Facial and abdominal hair growth in hirsutism: a computerized evaluation.

Methods of objectively assessing the growth rate of hairs in hirsute women have generally required some form of shaving and have focused on studying hairs affecting the face, which has reduced the number of patients willing or able to participate in such studies. A possible solution is to assess the terminal hairs on the lower abdomen (ie, the male escutcheon) because these two body areas are the most frequently affected with excess hair growth in hirsute patients. Nonetheless, it is unclear how the growth characteristics (density, diameter, and growth rate) of the hairs on the abdomen and face differ in these patients.