Hirsutism refers to hair growth with male pattern in women. If other signs of masculinization are added, such as a deep voice, acne, a male physique and hair loss according to the male distribution pattern, it is called androgenization. In hirsutism, only the area of hair growth controlled by sex hormones is affected: the beard, the breasts, the chest, the armpits, the midline of the abdomen and the thighs.
Lower legs, arms and soft down hair on the face, however, are independent of the sex hormones. Here you will find detailed information on the subject: DepilationBoth hirsutism and virilization (masculinization) develop in women under the influence of an excess of androgen (sex hormone). The female androgen production can be increased for the following reasons:
The aim of hirsutism is to detect the excess of the sex hormone by means of laboratory diagnostics and to find out where it comes from.
Hirsutism Score
The Hirsutism Score is a point system developed by Ferriman and Gallwey in 1961. Therefore the score is also called Ferriman-Gallwey-Score. It is used to objectively evaluate the severity of hirsutism.
For this purpose, the body is divided into nine individual body parts, which are then viewed individually and assigned different scores depending on the extent of hair. These range from 0 points (=no hair) to 4 points (=maximum hair). All points from the different body areas are finally added to a final sum. From a value of 7 points is a hirsutism.
- Little hair on the outside (score 1)
- Small beard outside (score 2)
- Upper lip beard almost to the center line (score 3)
- Beard to centerline (score 4)
- Isolated hair (1)
- Hair accumulation (2)
- Complete hair cover (3)
- Tight complete hair cover (4)
- Some hair around the nipples (1)
- Hair in the centerline (2)
- 75 % covered (3)
- Completely covered (4)
- Single hair (1)
- Multiple Hairs (2)
- Complete hair cover (3)
- Complete, dense hair cover (4)
- Sacral Hair Cushion (1)
- Cushion with lateral extension (2)
- 75% covered (3)
- Complete hair cover (4)
- Little hair in the center line (1)
- Increases hair in the centerline (2)
- Half covered (3)
- Completely covered (4)
- Little hair in the center line (1)
- Line in the center line (2)
- Band of hair (3)
- Inverted V (4)
- Discrete hair (1)
- No closed hair cover yet (2)
- Half hair blanket (3)
- Complete hair cover (4)
- Discrete hair (1)
- No closed hair cover yet (2)
- Half hair blanket (3)
- Complete hair cover (4)
