Facial Hair and Pubic Hair on a 10 Year Old Girl

Updated on January 27, 2012
C.C. asks from Overland Park, KS
17 answers

My barely 10 year old daughter already has pubic hair and has dark hair on her lip. She told me tonight that another girl said "you have a mustache" to her. She was crying and it just broke my heart. I had already told her that tomorrow I would go see if I can find some facial hair bleach. Do you think this is anything that I should call a doctor about? I have other daughters and they didn't ever have this. My 10 year old has always been a little on the hairy side though. She has a lot of hair on the nape of her neck too. I just feel so bad for her. Kids can be so mean!!!

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So What Happened?

I am definitely going to call the Dr. tomorrow after reading more about it on different websites and on here. I hope it is just a simple imbalance. She is such a sweetie.I guess I should have clarified that she has had a few pubic hair since she was 8, but told me now that she has a bunch:-( Her lip isn't horribe and I will talk to the doctor (he was out today). Maybe I will just bleach her lip....I don't know. She is definitely going through puberty!

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C.P.

answers from Provo on

She may have a hormone imbalance. My daughter has a friend who produces too much testosterone and she has the same issue and she goes to a hormone doctor. It is cleared up for the most part now.

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M.T.

answers from New York on

It is normal for girls to show early signs of puberty by the age of 10, my daughter was younger than that when she started getting public hair and 11 1/2 when she got her period. That's not a concern. If she is being teased for facial hair, then yes, I would take cosmetic steps to deal with that, a mild bleach or depilatory.

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H.G.

answers from New York on

My daughter was an early bloomer just like me. She got her period just a month shy of her 11th birthday. I've been taking her to have her lip and uni-brow waxed for at least 2 years. I think some kids are just hairier than others.

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M.P.

answers from Minneapolis on

My husband is from India, however he is from the lighter brown, and fairer skinned stock. I am Germanic, and Native American decent American. My mother was black haired, blue eyed and fair of skin. My father (mostly native american) was dark skinned white with black hair and eyes. I am red haired, gray eyed and fair with blonde body hair. I hit puberty at 10 and needed a bra at 9. I had leg hair, and pubs too at 10. Thankfully all my body hair was very light blonde, and while it was noticeable at 10, it never changed, and at 20 I was still able to get away with not shaving cause it was soft, and never noticeable. Not till I had kids did that change. I had a mustache, uni-brow, and neck fuzz. I shaved that with an electric shaver and back in the 80's there wasnt cool things like laser treatments but I hear they work super well. My oldest sister looked like a man from Sicily. The amount of hair and color for her was horrendous. She goes through huge amounts of money and time getting rid of the hair. Its everywhere. She is a hairy woman. She was teased so BAD in HS. My mom took her to every doctor, used every cream, tried everything. No avail.
Now I have kids of my own, with the ethnic combo, my oldest is olive complected, dark chestnut hair and black eyes. She has a coating of black and brownish red hair. On her back, neck, arms, and legs. Its soft fuzz and told that it should dissappear soon, I HOPE so shes going on 5 now. She has a bit of fuzz on the upper lip as well but only can be seen very close up. My second girl is 2. White Blonde hair, Ice Blue eyes, and skin so fair white you can almost see through, and NO body hair to speak of, her eyebrows are so fair you could almost say she doesnt have any. My 14 month old son, was born with hair down to his neck and hair all over, I would say he is going to be a hairy boy, even if his dad is not hairy. I think he will get it from my side. All her hair may go away once her body settles into its rhythm, maybe not its the genetic card that will tell you. The good news? in this day and age there are SOOOO many things to use and try. I am sure one will help. Good luck with that, and yes I agree KIDS are mean cause they are raised to be. Anyone outside the norm is teased. My 2 year old gets teased already at parks and playgrounds for a lazy eye and a dented forehead (Craniosynostosis)

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D.P.

answers from Seattle on

Kids can be so mean. I use an electric shaver to take off my light mustache. I bought it years ago for my legs but it didn't work very well on leg hair, but it's great on facial hair - one or two light sweeps and it's gone, and of course w/ no irritation or redness. I have short hair, too, and have used it to trim up the back of my nack between haircuts. .

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M.E.

answers from Chicago on

My daughter has jet black hair, and at 7.5 already has a lot of hair on her upper lip. It's still fairly light, but along with her brows, will probably need to be waxed within the next couple years. Fortunately, she hasn't noticed yet, but I know it's coming soon.

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A.C.

answers from Cincinnati on

Could be hormonal but also could be insulin troubles. I would def talk to her doctor about it. If at all possible, talk to him without her in ear shot. That way she doesn't think Mom think's something is wrong. We wouldn't want her to feel even more self conscience. Good luck. Hope everything works out in the name of health! :)

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C.B.

answers from St. Louis on

My daughter (13) and I both haver really dark hair and tried the bleach, but it didn't really work. We like the Olay hair remover. It seems to work best. It is a two step process and it doesn't burn or cause irritation. We have to leave it on for the full 8 minutes, but then the hair just wipes off. You're so correct that kids can be SO mean. I went through it when I was young and when she started getting teased, I decided not to let her go through it. Best of luck to you!

