Medicines for Removing Body Hair

Women who sprout excessive body hair in places they shouldn't---the chest, back and face---can find it a struggle to get rid of hair using temporary methods such as shaving and plucking. Medicines can resolve the underlying physical condition that causes excessive body hair, including one prescription topical treatment that can reduce facial hair in women. However, there are an abundance of cosmetic procedures that can help get rid of body hair, too.

Causes of Excess Hair

• When women get too much hair in places that men usually get hair, this is called "hirsutism." According to the Mayo Clinic, the symptom of having too much body hair isn't in itself unhealthy. But the excess hair can be caused by medical conditions, such as those that cause you to produce too much androgen---polycystic ovary disease, Cushing's syndrome, tumors on the ovaries or adrenal glands, or a rare congenital disorder called adrenal hyperplasia. Use of certain medications can cause body hair, such as Danazol, prescribed to treat endometriosis, although other medicines can cause excess body hair, too, such as anabolic steroids.

  Excessive hair growth can simply be genetic. The Mayo Clinic notes that women who are of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern or South Asian ethnicity tend to get more body hair than women of other ethnicities.

Oral Medicines

• Oral medicines can remove body hair, such as oral contraceptives and anti-androgens, which inhibit or block androgen production that causes the hair to grow. Sometimes unwanted body hair can be treated by surgically removing an adrenal or ovarian cyst or tumor, or by simply discontinuing the medications that cause excess hair.

Topical Medicines

• One topical medication available by prescription can reduce hair growth---however, it's not for use on the entire body. A topical cream called Vaniqa can be used to reduce hair growth on the face in females over the age of 12, although it doesn't result in permanent hair removal and yields success only while being used. Women who choose to use Vaniqa must exercise patience; it can take up to eight weeks to see a noticeable difference in facial hair reduction while using this cream.

Cosmetic Procedures

• If removing body hair using temporary methods such as shaving, waxing and plucking is too time-consuming, there are alternate routes. Electrolysis is a way to permanently get rid of body hair, although it may take numerous hours and several additional treatment sessions to take care of regrowth. Laser hair reduction can yield good results and is most successful in people with fair skin and dark hair.

Your Doctor

• When body hair is caused by high levels of androgen, there may be other noticeable symptoms, including a low "masculine" voice, buildup of muscle mass around the shoulders, decreased breast size, and male-pattern balding of the hair on the head. Additionally, irregular menstrual cycles and acne may be noted. Your doctor can run blood tests to determine if you have a medical condition that's causing higher than normal levels of androgen, and can proceed with additional medical testing and treatment when necessary.