over my face and started noticing fine hair all over my face (like the full beard area on a guy) with some dark black hairs mixed in. I was horrified. I went to the dermatologist and was put on Acutane for the acne and after 7 months my face was finally clear. However, the hair still remained PLUS the hair on my head started falling out. I also got dark, course hair around my nipples and a small trail of hair on my belly. AGAIN, I was horrified. I went to several doctors and they all kept telling me it was genetic (however, none of the women in my family had ever had these problems before me). After 3 years of going through this I finally found a doctor that listened to what I was saying and she sent me for an abdominal CAT scan to look at my ovaries. From this they saw that I had cysts covering my ovaries and they were constantly rupturing and reforming. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). This syndrome causes cystic acne, patterned baldness, unwanted hair growth, etc. I’ve never been so happy to be diagnosed with a problem before because there’s way to deal with this problem!!! One way is to take oral contraceptives. This works for a lot of people unfortunately I was not one of them. I’ve been on oral contraceptives since I was 15 years old due to painful and frequent periods. It worked great for that but wasn’t strong enough to take on the PCOS. My doctor then suggested Spironolactone (Aldactone). Spironolactone is actually a blood pressure medicine but has also been found to treat PCOS in women. It works pretty well but it is not without side effects though and you definitely do not want it in your system if you are trying to conceive.
Since I would like to try to get pregnant in the next couple of years (I’ve also had a hard time getting and staying pregnant over the years due to the PCOS.) I’m going to have to put the Spironolactone on the back burner. I’m excited to try the spearmint tea for the unwanted hair growth though I don’t know what I’ll do about the patterned baldness and cystic acne. If anyone has any natural remedies for these I would love to hear them!!!
I truly know how you ladies feel,and im with you!Im 15 years old right now,and im VERY hairy.My dad is hairy also and his mom,my mom no .It started when i was about 12 and it got worse throughtout the years.I started shaving when i was 13 and now my hands have cuts and marks all over them.I wear some dress and short sleaves,but i feel so insecure and ugly.I have a nice face and body[so i've been told:],but these hair are so depressing and annoying.
I hope this tea helps.I told my mother men have it soo easy!
Why couldnt women be born with hair on there heads,eyebrowns,and eyelashes only?:D
Becca
@ Becca. I’m 21 and it’s gotten worse it feels. So You’re in the same boat, trust me.
I hate this!! I want my man to have the mustache NOT ME!!!! Only men should have mustaches! MUSTACHES ARE CUTE, AND ONLY CUTE ON MEN!!!!:( i think it’s weird that my friend who really likes me can’t grow one, and I can! And it sorely depresses me. (there are some men out there who actually don’t have ANY TYPE OF FACIAL HAIR ON THEM! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT???) (It’s a hereditary disorder, I’ve heard, but how sad for a guy, I’d love to give him mine!) XDD
*sigh* I use Nair and I tweeze with the horrifying thought of this crap coming back darker. And I have this paranaoia about hair on my face that shouldn’t belong there. Even if it’s small and unnoticeable, I’m like “OMFG!! KILL IT!!! KILL IT!! I DONOT WANT TO FEEL IT ON MY FAAAAACE!!!! F@#$ING KIIIIILLLLL IIIIITT!!!”
I NEVER shave my face. I see only men shave their face. It seems wiith women who are darker haired like me, suffer from this s*it than their stupid lucky dumb blonde counterparts. I hav it on my arms (but not too conspicuous God was merciful THERE) in between my breasts and below my stomach. I don’t feel feminine at all.
I have such a low self-esteem and this adds to it. God, if I had the money I’d get this crap taken off PERMANENTYLY!! LASER the F*%@ING S*** OFF!!!
Seriously, God gave the animal (man) an easier life to live. He dies before the wife. (ususally) HE can be hairy like the animal he is. He can keep on populating, WE have periods and THEN Oh joy, MENOPAUSE for the rest of our godforsaken life until the day WE DIE. Sooo looking forward to that S*#T!!
men don’t have to worry about getting pregnant, hell, if he was really unfaithful, he go right onto the next young hott thing. Ugh.
God, this pisses me off. My sister has a hairy upperlip and she’s
fine with it. JEEZ, I wish I had her type of self-esteem! I remember at the ripe old age of 7 and finding out that I was growing effing facial hair, MY GOD THAT DEPRESSED ME!!! All my life since i was young, I had a thing for mustached men, and here I was starting to grow one!!! F*&#ing NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
But yes, I always wished that to God our creator, “Why couldn’t us women be born with hair on just our heads, eyebrows, and eyelashes only?” Let the man look like a beast, not us! WE want to be dainty, delicate, beautiful and pleasing to the eye to look at.”
I hate my voice as well. At times I feel so manly, it makes me so uncomfortable to think about how masculine I feel.
I hate the hair I hate my voice and I hate my godawful manly nose!!!
For hair removal, DONT USE NAIR, it works, but it’s crap sometimes. I liked Sally HAnsen Hair Removal. She is so much better than Nair. And… I wouldn’t shave.
