posted August 11, 2000 03:03 PM            

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
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Had it up to here with excess facial hair? A new prescription cream may be the answer to keeping you fuzz free.
The new topical drug contains eflornithine hydrochloride, which prevents the growth of excess facial hair by blocking the enzyme that stimulates hair growth. Studies indicate the cream does keep facial hair at bay--whether the cause is medical, hereditary, or due to aging--and has no major side effects.

To work its magic, the cream must be applied to the face twice daily, and must be used regularly, or hair growth will resume. And though the current focus is on helping women combat facial hair, the product seems to help men as well.

1: J Invest Dermatol 2000 May;114(5):917-22 Related Articles, Books, LinkOut

Serpins in the human hair follicle.

Jensen PJ, Yang T, Yu DW, Baker MS, Risse B, Sun TT, Lavker RM

Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6142, USA.

Proteinases and their inhibitors are very likely to function as mediators or regulators of the hair growth cycle. Very little information is currently available, however, regarding the specific inhibitors present in human hair follicles at defined stages of their growth cycle. In this study we have analyzed two proteinase inhibitors, plasminogen activator inhibitor type 2 and protease nexin 1, in human hair follicles using in situ hybridization and/or immunohistochemistry. Protease nexin 1 mRNA was found only in the mesenchymal population of the hair follicle, i.e., the follicular papilla cells, during the anagen but not the catagen phase. In contrast, plasminogen activator inhibitor type 2 was localized to several epithelial populations in the follicle: the more differentiated cells of the infundibulum; the companion layer in anagen follicles; and the single layer of outer root sheath cells directly abutting the club hair in telogen follicles. At least some of the plasminogen activator inhibitor type 2 in human follicles appears to be in the relaxed form, as evidenced by strong staining with an antibody that is specific for this form of the inhibitor. This suggests that plasminogen activator inhibitor type 2 interacts with and is cleaved by an endogenous follicular proteinase and supports a constitutive role for this inhibitor in human follicular epithelia.

posted August 11, 2000 06:07 PM            

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LAte

posted August 11, 2000 10:34 PM            

BWhaaaaaaa!!!!!

I just knew from the first time you posted you were going to be one fun lady

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LAte

posted August 12, 2000 02:45 PM            

To the best of my knowledge, the hair growth inhibitor cream that you speak of has just been approved for use in the US. Check with your local pharmacies. It may take a while before it gets to market. When I find out more about it, I'll post it.

If any of you try the cream, particularly those with significant terminal facial hair growth related to T use, please email me with your impressions.

Thanks,