What Happens When Perimenopause Meets Autism (Spoiler: Lots of Tweezers!)

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Peri-menopause is a bitch.  Sorry for my language, but there’s nothing redeeming about not sleeping, feeling irritable all the time, anxiety that’s through the roof, hot flashes, or brain fog. It is downright miserable, even inspiring research articles with titles like “When my autism broke.”

You know what else happens?  Your hair changes.  While it gets thin on top, random, spiky hairs start popping up in places you never wanted them.  For me, it’s my chin.  

Now if you’re a teenager reading about people your mom’s age having hair pop up on their chin, you may feel a little queasy and think it’s TMI. But if your my age and have suddenly found yourself hiding tweezers in your car, purse, desk, and maybe even your pocket - you get this. 

Neurospice Beauty vs. Obsessing Over Chin Hair

One day, Amy Yanaway from Neurospice Beauty popped up on my Instagram. I honestly didn’t even care what she did, I was in.  I hardly ever hear of autism focused beauty or health care companies, let alone an actual brick and mortar where I could go in and talk to a real autistic person. 

Her website is awesome.  There’s so much stuff about sensory sensitivities and all the ways she can you accommodate her clients, and it made my heart really happy. When I work with an autistic provider, I don’t have to explain my life to them or justify needing changes for sensory things or explain my communication style.  I can be myself. 

I was in luck because she actually provided a service I could really use - she could take care of these chin hairs that have been irritating the heck out of me. By this point, I had realized that constantly looking at my chin for hairs to pluck - at least twenty times a day - was not only a stim but something that was getting a bit out of hand. Much like the skin picking and hair pulling that many autistic people experience, it was starting to distress me and I was doing it more than I wanted to.  

Before writing Amy for a consult, I read up on electrolysis.  It was a permanent solution, the appointments didn’t seem very long (generally 30-60 minutes), it seemed like the only permanent solution. The appointments are short, and from what I read, it seemed likely I could navigate any physical discomfort. 

My First Visit

Walking into the building was nice - it was cool and dark, such a relief from the 103 degree weather the day I walked in. It took me a minute to orient myself and find suite 26, but the signage was good. They had bathrooms and water fountains available, which I appreciated because I’m always thirsty in this heat.

When I found her suite, I was a bit anxious.  She had some music in the background and she was very receptive to my request to change it to something that was better for my nerves.  The room was dim.  I was able to lay back while I got all the details about what to expect.

Amy explained everything using visuals she could display on the wall. She covered exactly what it would feel like, why she does each step, and how to prepare for next time. When she asked for my driver’s license to scan, I asked why (I don’t like giving people information if I don’t understand why it’s relevant), and she explained it’s for her liability insurance. I appreciate when providers answer my questions instead of acting like I’m being difficult.

Turns out I messed up the prep though. I wasn’t hydrated enough - apparently hydrated skin makes the whole thing work better and faster. And I’d been tweezing right up until 48 hours before, which meant fewer hairs for her to actually work on. Now I know I can’t tweeze between appointments. That’s gonna be hard, but I’m doing weekly appointments so I don’t have to live with the hair for too long.

Ready for the Zaps!

The treatment itself felt like little stings and then tiny zaps on each hair follicle. I’m pretty sensitive to pain - definitely have what most people would call low pain tolerance - but it wasn’t as bad as I expected. She also showed me numbing cream I can use next time (like what they use before tattoos) and walked me through exactly how to apply it. The cream cost about $25.

After she had treated all the follicles, she gave me some other cream to smell and asked if it was okay to put it on my face. At every step she told me exactly what was going to happen and checked in with me about how I was doing. When I confirmed I liked the smell, she put the cream on my face and had me hold a grounding cord in my hand. She ran an instrument over my chin and the rest of the treated area. It was funny because I think it used electric current, which normally would have made me anxious, but I didn’t feel anything. The cream smelled good to me, and the feeling of the instrument on my skin was soothing and cooling. I loved it. I was actually surprised that in the dark room with that treatment, I felt like I could have taken a nap. After that, she also put on sunscreen to protect the area.

How the Process Works

Here’s what I learned about how this works. Each hair follicle has to get zapped multiple times before it’s dead forever. After the first treatment, it takes 2-3 months for that hair to grow back, then it gets treated again. This happens several times before the follicle finally gives up.

You can only see a small percentage of your hair follicles at any time - tons more are underneath waiting their turn. That’s why you have to go weekly or every other week at first, just to catch all these new hairs popping up. But after about three months, once you’ve gotten through that first round, the hairs start coming back much weaker. Amy showed me charts where you can see significant reduction even after just a few months.

Next Steps!

I’m really excited to get rid of these hairs!  I wouldn’t have even tried this if I hadn’t run into Amy - for me, finding an autistic provider is such a plus, and I feel immediately safer and more comfortable.  Amy explained everything, she’s willing to work with my sensory needs, and she clearly knows what she’s doing. This feels like a good investment in my own comfort. I only wish handling the other aspects of peri-menopause were so easy!

Neurospice Beauty