THURSDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- A combination of eflornithine hydrochloride cream (Vaniqa) and laser therapy is safe and results in more rapid removal of unwanted facial hair than laser therapy alone, according to a study in the October issue of the journal Dermatologic Surgery.
Stacy R. Smith, M.D., of the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues, reported that women who used the eflornithine cream combined with laser therapy showed significant reductions in hair growth at 22 weeks, compared with women who used a vehicle cream combined with a laser. No differences in hair growth were seen at 34 weeks, but subject self-reports suggested benefit at 34 weeks among women in the eflornithine group.
Combination therapy was also safe, the study showed. Fifteen women reported a total of 23 adverse events in the eflornithine group, compared with 12 women reporting 17 such events in the vehicle cream group. Types, rate and severity of adverse events were similar between the two groups.
"The results of this study demonstrate the eflornithine cream can be used safely with laser hair removal treatments and is beneficial for increasing the onset and perhaps the degree of reduction of unwanted hair," researchers concluded.
The study was funded by an unrestricted grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb.
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