Around the age of 40, many women experience noticeable increases in facial hair. At menopause, levels of female hormones dwindle, and this hormonal shift can stimulate the growth of even more unwelcome hair. While these developments may be cosmetically disturbing, they're usually medically insignificant. All can be attributed to part of the normal changes associated with aging. Occasionally, there is another explanation for excessive hair growth.
Medications are sometimes at the root of the problem.
Certain drugs used to treat seizures and high blood pressure can stimulate hair growth. Steroids, the nutritional supplement DHEA, and postmenopausal hormone replacement regimens that include testosterone are all known to trigger hair growth in women. Excessive hair growth caused by medications is almost always reversed when the medication is discontinued. But one common cause of excessive facial and body hair in women that is not so easily remedied is a condition known as polycystic ovarian syndrome. While it can arise later in life, the syndrome usually develops in adolescence or early adulthood.