Reducing unwanted body hair naturally starts with understanding what drives it: androgens, the hormones that convert fine, light body hair into thicker, darker strands. Women produce androgens in smaller amounts than men, but when levels rise or when hair follicles become more sensitive to them, noticeable hair growth can appear on the face, chest, abdomen, and back. Several natural strategies can help by lowering androgen activity, managing insulin levels, or slowing follicle growth directly.
Why Excess Hair Growth Happens
Androgens like testosterone and its more potent form, DHT, bind to receptors inside hair follicle cells and signal fine “vellus” hairs to transform into coarser “terminal” hairs. This process is normal during puberty for areas like the underarms and pubic region, but when androgen levels climb higher than typical, it can trigger thicker growth in places you wouldn’t expect.
Insulin plays a surprisingly large role. When your body becomes resistant to insulin (common in conditions like PCOS), the pancreas compensates by pumping out more of it. That excess insulin acts directly on the ovaries, stimulating cells called thecal cells to ramp up androgen production. It also reduces a protein the liver makes called sex-hormone-binding globulin, which normally keeps testosterone locked up and inactive. The result is more free testosterone circulating in the blood, which means more signal reaching hair follicles. This is why strategies that improve insulin sensitivity can meaningfully reduce hair growth over time.
Dietary Changes That Lower Androgens
Because insulin and androgens are so tightly linked, what you eat has a real effect on hair growth patterns. A low-glycemic diet, one that favors whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and lean proteins over refined carbs and sugar, keeps blood sugar steadier and reduces the insulin spikes that drive androgen production. You don’t need a rigid meal plan. Swapping white bread for whole grain, choosing steel-cut oats over sugary cereal, and pairing carbs with protein or fat at meals are practical starting points.
Soy-based foods deserve special attention. Soybeans are rich in isoflavones, plant compounds that gently modulate estrogen pathways. One of the key metabolites your body produces from soy isoflavones is a natural inhibitor of the enzyme that converts testosterone into DHT, the same enzyme that pharmaceutical hair-loss drugs target. Research on a standardized soybean extract found that a 5% concentration matched the performance of a standard pharmaceutical treatment for improving hair diameter and density in testosterone-driven hair loss models. Including tofu, edamame, tempeh, or soy milk regularly may offer a mild but meaningful hormonal nudge in the right direction.
Spearmint Tea for Testosterone Reduction
Spearmint tea is one of the most studied natural anti-androgen remedies for women. In a 30-day randomized controlled trial of 42 women with PCOS, drinking spearmint tea twice daily significantly reduced both free and total testosterone levels compared to a placebo herbal tea. The effect was measurable within a single month.
To try this yourself, steep fresh or dried spearmint leaves (not peppermint, which is a different plant) in hot water for five to ten minutes. Two cups a day mirrors the dose used in the clinical trial. Consistency matters more than strength. You likely won’t see visible changes in hair texture within the first month since hair grows in cycles, but the hormonal shift begins relatively quickly. Most women who stick with it for three to six months report gradual improvement.
Zinc Supplementation
Zinc has shown direct benefits for excess hair growth. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 48 women with PCOS, taking 50 mg of elemental zinc daily for eight weeks significantly decreased hirsutism scores compared to placebo. The zinc group saw their scores on a standardized hair growth scale drop by an average of 1.71 points, while the placebo group barely budged at 0.29 points.
Interestingly, the improvement happened without measurable changes in hormone levels, suggesting zinc may act on the follicle level rather than purely through androgen reduction. You can get zinc through foods like pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, cashews, and red meat, though reaching 50 mg daily from food alone is difficult. If you opt for a supplement, zinc sulfate or zinc picolinate are common forms. Taking it with food helps prevent the nausea that zinc on an empty stomach sometimes causes.
Licorice Root and Its Anti-Androgen Properties
Licorice root contains glycyrrhizic acid, a compound that mildly inhibits androgen production. Clinical research has shown that licorice intake can significantly reduce serum testosterone in both women and men over a two-month period. It has been studied both as an oral supplement and as a topical treatment, where it enhanced the results of professional hair removal procedures for women with mild to moderate excess hair growth.
As a tea or supplement, licorice is widely available and inexpensive. One important caveat: glycyrrhizic acid can raise blood pressure and lower potassium levels with prolonged use, so it’s best used in moderate amounts and cycled rather than taken continuously for months without a break. Deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL), the form often sold for digestive issues, has the active compound removed and won’t help with hair growth.
Topical Approaches That Slow Regrowth
Papain, the enzyme found in raw papaya, has shown genuine depilatory effects when applied to skin. In a study evaluating papain-based creams on hair follicles, the treatment caused dilation of about 55% of the hair follicle lumen (the inner channel where hair grows) and thickened the outer skin layer. In practical terms, this weakens the follicle’s ability to produce strong hair and slows regrowth after removal.
To use this at home, mash raw green papaya (which has higher enzyme concentration than ripe fruit) into a paste and apply it to areas where you want less regrowth, leaving it on for 15 to 20 minutes before rinsing. Some people mix it with a pinch of turmeric powder, which has its own anti-inflammatory properties that may calm the follicle environment. These pastes work best when applied after hair removal, when the follicle opening is more accessible. Results are gradual, requiring consistent use over weeks.
Turmeric pastes have a long history in South Asian beauty traditions, and there is a biological basis for the practice. Curcumin, turmeric’s active compound, is a potent anti-inflammatory that can modulate the follicle cycle. While the most rigorous research has used advanced delivery methods rather than simple pastes, the anti-inflammatory effect on the skin surface is real and may contribute to finer, slower regrowth over time when applied regularly to freshly exfoliated skin.
Physical Hair Management Between Results
Natural hormonal and topical approaches take weeks to months to show visible results, so you’ll likely want to manage existing hair in the meantime. Regular gentle exfoliation with a pumice stone can help prevent ingrown hairs in areas prone to them. Wet your skin first, then rub the stone in light, short strokes without pressing hard enough to cause pain. This removes the dead skin that traps hairs beneath the surface.
Threading, waxing, and sugaring (a paste of sugar, lemon, and water) remove hair from the root, which means regrowth appears finer initially and takes longer to return than shaving. When combined with a papaya or turmeric paste applied to the area after removal, you may notice progressively slower regrowth cycles.
How to Tell If Your Hair Growth Is Medical
Not all excess hair growth requires medical investigation, but it helps to know where the line is. Clinicians use a scoring system called the Ferriman-Gallwey scale, which rates hair thickness across nine body areas. For most Western populations, a score of 8 or higher on this scale is considered clinical hirsutism and often points to elevated androgens worth investigating. Women who score below 8 but are still bothered by their hair growth can absolutely pursue treatment, though the underlying hormonal picture may be different.
Sudden increases in body hair, especially if paired with irregular periods, acne, or unexplained weight gain, can signal conditions like PCOS or adrenal gland disorders that benefit from proper diagnosis. The natural approaches in this article can complement medical treatment for these conditions, but they work best when you know what you’re working with.