Q: Why don't women have beards?
Men are hairy and women (well, most women) are not. What's up with that?
Hair growth is controlled by hormones and most women do not have beard because their female glands and hormones prevent it. The female hormone (estrogen) stimulates the growth of hair on a woman's head, but stunts the growth of beards and mustaches, yet sometimes the unwanted hair does show up.
The male sexual hormone, testosterone, is the hairy hormone. Men have more of this hormone than women, therefore they grow beards and women do not. But what about those ladies that do sport a little peach fuzz?
Younger women are full of estrogen which prevents beard growth, but as women pass through menopause, their estrogen level decreases. This could be the reason that some older women have unwanted facial hair as they age that they never had before.
Generally though, men are just hairier than women in most cases. But, if a man had more estrogen in his body than testosterone he would lose his beard so it just depends on the hormone levels of a person, which can be different in everyone.
It is interesting that this would not be a question or discussion, if women from day one had beards. The real question should be, why don't men have babies?
Men are hairy and women (well, most women) are not. What's up with that?
Hair growth is controlled by hormones and most women do not have beard because their female glands and hormones prevent it. The female hormone (estrogen) stimulates the growth of hair on a woman's head, but stunts the growth of beards and mustaches, yet sometimes the unwanted hair does show up.
The male sexual hormone, testosterone, is the hairy hormone. Men have more of this hormone than women, therefore they grow beards and women do not. But what about those ladies that do sport a little peach fuzz?
Younger women are full of estrogen which prevents beard growth, but as women pass through menopause, their estrogen level decreases. This could be the reason that some older women have unwanted facial hair as they age that they never had before.
Generally though, men are just hairier than women in most cases. But, if a man had more estrogen in his body than testosterone he would lose his beard so it just depends on the hormone levels of a person, which can be different in everyone.
It is interesting that this would not be a question or discussion, if women from day one had beards. The real question should be, why don't men have babies?
Patricia, nice job. It would have been better if you had gone a step further to explain why evolution favored beardless women? There must be a reason.
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