[Pansy-Mae]

I'm pretty sure that somewhere I've seen a passing reference to putting Progesterone Cream on the face to reduce the beard.
Can anyone shed any light on this? Is it right, does it work, are there any downsides?

[Stevenator.]

Lotus & I talked about it once. It ‘does’ work. 
Something to the effect that the AA properties 
in PC work on the hair root to retard growth. 
Spearmint Tea works well, too. It’s not super 
effective, but it will slow facial hair growth for 
a day or so. 

I’ve taken to using my LumaRx IPL Pro on my 
face. So far it’s working. The problem spots are 
mustache, chin, and jaw line. Cheeks are baby 
smooth. I’m gonna keep at it though. IPL on the 
face hurts, though.

[Lotus]

I've tried PC application on my face, I'd advise wearing latex (powder free) gloves (or something similar) and taking care of the cream around  the eyes (not a pleasant experience lol)...and the creams transference to clothing, and  to other humans. Like the study below proves slows age progression. Pansy I hope this helps.

L.



PubMed

Effects and side-effects of 2% progesterone cream on the skin of peri- and postmenopausal women: results from a double-blind, vehicle-controlled, randomized study.
Randomized controlled trial
Holzer G, et al. Br J Dermatol. 2005.
Show full citation
Abstract

BACKGROUND: For many years topical progesterone has been prescribed by gynaecologists as an antiageing and skin-firming treatment, without any clinical scientific evidence of its effects, tolerability and safety when applied to skin.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the influence of 2% progesterone cream on function and texture of the skin in peri- and postmenopausal women.

METHODS: A double-blind, randomized, vehicle-controlled study was conducted in 40 subjects. Objective methods for measuring skin elasticity, epidermal hydration and skin surface lipids, clinical monitoring and self-assessment, and determination of blood hormone levels (luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, oestrogen and progesterone) were used to determine effects and side-effects of this treatment at four visits over a 16-week period.

RESULTS: The study demonstrated a significant (P < or = 0.05) increase of the elastic skin properties in the treatment group, as demonstrated by objective measurements of three skin elasticity parameters, whereas in the control group no such effect was observed. This effect in the treatment group was further paralleled by the results of the clinical monitoring, where the 2% progesterone cream yielded consistent superiority over vehicle in counteracting different signs of ageing in the skin of peri- and postmenopausal women. Clinical monitoring showed a greater reduction in wrinkle counts (29.10% vs. 16.50%) and wrinkle depth (9.72% vs. 7.35%) around the right eye, a greater decrease in nasolabial wrinkle depth (9.72% vs. 6.62%) and a significantly higher (P < 0.05) increase in skin firmness (23.61% vs. 13.24%) in the treatment group. Epidermal hydration and skin surface lipids did not change significantly in either group during the study. Progesterone was well absorbed in the systemic circulation: mean blood levels rose minimally, but statistically significantly (P = 0.001), by 0.53 ng mL(-1). No serious side-effects of the treatment were observed.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate that topical 2% progesterone acts primarily in increasing elasticity and firmness in the skin of peri- and postmenopausal women. These effects in combination with good tolerability make progesterone a possible treatment agent for slowing down the ageing process of female skin after onset of the menopause.
PMID 16120154 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
Full text
Full text at journal site
Erratum in

    Br J Dermatol. 2005 Nov;153(5):1092. Schmidt, B [corrected to Schmidt, JB].

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[Pansy-Mae]

Thanks to both of you.

Stevenator,
I had a full course of professional laser treatment on my face about 6 or 7 years agao and it certainly got rid of all the dark beard hairs at that time, although I was then amazed at how many white ones were left. Since then, dark ones have slowly reappeared in places, particularly above my top lip and I was wondering if PC might be an answer to that, I assume your IPL still has no effect on white ones?

Lotus,
Interesting that it improves skin quality, but am I reading it correctly when its seems to suggest that the amount making it into the blood stream is limited, "mean blood levels rose minimally ", which I assume also means it won't have much effect on breast development?

[Stevenator.]

I’ve used my IPL three times and the face really hurts. 
My cheeks & sideburns are smooth. My chin & jawline 
are a little more difficult to treat. The hair roots there
are deep, so I’m guessing repeated uses will be necessary. 
The upper lip the hair regrowth is thin, but it will still 
need repeated zaps. I am starting to notice white facial 
hairs. I grew a duck dynasty beard several years ago 
and it had a lot of gray. I hope I end up with a good 
result. I’m a little worried about the remaining beard 
being patchy. But the hair regrowth is very thin, vs a 
normal face stubble. My face feels really nice. I think
I’m started to see some softening of my facial features. 
It’s leaning towards an androgynous look. I’m a little 
concerned, but secretly thrilled. I wonder if it’s from BO?

[PaulaJ]

Wouldn't it need to be applied for the rest of your life though even if it does work?

In the end, kind of expensive for something that may not even work.

Electrolysis is the way to go, if you are going to spend any money on facial hair removal. I still am not close to being fully clear, but clean shaven the shadow is much less noticeable.

[Katie]

I`v been using PC on my face for over a year now, it`s especially good to get it into your hairline as well. I`v recommended it in a few posts here, if you`re going to use it anyway, may as well get a double benefit!