My SO and I were discussing the fact that her pubic hair had thinned out. She is 65 and in reasonably good health. I suggested that she start taking DHEA. The reason, my alternative medicine physician prescribed it for me and other men in our clinic to strengthen our hearts. We all mentioned that all of our body hair was growing somewhat profusely. He said it was the result of taking DHEA. Several internet web-sites have confirmed the DHEA connection. Can anyone here, professional or otherwise, confirm the relationship between DHEA and pubic hair growth?

Ed

Ed... This is an "otherwise" reply, lol.  I have been taking 25 mg per day of DHEA for 6 months now and have not noticed anymore hair anywhere on my body than before.  

so there has to be other women with this problem!!! it looks ridiculous lol....what causes it and what can hopefully fix it?

I'm pretty sure we've discussed this before, Sue. I know we did on the message boards on AOL. It's a terrible thing and I don't know any way to fix it at all. I do remember soneone on the AOL Power Surge boards mentioning using a Barbie wig, though. To me, this makes me feel like I'm going back in time, becoming like a child again, then who knows what? It's one of the things about aging that no one tells you about, but it's really awful

Personally, I don't take this too seriously. Look on the bright side, you have nothing to shave if you wear a bathing suit! I just chalk it up to aging. At least it's not in a conspicuous spot! Hugs, M.

Thanks ladies. I have been doing some creative clipping around the sides lol since what is left in the middle is grey and sides are brown...sheesh!!!!! what a picture!!! i did find something on another board here that suggests progestrone and testosterone.....bad enough the tummy and bum have gone south! now I have to be bald!!!!

I did a bit of searching (and Meryl, I agree with you about shaving!)

I found these:

From Dr. Susan Rako's Third Power Surge Guest Transcript:

Dearest: In your book you say, "It was testosterone that stimulated the growth of your pubic hair." Can we assume that it is the loss of testosterone that causes so many women to lose pubic hair during perimenopause? Also, why is it that we lose hair on our bodies during menopause -- arms, legs and pubic area, but at the same time hairs keep sprouting up on our chins?

Dr. Susan Rako: Oh, I wish we had a chance to speak in person - too much to say in a single line.

Dearest: I miss that pubic hair Well, give your first thoughts then. You're a pro

Dr. Susan Rako: Pubic hair, for sure, is a function of adequate testosterone and women who get those hairs sprouting on the chin as they age actually have too LITTLE testosterone!!!

Dearest: Confusing, isn't it?

Dr. Susan Rako: Only if you don't know that hair growth is controlled by many factors, only a few of which are hormonal. But, Dearest, if you used testosterone cream, you would have luxuriant pubic hair.

From Dr. Susan Rako's Fifth Power Surge Guest Transcript:

A PS Member: Will testosterone make my hair loss worse? I'm losing quite a bit on my head and pubic area.

Dr. Susan Rako: Pmjn, that's a two-part question. First of all loss of pubic hair will definitely improve, especially if you use testosterone in vaseline or cream directly on your genital area in a proper dosage, of course but as to hair loss on your head.

From "Dr. Joan" Irvine's First Power Surge Guest Transcript:

Dearest: Joan, how can lost pubic hair be made sexy?

"Dr. Joan" Irvine: Shave it all off!

Dearest: A buzz cut?

"Dr. Joan" Irvine: Some men find this sexy.

From Ask The Pharmacy Expert:

Question: I am 56 and within the last six months I have lost 1/3 of my public hair. My doctor said this was normal but went ahead and added testosterone to my estradiol. This has not helped. Is there a cream or jel that would help?

Answer: I do not know of a cream that will specifically increase hair growth in just the pubic area. You may want to give the testosterone cream at least 3 to 4 months time, before saying it does not work. But hopefully you will not get facial hair along with it. I agree with your physician, this is pretty normal.

Excuse my candor : ) Once I had a thick dark pelt of pubic hair (one of the benefits of being Italian I think). Now, at 54, I'm thinning, lightening, graying and have a bald spot instead! My gyn told me of a patient of hers who'd dealt with pubic balding by getting a large, colorful butterfly tattoo. I like the image, but don't want a tattoo needle on that sensitive skin! So I may try topical testosterone. P.S. My mother thinks my generation is nuts because we don't just accept and deal with it : )

That tattoo sounds interesting, Eugene - I've always wanted one, but have been to chicken. A butterfly sounds nice, though I think I'd be even more scared to have a tattoo in that sensitive area, though. I'm more inclined to go with the Barbie wig that was mentioned earlier. I wonder about those temporary tattoos. Hmmm...

