>My hair growth is definately hormonally driven and I have very dark hair and pale >skin. Before I had the laser treatment i'd been plucking every other day for a >couple of years and prior to that i'd tried electrolysis. When they told me i'd >have to switch to shaving when having the laser treatment I was initially very >worried about getting stubble and razor burn but was very pleasantly surprised at >the good result I got just by shaving (and saved myself an hour a day too that I >used to spend plucking!!).
>I don't want to put anyone off trying the laser, i'm sure others have got better >results than me!

I think your post is very helpful becuase it illustrates the fact that even with dark hair and pale skin laser isn't always effective. What you say also illustrates the fact that there are circumstances in which even electrolysis doesn't provide the answer people expect it to.
There is some hormonally-driven hair growth that the "permanent" hair removal methods just aren't going to be permanent on. And the disappointment of women who were led to believe that their facial hair problem would be ended are, for the umpteenth time, bitterly disappointed and frustrated.

As I understand it, even laser and electrolysis can't be guaranteed to destroy a hormonally-driven growth of facial hair that needs to be shaved more than once a week.

I think the problem is more with the way we look at the fact that we have facial hair, rather than the actual fact that we have it. And I think the problem is the attitude that facial hair is something men have but women don't. And that is simply not true. Most women have much less facial hair than most men. But some women have more facial hair than some men. I've found that acknowledging that simple fact helps enormously. I was forced to acknowledge it when I was 14 and had to face the fact that while most of the boys around me hadn't even started shaving I had a thick black moustache growing. Not only was I shaving before most of the boys my age, by the time I was 15 I was shaving it every day. Whether I liked it or not, there wasn't much option but to admit to myself that I had a moustache.

I also think that the second aspect of dealing with the situation is to address the question of whether there's a serious medical problem behind it or whether it's something that one can live with. In my case it was (and is) a case of naturally high testosterone levels and naturally low estrogen levels. Now, I could have tried to have something done about that, but in point of fact I didn't. I don't like the idea of messing about with hormones unnecessarily. That balance certainly affected and affects my appearance, but it hasn't stopped me, for example, from having children and given my time again I wouldn't try to alter my hormone balance artifically.

Another aspect of dealing with the situation is how we relate to other people and to what extent the facial hair affects our relationships. Certainly I'd admit that in one respect I've been fortunate in that the guy who's now my husband (and has been for nearly 30 years) knew before he ever asked me out that I shaved and is qute happy with my moustache growth -- and nowadays it extends to my chin as well. But I've also got other women friends who shave every day and their husbands are happy with the fact that they've got moustache and/or beard growth. I've found that the men who know I shave have been really nice about it. And the fact that I've a larger family than most women means that there's not much point in anyone trying to say I'm less of a woman because I've got facial hair growth.

One more thing is that the way we remove the facial hair, assuming we choose to do so. I think that it's crazy to say that it's OK for women to shave their legs but not their faces. As you've indicated, shaving is far better than most women realise for facial hair. And I think that many women would be amazed if they actually tried a top-quality men's electric razor. I really like the top of the range Norelcos myself.