The use of X-rays for the treatment of hypertrichosis is dangerous.

Dermatologists, radiologists, physicists and others administering roentgen therapy for any purpose are well aware of the immediate dangers to the skin and the long range sequelae of this type of treatment. Soon after the discovery of x-rays by Roentgen in 1895 their application to the treatment of diseases of the skin was carefully studied and their effects noted. The x-rays were found to benefit many dermatoses and by 1897, their epilating effect having become known, they were used for the treatment of superfluous hair. Many investigators were studying the beneficial effects of roentgen rays on diseased tissue, while other research workers were studying their harmful effects on normal tissue. They soon learned that single large doses or repeated small doses over a long period of time were dangerous. They discovered that the effects of repeated small doses were cumulative and produced destruction of tissue many years after their administration. Sequelae