RELIEF is in sight for the millions of women who suffer from the embarrassing
problem of excess facial hair. A cream that slows hair growth could reduce the
amount of time and money spent removing it, a meeting of the American Academy of
Dermatology in Nashville heard last week.
The cream, developed by Marty Sawaya at Aratec Clinics in Florida, contains a
chemical called eflornithine.
It works by blocking a key enzyme that stimulates hair growth. In clinical
trials, 70 per cent of women showed some improvement, with over a third rated as
clinical successes. The FDA is expected to approve the cream later this year.
Excessive facial hair is a problem for more than 40 million women in the US
alone, says Sawaya.
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