I, too had thick, black pubic hair....until about 3-5 yrs ago. I hated looking down there and seeing grey, sparce bristly stuff...so, I shave it off. Have to be careful, though. My hair is curly and I have to make sure I don't get ingrown hairs. My husband is also shaving his hair!!! He says he kinda likes the look lol:D

MaryO, what a good idea - a temporary tattoo! Your thought prompted me to decide to look into a henna temporary tattoo - henna on skin can last several days. Question - how does one affix a Barbie wig to one's pubic area?? Kim

Well it sounds like I am in the minority, but I have been trimming down there for years. I haven't noticed any thinning due to peri, but if I do, I will be happy. My husband asked me a long, long time ago if I would trim it up. He thinks it's sexy. Go figure!

I too have groomed there for years, I wouldn't notice if I was thinning. But no kidding, I think if I go gray down there, I'll DYE them!! LOL

wow this one is kinda crazy, but i guess if it bothers ya then , talk about it, i personally wouldnt care if i lost it all there

I think it's thinning there because it's headed north and can now be found sprouting on your chin!

Kim, I think that the person who was talking about it way back wasn't thinking of affixing it as much as putting it in her panties so the hair could be visible around the edges.I know I wouldn't want to use Krazy Glue or anything like that! Maybe some enterprising meno woman will come up with a glue that could work for this, or a self-stick product :)By itself, it doesn't bother me so much, but coupled with the chin hair that Alice mentioned, it really does a number on my feelings of femininity. I've never felt that I looked very good and this is just another blow to my ego.Of course, not as many people see my pubic area as my chin...

My husband is an expert in epoxying. :P:cool:

I'm gonna try the testosterone gel because I'm lazy, don't trust myself with glue, and hate the "clown head" fringed look I'm getting."Vanity, thy name is perimenopausal woman" KIm

I have been having intense itching in my pubic hair(no,not crabs or anything)....it is so embarrassing and so intense at times i can't can't stand it.Could it just be dry hair,dry skin?any solutions?

Boy, this is REALLY weird!! I never thought of my pubic hair turning gray! Not sure I like the idea of it---seems almost worse than the thought of gray on the head. I, too, am one of those that have been trimming for what seems since the begining of time. My hubby has teased me for years to shave it...so he might like this ....when it happens:) For now...it will stay as it is!!

I'd like to know what percentage of women experience thinning pubic hair, and how many lose it completely

Mine has thinned out, and, at age 47, I'm wondering how long it will continue to thin

I don't mean to be unsympathetic here, but why is ANYBODY worried about losing pubes? Women shave it off all the time, and I hear guys love it! My man is trying to get me to do it, but the itching would drive me crazy. Relax ladies. Don't we have enough to worry about, with panic attacks and palps and flashes and erratic periods, to be concerned about pube wigs? I could stand to lose a few myself. I've always been more hirsute down there than I'd like. I wish some of my leg hair would fall out. And as far as pubes turning gray, I've got that too. I'm not surprised. I started going gray on my head when I was 17 (still only about 25% gray, so it started early but not heavy), so it makes sense that other hair would be turning as well.

Well, it depends on the person, right? there are such things as pubic hair transplants, so it's obviously pretty important to some women!

Have to agree with Webalina and pesmith! I can't believe people actually get uptight about this. All the dreadful conditions and diseases you could get, and people are bleating about thinning pubes? To the extent that they are willing to take drugs and have pube transplants? For heaven's sakes ... it's your genitals folks ... like who's even looking at them?

hmmm...what an empathetic response

IzzyB, with respect, it wasn't meant to be empathetic.

Hearing daily, of real life stories of tragedy and illness, and even reading some of the truly heart rending posts on this board ... pubic hair growth (or the lack of it) really is of little consequence in the scheme of things.

You know gals....with all respect to this site and i think i can speak for most,....This site was created for women all around the world with all different concerns. Power surge is a wonderful place to come and hang your hat and talk about anything that "concerns" women and men.

Personally, izzyb correct me if I'm wrong Hun...I feel that you were just simply curious and i'm so sorry for some of the responses....This is a very supportive loving community no matter what the concern.

