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Hirsutism is the excess growth of hair on women where hair would not usually grow. As androgen levels increase , more areas of the skin start to respond by showing hair growth . The genital area is most sensitive , followed by the underarms , chin , middle of the upper lip , around the edge of the nipples and the midline of the abdomen . Many women have some hair in these latter four locations and in small amounts it is certainly not abnormal . For a few the amounts are greater , and embarrassment and self-consciousness result . Hairiness in these regions is a masculine attribute, but it sometimes occurs in normal women after menopause and in some younger r women . Women with hairy faces may how other signs of virulism including a deep voice , heavy muscles , small breasts , a degree of male pattern baldness , and masculine mannerisms . Their endocrine balance may be upset so as to include secretion of the male sex hormone and those of the pituitary and adrenal glands and partial loss of the estrogenic female sex hormone . Hirsutism produces enlarged hair follicles , enlargement and inc