Facial hypertrichosis and hirsutism may cause severe cosmetic and psycholog
ic problems. In the following, new developments in the treatment of hypertr
ichosis will be presented. Permanent depilation by photothermolysis is curr
ently the most promising treatment. A new topical treatment of hypertrichos
is is eflornithine cream. It inhibits the enzyme ornithine decarboxylase wh
ich is essential for the rapidly dividing cells of the hair follicle. Furth
ermore, other methods of hair removal such as plucking, waxing, chemical de
pilation by thioglycolates, electrolysis, thermolysis and systemic therapie
s of hirsutism will be discussed.