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L.B.

answers from St. Louis on

I have dark hair, and my 'mustache' is also noticeable. I simply use a nose-hair trimmer to keep it a bay. :o)

S.L.

answers from Kansas City on

Just talk with a good doctor and be sure the hair on lip is not an imbalance first. Otherwise she doesn't sound as if there is a problem. To save her embarrassment I would see if the doctor has a better idea than bleaching it. it'll still be thicker hair there and kids are so mean.

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J.J.

answers from Denver on

A lot of kids go through the beginnings of puberty at this age. Facial hair can just be part of her heritage (I don't know if you had the same problem?) I always had blonde hair on my upper lip, but it did get darker as I got older. I went through electrolysis and it did permanently remove it. It's painful and a little expensive though...maybe laser hair removal? Bleaching may help for now, but if her skin tone is dark, it may still show up against it.

I remember kids telling me I had a mustache, it was embarrassing. I bleached through high school, then paid for electrolysis when I was in college and had my own job...my parents wouldn't pay for that! If she can get some type of local anesthesia, electrolysis works very well, but you have to go back frequently to zap the regrowth. Many hairs die the first treatment, but others are more stubborn. I didn't have anesthesia, I just toughed it out. I took a few Advil or Aspirin before the treatment and that helped.

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M.J.

answers from Joplin on

i would wax before bleach, because then it would just look like a blonde mustache.

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K.L.

answers from St. Louis on

My husband bought a small electric groomer to trim around his beard. It is much easier to use in tight places than the electric razors. They are quick and easy to use and safe if taught to use it properly. It is cordless and sits in a recharging tray so that the batteries seem to last forever.

Just a warning. I have been using the NoNo hair removal device for several months. It has not worked as well as I had expected, but I do not need to pluck nearly as much as I used to. Over time the hair does get lighter and grows far more slowly, but it takes weeks of using it to begin to see that difference. I do NOT RECOMMEND it for a child or for hair near the lips. The device uses a very hot wire to burn the hair. It smells like burning hair when you use it and it is very easy to burn the lips. I do use it for the facial and neck hair I have developed during menopause, but it takes forever to try to use it effectively on the legs. I gave that up. It does require that the hair is long enough to get caught by the wire, which means if they are dark they are long enough to be noticeable and I usually pluck them before that unless I know I will be home for a couple of days. Still glad I bought the NoNo because the plucking was getting outrageous.

As far as asking a doctor, I would be very cautious and get opinions from several doctors (several types of doctors) before accepting any treatments that might affect a young girl's hormones. A doctor prescribed birth control pills for me at the age of 12 to help menstrual cramps. It raised the level of estrogen in my body. The level of estrogen in a pubescent girl's body tells her breasts how large to grow. I eventually had to have a breast reduction. They removed almost 12 lbs. from my chest and I still wear a C cup. Under most circumstances I would only use a very natural approach. I would avoid any meats or dairy products from farms that regularly put growth hormones antibiotics in the feed. This is the cause for many problems for pubescent children. Puberty is hard enough without that. But, most MDs do not even mention such things. They frequently add more meds to the problem.

If there is a reason to believe that her hormone balance is off, there are herbal supplements that are high in adaptogens, such as ginseng and rhodiola rosea, that help the body to better balance its own hormones safely. I use a drinkable and highly effective form of rhodiola rosea and am very pleased with the results. It helps with the menopausal hormone issue and with many other health and brain issues as well. It is called renu iQ.

J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

I don't think it is an issue, dark hair is just more noticeable than light hair. That and people with dark hair tend to be hairier. 10 is the normal age for girls to start puberty.

The women in my ex's family all have mustaches and so will my youngest. I remember my ex mother in law in the hospital telling Genna when she was just born, don't worry, we will go have our mustaches bleached together like it was the most normal thing on earth because it is for some people of Greek and Italian descent.

H.G.

answers from Dallas on

I don't think its a issue either really. My neice started her period at 10! I would bleach it or get sum hair remover and do it for her. You can contact the pedi to ease your mind but puberty is starting way early these days! Good luck!

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M.E.

answers from San Francisco on

Ten years old is well within the normal puberty arena and that means pubic hair. The facial hair is probably just the way she is. Kids can be mean. Don't you just want to tell them to mind their own business? Drives me nuts. Good-luck.

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D.S.

answers from Dallas on

It sounds like you've already decided to have a doctor check her for a hormone imbalance, so I'll just address the hair. If you can afford it, I'd recommend getting laser hair removal treatments for the hair on her face. My daughter also had this problem to a mild degree, but enough that other kids sometimes teased her. It's difficult enough to survive the adolescent years without having something extra that singles a girl out as different.

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