to use the term "permanent hair removal" because it has been shown to be able to treat all colors of hair. Medication to reduce production of hair is currently under testing. One medicinal option suppresses testosterone by increasing the sex hormone-binding globulin. Another controls the overproduction of hair through the regulation of a luteinizing hormone. Epidemiology Congenital forms of hypertrichosis are rare. Only 50 cases of congenital hypertrichosis lanuginosa have been recorded since the Middle Ages, and fewer than 100 cases of congenital generalized hypertrichosis have been documented in scientific publications and by the media. Congenital generalized hypertrichosis is isolated to one family in Mexico. Acquired hypertrichosis and hirsutism are more common. For example, hirsutism occurs in about 10% of women between ages 18 and 45. Society and culture People with hair often found jobs as circus performers, making the best of their unusual appearance. Fedor Jeftichew ("Jo-Jo the Dog-faced Man"), Stephan Bibrowski ("Lionel the Lion-faced Man"), Jesús "Chuy" Aceves ("Wolfman"), Annie Jones ("the bearded woman") and Alice Elizabeth Doherty ("The Minnesota Woolly Girl") all had hypertrichosis. Extensive hypertrichosis carries an emotional burden and can cause cosmetic embarrassment; however, some people attempt no treatments because they say it defines who they are. The Gonsalvus family Petrus Gonsalvus (1537–1618) was referred to by Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi as "the man of the woods". Four of his seven children were also afflicted with hypertrichosis and painted. Barbara van Beck Barbara van Beck (1629–1668?) is one of the first people to be depicted with Ambras syndrome. She was the only member of her family with the condition. She travelled around Europe, living in court and appearing before the nobility in cities such as London and Paris. The hairy family of Burma One record in history concerning congenital hypertrichosis lanuginosa is the hairy family of Burma, a four-generational pedigree of the condition. In 1826, John Crawford was leading a mission for the Governor-General of India through Burma. He tells of meeting a hairy man, Shwe-Maong. Shwe-Maong lived in the court of King Ava and acted as an entertainer. Shwe-Maong had four children: three unaffected children, and one child with congenital hypertrichosis, named Maphoon. On a second mission to Ava, Maphoon was described as a thirty-year-old woman with two sons, one of which had hypertrichosis. The affected son was named Maong-Phoset. He had an affected daughter named Mah-Me. Whereas all affected members of the family