International non-proprietary name · Eflornithine

Eflornithine: it does not remove hair, it slows how fast hair grows

In a vehicle-controlled, double-blind trial alongside laser (31 people), complete or almost complete hair removal reached 93.5% and all three endpoints were significant. In a separate 22-person trial of maintenance after IPL, regrowth fell 14% at one month and 17% at six — but the three-month point was not significant.

Last checked Sep 21, 2026

Start here

What it is: A cream for unwanted facial hair, approved at 13.9%. The brand name is Vaniqa.
What it is used for: Coarse hair on the face. It is often used alongside laser or IPL, to slow what grows back.
How it is said to work: It is said to block an enzyme (ornithine decarboxylase) that hair-producing cells need, slowing how fast hair grows. It is not a drug that removes hair.

There are no numbers and no citations in this box. What has been established, and how far, is below.

At a glance

Category: Prescription only
How well established: Moderate evidence
Concentration studied: 13.9%
Length of the studies: 24–26 weeks

“Concentration studied” and “Length of the studies” are taken straight from the research on this page. They are not a recommended dose, and the figure for each finding is written out in the text.

This is not how large the effect is but how well confirmed it is. It shows the highest grade among the findings on this page.

Whether and how to use it is decided with a doctor or pharmacist.

Korean classification Being checkedThe regulatory class has not yet been confirmed against a primary document. It will be filled in once it is.

Something has to be said first. We could not confirm from primary sources whether this drug is approved or available in Korea. The 'category' label above reflects its classification in countries where it is approved; how it is handled domestically is outside what we verified. The regulatory field is also left as 'being checked'.

Read the rest on that footing.

Eflornithine was originally developed as a treatment for African sleeping sickness. Thinning of hair was observed along the way, and a 13.9% cream came to be used for unwanted facial hair.

What matters most about this drug is what it does not do. It does not pull out or remove hair. It slows how fast hair grows. So it works only while you are applying it, and the rate returns to normal when you stop.

That property is why it is often used alongside laser hair removal or IPL — the procedure reduces the hair, and this slows what comes back. Both trials below looked at that combination.

What is established

Moderate evidenceConcentration studied 13.9% · cream

Added to laser, it beat the same cream with the drug removed

This is a 2007 Canadian trial, and it goes first because it is the only trial of this drug with a properly formed control.

The design is randomised, double-blind, vehicle-controlled and right-left. Every participant had the whole upper lip treated with a long-pulse alexandrite laser every four weeks for up to six sessions, and alongside it applied eflornithine cream to one side and the same cream with the drug removed to the other, twice daily.

Among 31 evaluable patients, three endpoints were assessed: investigator assessment, patient self-assessment and hair count. All three significantly favoured eflornithine.

At the end of the study, complete or almost complete hair removal in 29 of 31 (93.5%)
Hair count analysis P < .01

Why this design matters. In the two trials below the comparator was ‘nothing applied’, so the contribution of applying a cream has not been subtracted. Here the other side received the same cream without the drug, which subtracts it.

The authors set down the limits too. It was a single-centre study, and it did not determine whether the difference lasts beyond six months. There were 31 patients.

Randomised controlled trial in people · 31 participants · 24 weeks · Compared with vehicle (same formula minus the active) · Funding not declared · Endpoint clinical events (cancers, lesion counts) PMID 17270315

Moderate evidenceConcentration studied 13.9% · cream

It slowed regrowth after IPL — but the three-month point was not significant

This is a 2016 trial. 22 women with coarse facial hair took part, in a randomised, split-face, single-blinded design.

All first received five to six IPL treatments. From the final session, eflornithine was applied twice daily to one half of the face only for six months; the other half received nothing. Blinded assessors counted hairs at one, three and six months.

Eighteen completed. The results:

1 month: regrowth reduced 14% (P = .007, n = 20)
3 months: reduced 9% — not significant (P = .107, n = 19)
6 months: reduced 17% (P = .048, n = 18)

The gap in the middle is written here as it stands. Significant at one and six months, not at three. A pattern like that is usually read as a small sample wobbling — with 18 to 20 people, P values can move around between time points.

Participants' own assessments pointed the same way as the blinded counts, and satisfaction stayed at a median of 5–6 on a VAS throughout.

The comparator was not a placebo but 'nothing applied.' What the act of applying a cream contributes has not been subtracted, so these numbers may sit on the high side.

Randomised controlled trial in people · 22 participants · 26 weeks · Compared with no treatment · Funding not declared · Endpoint clinical events (cancers, lesion counts) PMID 26507926

Moderate evidenceConcentration studied — Not established

Added to IPL, 89.5% responded against 69.7% — but the trial was open-label

This is a 2025 trial in Pakistan. 152 women aged 18 to 70 were randomised 1:1 to IPL plus a topical, or IPL alone, over 24 weeks.

The primary endpoint was the proportion improving by at least one grade on the modified Ferriman-Gallwey (mFG) scale.

At least one grade: 89.5% vs 69.7% (absolute difference 19.8 points, P = .003)
Mean terminal hair reduction: 90% vs 59% (P < .001)

Adverse events were limited to transient erythema and dryness, with no difference between groups.

Two things to see in this.

First, it was open-label. Both participants and investigators knew which arm they were in, and mFG is a human-scored grade, which can tilt under that design.

Second, the comparator was IPL alone, not a placebo cream. The same limitation as the first trial: the contribution of applying something has not been subtracted.

Still, this trial ran to 152 people. In this layer that is not a small number, and its agreeing in direction with the 22-person trial is the practical weight of this evidence.

Randomised controlled trial in people · 152 participants · 24 weeks · Compared with no treatment · Funding not declared · Endpoint scores from blinded assessors PMID 40970028

Known risks

We could not confirm approval or availability in Korea from primary sources. The 'category' label on this page is its classification where it is approved. Whether you can obtain it, and whether a prescription is needed, is for consultation.
It works only while you apply it. Stop and hair returns to its usual rate. The trials looked only at the treatment period.
The treated area can sting or redden. Adverse events in the 2025 trial were transient erythema and dryness.
We could not include data for areas other than the face.
Use in pregnancy is a matter for consultation. This site does not stand in for that judgement.
If coarse facial hair has increased suddenly, finding the cause comes first. A hormonal condition can sit behind it.

What is not established

There is one vehicle-controlled trial, of 31 people. And nobody has yet looked at whether the difference lasts beyond six months. In the other two the comparator was 'nothing applied', so the contribution of applying something has not been subtracted.
How far it goes on its own is unestablished. Both trials used it alongside IPL.
How long to use it, and when it is safe to stop, has no answer here.
Combination with laser hair removal is not what these trials examined; both used IPL.
The 2016 trial had 22 people; the 2025 trial was open-label. Neither is settled evidence.

Whether and how to use it is decided with a doctor or pharmacist.

What this article relies on

PubMed — 미국 국립의학도서관 문헌 데이터베이스National Library of Medicine · Checked on 2026-09-16
The effect of eflornithine 13.9% cream on the bother and discomfort due to hirsutismInternational journal of dermatology · 2007 · PMID 17822506