D@MN THESE HORMONE LEVELS!! I hope this tea works for me….. (D:)
Please get yourself to a doctor. My daughter was just diagnosed with PCOS and it sounds like most of the girls here may have this same hormonal disorder. She is having a really difficult time as well with the excess hair and acne. The doctor can prescribe birth control pills or a medication called Metformin to help reduce the symptoms. Also, eating a low carb diet and exercising is supposed to help as well. Good luck to you all. I’m curious about the tea as well and will keep researching trying to find something to help her.
Very useful review! Can’t wait to try this out. Anyway, I’ve also experienced Laser hair removal and it was really good. You might want to try it.
I’m 15 years old and i started to noticed that i have hair on my face, stomach and other places this year. It very hairy ! i hate it,i have to wear long sleeve/cardigan when i go out and it sucks. I’ve always wanted to wear dresses and skirts, shorts and all. I can’t because of this stupid hair -___-
I’m scared that guys won’t like me if they knew i’m hairy, and its really depressing if they do so. I don’t think they have Spearmint tea here in my country. I was planning on waxing, does it reduce hair growth?
Im 16 years old, and ive been dealing with “hairy problems” since i was 13 or 14! =/i absolutely hate it!!!! Its soo annoying.. i have hair everywhere.. i have sideburns, moustache, chin hair.. then i got hair on my butt, tummy and arms.=/. I tried waxing it, its alright.. but i havent been there in a while i also tried shaving but it comes back thicker and i also use nair for the face..Hopefully this spearmint tea hig will work.. Im like ready to give up!?! ;p
Hello i am 16 male as far as i can see most of you have got a hair problems i am certain all of that got a hair problem your skin is a softer than normal that is causes hair to grow up esier than a tougher skin so there is some trainings that makes your skin come to normal then hairs will grow up harder i think this is makes you a little bit hairless than before because my legs are a little bit hairy than a normal and i do not know how ladies figure this out,i am doing those trainings and i feel better i hope all of get rid of hair problems god bless
Not to discourage you, but I would be VERY cautious of the medications, topicals (creams, etc) and stuff. I work in the medical field and see too many side effects causing additional problems such as liver and kidney damage.. Try “Googling” these meds and you will see what I am saying. Be VERY careful of this stuff ladies. If someone picks on you about hair they are a sad creature.
BTW, dude you are clueless. Hair results from hair follicles in the skin. Many things cause “hairiness.” Pcos and hormones are some causes. Shaving, waxing or whatever will not lessen the number of hair follicles. They may or may not result in the hair growing back finer.
i am 14 and its so depressing to have hair on my face, butt, chest, stomach, back, legs and arms ! I am sick and tired of it, i use to shave my whole body spending god knows 2 – 3 hours daily, i was fine with it first, but then i couldnt do it anymore, it was very tiring, my friends think i am hairless, which is good, but I AM NOT, i cant keep up with shaving daily, and i hate those black spots which i get, i bleach my face and its all peach fuzz, even my chin hair because i dint pluck it, no one has said anything except this gay guy in my class, i hated it, i am too young for laser but unitl then i need some way to say hair free most of the time, PLEASE HELP, Thank You so much !
omg i have this problem about facial hair but im scared to use like that bleaching stuff on my face because i have really sensative skin but i dnt wanna start high school with that ughh what should i do?
Sam trust me, first Just try a patch on your arm, it will itch a bit but thats normal, and if you dont face any allergic reaction, you can use it on your face
I am telling you, if you pluck it it will become thicker and the chin hair will come back rather quickly, My mom has it and she has to pluck it EVERYDAY, so just Bleach it till You are 18, and then you can go and Laser it so that its gone FOREVER 
Hi Kim I have Facial Hair problems too! I started getting Facial Hair when I was in 4th grade but it wasn’t really that noticebly till now (I’m 14 now)! My mom has Facial Hair too. I was wondering if you bleach your Facial Hair how long does it last till it returns to its normal color in the first place? I’ve thought of doing something about it, but I’m afraid if I bleach or wax it, it’ll get darker and longer! Have you ever tried waxing before?? Its really bothering me now, help please :]
Well My chin hair is longer and I have 3-4 thick hair strands now
But bleaching dosent cause it, waxing/shaving or tweezing might, well I bleach every other day, I wont recommend it to you, because it can harm your skin but I would say after 2 weeks I bleach, but for some it lasts 2 Months ! And maybe your facial hair is lesser than me, but TRUST ME, bleaching wont increase ur hair, it will just make it blonde 
Which means less visible, take a close look at your Blonde friends, they have more hair on their hands and all but just because its blonde, people thinks its “okay” -.- But oh well, till we get it lasered we are stuck with it, I am on my way to depression..I guess this hair problem aint as little as it seems for hairless people 
I started shaving like you when I was fourteen too and tryst ms it’s a BAD idea , don’t shave because even though studies say that shaving does not make your hair coarser but it just causes them to have a flat top-end instead of a pointy one, constant shaving causes your skin to peel off around the pores making it hard for the hair to come out. It ends up curling in your skin causing ingrowns , especially if u have thick hair. I’ve tried all methods of hair removing since I was 12 up till now, I’m seventeen. Electrolysis is too slow, waxing shaving and threading cause ingrowns but laser is good. Even though it ddnt permanently remove my hair, it helps me get rid of them for two months and they come out weaker than before. I hope this helps.