At this age, facial hair is becoming very prevalent. Some of my friends can grow a full bear in under 3 days. To me, it’s a little off putting and thats why I will never complain that I have no more facial hair than tiny bit of blonde peach fuzz. However, it is interesting to me how one chromosome can influence such extreme differences in males and females.

Scientists state that men have facial hair for a very specific reason. For both boys and girls, it starts in the section of the brain called the hypothalamus. What this part of the brain does is sends signals to a gland known as the pituitary gland. The job of the pituitary gland is to send signals that start up the ovaries in girls and testes in guys. As we have all learned in health class, the ovaries help to produce the hormone called estrogen. On the other hand, the testes help to produce the hormone called testosterone. These are the hormones that help kick our bodies into puberty. Testosterone makes the boys more manly while estrogen makes the girls more feminine. It is clear that it is the large amounts of testosterone in the boy’s bodies that will lead to the formation of facial hair. Because girls have more estrogen than testosterone, they do not develop facial hair as estrogen does not make our bodies do that. Interestingly enough, however, testosterone in males is also what leads to balding in the later years of a man’s life.

However, other scientists don’t like to just stop here. Other scientists counter this question with another question; why do men have beards in the first place?  Maybe it is to protect the men from the cold or the wind. But a flaw with that would be that women go outside too. Why don’t we need beards? Can women handle the cold better than men if beards are not necessary for us to survive? Or maybe, like in other species, it is to attract the opposite gender. Major differences in feathers in male birds and female birds help them attract each other. So maybe the major different in facial hair is to attract a mate. However, these are questions that have not yet been answered and will continue to be researched until there is a clear answer. To read more, click here.

So, whatever the reason behind it is, I am happy that females do not need beards. I have a hard time imagining me and some of my best girl friends with facial hair like some of the boys we’re friends with. The boys can keep the testosterone.

http://www.understanding-life.org/ask-a-physiologist/why-do-men-have-beards-women-do-not-lewis-age-11-why-do-we-have-armpit-hair-chris