Our Dermatologist Breaks Down How Your Body Hair Changes As You Get Older

Change is one of the guaranteed parts of life, and that's particularly true of the human body. As we age, we go through myriad changes, from developing wrinkles and fine lines to weight fluctuations and significant transformations in our hair. The changes to the hair on the scalp as we age are well-documented: For both men and women, our strands tend to get thinner and drier, and they may even turn gray or change in texture and growth pattern. But did you know body hair changes, too?

"As people grow older, all body hair experiences inevitable changes not only in its thickness but also in its growth rate, its color, along with its distribution," says Dr. Aanand Geria, board-certified dermatologist and clinical instructor of dermatology at Mount Sinai. "A continuous decline in androgens frequently causes hair to grow less." You'll likely notice this change in density and growth rate in areas that you frequently shave or wax, as these patches may take longer to grow back. On the flip side, these hormonal changes may lead to increased hair growth in some areas.

Dr. Geria also notes that pigment tends to be lost with age, which leads to body hair turning gray or white just as scalp hair does, although you'll probably go gray on top before any of your body hair takes the plunge. While this isn't necessarily good news, the dermatologist confirms that we're all in the same boat: "These changes, although varying across all people, represent a universal part of the aging process."

The most common way that aging affects body hair is a decrease in growth, and according to Dr. Aanand Geria, this can happen to multiple areas of the body. "When hormone levels go down, androgen-sensitive areas often get noticeably thinner," he tells Glam exclusively, pointing to the underarms and pubic region as the most obvious examples. "However, while the change happens slowly, leg hair as well as arm hair get thinner in addition to less dense. A few areas, interestingly, experience the opposite effect." Dr. Geria says that this tends to be on the face for postmenopausal women. "For example, because of a growth in the influence of androgens, many women often develop coarse facial hair on the chin or upper lip post-menopause."

Different areas of the body tend to experience changes at different rates, too. "Even the rate of graying distinctly differs by location; although scalp hair may begin turning gray as early as one's 30s or 40s, underarm and pubic hair generally hold onto their pigment longer, delaying graying until later in life," Dr. Geria explains. While the average age to get gray hair might be younger than you expected, there are plenty of ways to own this change. Herringbone highlights are the gray hair technique of the future, while graying body hair can simply be shaved off if it bothers you.

Changes in body hair affect everybody during the aging process, but these changes vary between men and women. Like many things, this simply comes down to differences in hormonal activity. "Menopause in women has a major role," Dr. Aanand Geria shares exclusively with Glam. This is hardly surprising when you consider the changes that occur in your skin during menopause. Dr. Geria explains that a reduction in estrogen levels results in women's body hair generally getting sparser, even as an increase in androgens boosts hair growth on the face.

By contrast, the dermatologist notes that men experience a drop in testosterone, which leads to an overall thinning, but chest, back, and leg hair are particularly affected by this. "Also, the timing of when graying takes place varies; men typically notice gray chest and body hair earlier, but body hair in women generally stays colored for a longer time," Dr. Geria adds.