Quite honestly, I myself have been "tweaked" by the loss of my pubic hair. I have been through a very rough peri for the past 6 yrs and yes..pubic hair is just another let down!...LOL

Lizzy...I'm with you GF....Please know that your concerns whether it be big or small are welcomed here.

Be well all,
Cheech

Thank you for your thoughtful post and wisdom, {{{{{Cheech}}}}}.

izzyb,

On behalf of Power Surge, I apologize for responses I've read to your concern about losing pubic hair. They not only lack empathy, but I detect an insidious nastiness.

Those who responded to izzyb's concerns about the loss of her pubic hair with rationalizations about all the tragedies and more serious issues there are to be concerned about - people having panic attacks, anxiety, depression, insomnia -- and let's not forget fibromyalgia, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, heart disease, cancer and let's not forget terrorism -- it's ludicrous. Women on this board complain about any number of issues that aren't earth shattering, but , nevertheless, they're *concerns* to the people posting about them. Would you answer a woman who complained about feeling constipated since starting perimenopause in the same manner as you've responded to izzyb? Or, would you rebuke her, too, because there's a war going on in Iraq.

On this site, the only stupid question is the question that isn't asked!

If this situation concerns izzyb enough to post about it IN HER FIRST POST EVER and ASK FOR SUPPORT, she doesn't need a lecture from crotchety professors.

Guess what? When I was at that phase of perimenopause, I, too, was concerned about the loss of my pubic hair. As I watched it thin out and become patchy, spotty and blotchy, I thought about trying Rogaine. I thought of bleaching it blonde. I even tried a comb over I asked one of my guests in Power Surge, a female expert on sexuality, about it -- at the time I was in the beginning stages of what looked like it might develop into an intimate relationship, and anticipating this and having no previous experience with only half my pubic hair, I was worried that he might be turned off by it - once full, now like a perimenopausal patchwork quilt Her answer? "Shave it off," she said. Men love women with shaved pubic areas." The next day that's exactly what I did and it removed the trauma - yes, the trauma - of losing my pubic hair incrementally.

Through those years of perimenopause, I went through every conceivable symptom -- and not mildly either. Simultaneously, I suffered (and still do) with a number of other ailments - some pretty darned serious. THAT had nothing to do with my concern about pubic hair loss.

NO ONE has the right (on this site) to humiliate, embarrass and otherwise make one of Power Surge's members, especially when she posts her first message, feel as though if there were a hole in the ground, she'd jump into it -- simply because she voiced a concern and asked for help.

If you can't reply to izzyb's concern with kindness and compassion then, please, don't reply at all.

Dearest

Hello, Dearest and izzyb -

I would like to most respectfully say that the matter of pubic hair - whether to keep it or not, or like it or not - is a personal and very subjective matter. Some women friends I've known have been very comfortable with their pubic hair intact - and others don't care to have it.

For me, the pubic hair is a bother. I have extremely sensitive skin, and the hair down there is hot (I'm in a hot climate) and itchy, and it's a realy nuisance for me. So, for years, I've had the habit of shaving my off. It just feels cleaner, and there's less irritation from underwear seams, feminine pads, etc., without the hair. I only let it grow in if I know I'm going to see my ob/gyn. For some reason, I don't care to be "bald" down there during my visits with my doc. Silly, huh?

Anyway, pubic hair - or lack thereof - is a delicate and personal matter, and we should all be respectful of our individual choices in that regard.

Dearest and Cheech, thanks for the support, I really appreciate it...

Izzyb,

You are certainly welcome my friend ....You know, i think Dearest had a good idea..."the comb over" That's my next step...Take care, be well lizzy...... and keep on posting!!

Lynda

Well, I've had 2 life-threatening, dreadful and rare diseases...so far. I think that we should do whatever we can to make/keep us feeling good about ourselves. I've faced my own mortality twice and I've come to the realization that maybe I shouldn't put off things any longer. Who knows how much longer there is?

Personally, I wouldn't take drugs (that discussion was in 2004!) or have a transplant or do the tattoo, but if this loss of hair bothers someone that much, why not? It's not really anyone else's business what you do with or about your pubic hair, anyway. I remember someone mentioning that they made a mohawk

And I don't think that it matters who is looking or not. It's all about feeling good about yourself and keeping up your own self esteem.

I don't think I have enough hair left for a comb-over, although it's an interesting idea

BTW - bleating is what sheeps do. Then came the shepherd back with his bleating flocks from the seaside.- Longfellow.

