Is There a Fat, Hairy Ninja In Your Home?
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome transforms ordinary women into masters of disguise.
Sep 29, 2010

WENATCHEE, WA. – It is 4:00AM and all over America, women are stealthily gliding into their bedrooms, hoping not to get caught as they slip noiselessly into bed beside their sleeping spouses. Are they returning from illicit trysts? Sneaking out at night to fight crime? No. They were shaving their beards.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) may affect up to five million women in the United States. Unfortunately, many of these women don’t realize that the sudden weight gain and appearance of beards, back hair, and breast hair may indicate that they have a syndrome that carries with it an increased risk of serious health problems. Instead of seeing her doctor, a woman with PCOS becomes a combination of ninja, acrobat, magician and master of disguise, employing a wide variety of tricks to hide her condition from her loved ones and co-workers, including changing her style of dress, her schedule, and getting just plain sneaky.

“For the first ten years of my marriage, I got up hours before dawn each morning to shave my entire face, hoping that my husband wouldn’t wake up and notice I was gone,” confesses Jeannie Bush, PCOS patient and Certified Professional Electrologist. “One Christmas, he caught me in the shower with my face only half shaved and the jig was up!”

Bush makes light of her experience, but her levity masks a decade of confusion, shame, and fear of discovery. Like many women who experience the hirsutism which is a common symptom of PCOS, she felt isolated – like she was the only one. Instead of seeking treatment, she focused on concealing her symptoms, exposing herself to serious health risks, such as diabetes and heart disease.

“I lived in fear of someone noticing a shadow of stubble on my face. I applied tons of theatrical-grade makeup. I wore turtlenecks pulled up over my chin, even in the summer. I wouldn’t go out with friends after work because my beard might start to show. I hid my face behind my hair, my hands, my paperwork – anything to keep people from getting a good look at me. I even let my co-workers think I was a smoker so they would think I was taking cigarette breaks throughout the day when I was actually sneaking off to the bathroom to shave.”

PCOS is a hormonal imbalance that can manifest with various combinations of over two hundred different symptoms and calls for a variety of treatments. Accurate diagnosis and treatment is important to controlling the associated health risks, but that accuracy can be hard to come by. Sometimes, it is not a woman’s doctor who identifies her condition – it is her electrologist. Women seeking a remedy for sudden hair growth often go to an electrologist first. Because of this, professional electrologists feel a responsibility to educate themselves about PCOS so they can recognize when their client needs to see a doctor.

The effects on the electrology profession of the link between PCOS and hirsutism are profound. While electrology is considered a “cosmetic” field, many electrologists, including Jeannie Bush, come to the profession through a sense of having had a life-changing experience and a deep desire to help others. The feeling a woman gets from successful permanent removal of her unwanted facial hair – that she can show her face without fear of ridicule – is a powerful one.

The sense of relief and positive self-image inspired Bush to not only take control of her life and her career, but to do so in a way that helps others to share her experience. Says Bush, “Finally being free of the fear...being able to have a simple face-to-face conversation with another person felt so good that I wanted to help other women have that too.”

Jeannie M. Bush, RDH, RE, CPE will be in attendance at the upcoming American Electrology Association (AEA) Annual Convention and Exhibitors’ Showcase at the Gaylord National Hotel in National Harbor, MD on October 8-10, 2010.

The American Electrology Association is the largest international non-profit membership organization for permanent hair removal professionals. It exists to promote the highest standards in electrology education, practice and ethics and to champion state licensing and regulation of the profession to protect the public interest. (http://www.electrology.com)

For more information: http://www.electrology.com/electrologist/convention.html
Information about electrolysis treatments for PCOS from the American Electrology Association (AEA): http://www.electrology.com/consumer/hormonal.html
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Information from The National Women’s Health Information Center - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/polycystic-ovary-syndrome.cfm