No standards exist for the evaluation of hair in hirsute women. This study compared the semi-quantitative visual scoring of body hair, using the Ferriman & Gallwey scale, in 88 hirsute women with direct objective measurements of hair shaft diameter and daily linear growth rates of hair growing on the pre-auricular area of the face, the forearm, the anterior abdominal wall and the anterior thigh. There was a significant correlation between the semi-quantitative score and diameter measurements on the forearm, abdominal wall and thigh. There was no relationship between linear growth rates at any of the four sites and the semi-quantitative score. The conclusion of this report is that suitably standardised and controlled semi-quantitative measurement of hair in hirsute women with visual analogue scores would appear to offer information similar to that obtained by direct measurement of hair diameter.