Vaniqa, pronounced van-i-ka, a prescription cream that slows the growth of women’s unwanted facial hair. About 58% of women who tried Vaniqa in clinical trials had improvement, the other 42% had no improvement.

Hair growth cells and cancer cells share some interesting characteristics: rapidly dividing with multiple potentials for differentiation. This is part of the reason chemotherapy and radiation can result in hair loss: they disrupt the same kinds of cellular activity. It has been theorized that some cancer drugs may be used to induce a controlled amount of hair loss or reduction. Vaniqa’s active ingredient, eflornithine hydrochloride, has been observed to result in antitumor activity. It is the first commercially-available topical preparation to come out of this sort of research.

Vaniqa became available available on July 31, 2000. Originally made by Bristol-Myers Squibb in a partnership with Gillette, it is now a separate company under the name Women First Healthcare.

The active ingredient in Vaniqa is eflornithine hydrochloride. It inhibits an enzyme that affects hair growth, called ornithine decarboxylase (ODC). Clinical data indicates that taking an oral version of the drug can affect hair growth.

Vaniqa should not be used:

• By men. It has not been tested on males.
• By women who are pregnant or nursing, because Vaniqa has not been tested to see if it causes birth defects and miscarriages in humans
• By females under age 12.
• Anywhere except on the face and chin.
• In the eyes, nose, mouth, or vagina.
• If you have severe acne or broken skin.

Consumers should be cautious when looking to purchase Vaniqa online. Many websites offer come-ons like this:

• Free Online Medical Consultation!
• No Prior Prescription Needed!

Because it is a prescription drug, and because it’s not right for everyone, you should visit a doctor in person before getting a prescription. In fact, it is illegal to sell Vaniqa without a prescription, so many online companies are breaking the law or bending it with a “rent-a-doctor” who rubber-stamps all purchases. This is unsafe and probably against the law. Some consumers ordering prescriptions online have their orders confiscated by postal inspectors or simply never sent, so you run a risk by ordering through fly-by-night companies online.

Vaniqa website.