PS women discuss and support. Sorry that this wasn't true for you in your first posting, Izzy

I used to complain about having too many "pubs" , so I shaved, I become quite the contortionist !!!LOL Now I complain and bemoan the fact that I hardly need to shave at all!!! ---shelley

I apologize for being snooty and if I offended anyone. And I can understand that someone would be concerned about any new thing that is happening to them. I just found the Barbie wig comment a bit out there, and I guess it set with me wrong. Once again, I'm sorry.

This is a great thread....I've got lots of stress going on with other things so I think I"ll chime in here and distract myself. My two cents on 'down there'...I can handle losing some pubic hair, (but then again, I'm Italian and very hirsute, so maybe the loss doesn't look that bad to me.) It's the gray-thing I cannot deal with. Gray pubic hair?? Hell NO! I fully intend on dyeing, yes, you heard me, dyeing, my pubic hair back to it's natural reddish brown. Anyone here ever done it? The regular stuff we use on our heads is pretty harsh (it always stings my eyes) so I'm a little apprehensive....is there a product coloring pubic hair?

There is! I did a Google search and found ***, that sells only pubic hair dye (the dye has no ammonia, which is what makes eyes sting-y).

Apparently the inventor got the idea when she was in Italy at a beauty salon. She noticed that as women left the salon, the stylist would hand them a small bag. when she asked what it was, she discovered it contained dye for the hair down there!

Trust the Europeans to be far and away ahead when it comes to all things womanly

This reminds me of the episode in Sex and the City, where Samantha dyes her pubic hair, but it turns out orange!! YIKES!!
With my sexual desire going through a dry spell....ohh heck who am I kidding here.....haven't wanted sex in......over a year..... .......and my husband liking me to shave......and me wanting sex in the dark......I AINT even looking 'down there'

Cry me a river in Egypt....I AM in Denial!!
My mother once told me how frustrated and embarassed by her thinning pubic hairs. I remember her being in her 50's at the time. I WISH I had been ALOT more sympathetic.

Live and Learn
Cheers !!

Dottie

Hello, everyone!

I once read that Marilyn Monroe bleached her hair "down there," so to match her bleached blond head hair. Her maid revealed that secret, some years ago.

So, if Marilyn can do it, I should think anyone else might be inspired to. I'll continue to shave mine, though - if only for comfort's sake.

Dear All

Why not try a Brazilian Wax?

When I noticed thinning of pubic hair in recent years, made worse by stretch marks in the area where hair doesn't grow, it unfortunately reminded me of my mum's sparse pubic hair which wasn't the sexy image I had of myself.

So I went for a Brazilian Wax and amazingly the hair grew back thicker and more luxuriant than before (my husband noticed before I did). But we both loved the smooth feel so much that I have opted for a Brazilian ever since.

So it could be the answer to thicker hair if that's what you want, or a sexy solution to sparse hair if you don't. It also feels lovely...and very sexy.

Hope this helps.
Diana

Webalina,

It's thoughtful of you to apologize.

When izzyb posted her message it was THREE YEARS after that thread about the Barbie doll wigs. She probably would have been better off starting a new topic, but she found that one and posted a new message - again, three years later. It would appear that some people read back and assumed those other messages were recent.

It's always a good idea when you find a topic to check the dates on the previous messages.

Dearest

oh you dear women don't know how much coming across your posts helped me tonight.

I won't go into all my problems as they are all listed under the differing boards (seems I've got them all) and I'm coming off of my antidepressant and was in despair about what the doctor was going to try next and read about hair loss as being very common with most antidepressants and the pubic hair thing (loss thereof) hit me and took me over the top and I was sitting here bawling my eyes out (losing pubic hair can just be the straw that breaks the camels back)and my search brought me to everyone relating their hair loss tales and I felt so not alone. In fact some of the posts made me smile through the tears.

I feel fortunate to have stumbled across The Power Surge Message Boards and such supportive women.

O.K. , I'm going to bit the bullet and post. I have a question. I have always shaved the bikini area, but deal with the razor bumps off and on and itching when it starts to grow back even a little. So......... , now that I am losing hair there also and have bald spots and patches, and feel like it just looks ugly now I have thought about shaving the whole area. Have any of you who shave the whole area experienced burning, itching or razor bumps and what do you do about it? Also, how bad does the brazilian wax hurt and how long before it starts growing back?