A Randomized Double-Blind, Vehicle-Controlled Bilateral Comparison Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Finasteride 0.5% Solution in Combination with Intense Pulsed Light in the Treatment of Facial Hirsutism

June 2012 in “ Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy ”

Susan Farshi, Parvin Mansouri, Faramarz Rafie

finasteride intense pulsed light IPL facial hirsutism hair density reduction Propecia

Studysummary This study found that combining topical finasteride with IPL + RF hair removal significantly reduced unwanted facial hair in women after six months compared to placebo. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

The study aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of finasteride 0.5% solution in combination with intense pulsed light (IPL) in treating facial hirsutism. A total of 77 female patients were enrolled in the study, and the results showed that the combination of finasteride and IPL resulted in a significant reduction of unwanted hair density in women when used for up to 6 months. The study suggests that finasteride may be effective in treating hirsutism when used in combination with intense pulsed light. However, the study also found that the combination therapy of finasteride and IPL may not be cost-effective due to the small additional improvement in the outcome.

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