Hirsutism is a condition that results in women growing unsightly hair on their breasts, faces and stomachs. In some women the condition causes them so much distress that it leads to depression. This type of embarrassing problem has affected women since the beginning of time with very few ways of eliminating it that aren’t almost considered torture treatment.
Researchers at the Suleyman Demirel University in Turkey conducted experiments on women with the hirsutism by giving them each two to five cups of spearmint tea per day. The tea could reduce the level of androgens or masculine hormones in the women’s bodies such as testosterone that can make women grow hair on their faces and chests similar to that of their male counterparts.
Current therapies for women with hirsutism include oral contraceptives to suppress androgen production or medications such as spironolactone that prevent the body from responding to androgen. Spearmint tea is an alternative to harsh drugs that can cause side affects in women, and drinking spearmint tea is beneficial in numerous other ways from treating heartburn to indigestion, and nausea in pregnant women who otherwise can not take medication while carrying an unborn child.
Various studies indicate that just two hot and steamy cups of spearmint tea consumed over a five day period can result in a significant reduction in the level of free testosterone in women. Blood tests performed on the women participating in the study concluded that the women’s levels of androgens dropped considerably after the fifth day. The scientists performing the tests stated that further testing needs to be done before any real proof of permanently eliminating unwanted facial and body hair can be proven simply by drinking spearmint tea on a regular basis.
Statistics on women who develop hirsutism implicates a higher circulating level of insulin. Obese and insulin resistant women are at a higher risk of having problematic symptoms derived from higher levels of androgens that cause unwanted body hair. It is speculated that insulin, at high enough concentration, stimulates the ovarian cells to produce androgens which can lead to hirsutism.
Common methods of removing unwanted hair can be painful and expensive. Surveys conducted over the last two decades indicate that 80% of women and over 50% of men have unwanted hair in various body areas. Temporary hair removers include tweezing, shaving, mechanical epilators, and chemical depilatories. Unfortunately these methods can be painful and some people have allergic reactions to harsh chemicals that are used to remove hair.
Waxing can be painful and irritating to the skin, but the hair grows back slower and eventually less hair is noticed in the waxed areas. Electrolysis and laser hair removal are permanent, but these types of processes are expensive, time consuming, and can leave scars in some people.
Drinking spearmint tea for hair removal is probably the safest method and the least painful. Tea is relatively inexpensive and spearmint tea has many other uses for the body. It was a favorite of the Greeks as a restorative and they commonly used it in their bath water due to its calming and refreshing scent. Herbalists traditionally use spearmint to calm a nervous stomach, to induce sweating and reduce fevers, and to treat flu and colds.
Homemade Spearmint Tea
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
2 cups of water
1/4 cup spearmint leaves
3 tablespoons of regular loose tea
Fresh lemon juice to taste
2 additional cups of water
Stir the sugar and the water in a saucepan. Bring the water to a boil. Add the spearmint and the tea leaves. Turn off the heat and allow the spearmint and tea leaves to steep for 15 minutes. Remove the spearmint and tea leaves and allow the tea to cool. Once cool, add the fresh lemon juice and add enough water to make 1 quart of tea. Serve the tea hot or cold according to your taste.
