plucking beard hair

[Jayne]

I can't afford to start elecrolysis at the moment & want to wait until i've started HRT to make it more effective/efficiant.
Because of ecxma I can't use too much make-up, partly because I get too hot & my skin fares up & partly because when my skin is flaky foundation makes it look worse than it really is.

I decided a few days ago to let my hair grow a bit & try plucking it out, I didn't care how long it would take as it would be worth it in the long run not to have to shave for a couple of weeks.

I found the hairs around my jaw & cheeks was almost painless as long as I pulled the skin tight, chin hairs hurt like hell to pluck but I came unstuck as soon as I tried to pluck the hairs from my top lip. . . . AAARGH!!!!!! doesn't even come close to describing it, after half a dozen hair were plucked I couldn't see a thing due to my eyes watering too much.
I'm just really glad that I did a test of each area before I spent my whole weekend with tweezers in hand.

If anyone has managed to tweezer their facial hair off then they deserve a medal of epic proportions.
If anyone is considering doing this then try your top lip first, if you can handle the pain & watering eyes then the rest of your face will be plain sailing, as a famous space smuggler once said "good luck, you'll need it"

[supremecatoverlord]

I used to get stray hairs even with low testosterone and I would pluck them. For me, it was because I knew it wasn't going to fill in; not that I didn't want hair. It also was not enough to shave back then. All I have to say about this though is...


                                         Ouch.



And I have a high pain tolerance, for me to admit this hurts actually says a lot.

[JulieC.]

I pluck some of my beard hairs.  I mostly concentrate on the dark hairs.  I've tried to clear my whole face before and there are just too many.  I think the first one would be grown back by the time I got to the last one.  The upper lip area is where I pluck the most.  Yes it is more painful than other areas but it has never made my eyes water.  There is one area in the center just below my nose that will send me into a sneezing fit sometimes.  It's very strange.  In the end I'm not sure plucking the beard is that good an idea.  I think I get more zits when I do it and worry about scaring over time.  But I do it anyway.

[smooth]

Not a good idea to pluck beard hairs, there's another post somewhere and in it I've tried to explain why. Sorry I cant remember what the heading was.... have fun searching and if you find it perhaps identify it here in case anyone else is interested. I think it was something to do with home laser units....

[pebbles]

I found the hairs around my jaw & cheeks was almost painless as long as I pulled the skin tight, chin hairs hurt like hell to pluck but I came unstuck as soon as I tried to pluck the hairs from my top lip. . . . AAARGH!!!!!! doesn't even come close to describing it, after half a dozen hair were plucked I couldn't see a thing due to my eyes watering too much.
I'm just really glad that I did a test of each area before I spent my whole weekend with tweezers in hand.

If anyone has managed to tweezer their facial hair off then they deserve a medal of epic proportions.
If anyone is considering doing this then try your top lip first, if you can handle the pain & watering eyes then the rest of your face will be plain sailing, as a famous space smuggler once said "good luck, you'll need it"

Ooh yes I will accept your medal with pride... Their is a trick to epilating facial hair with an epilator First you have to let the hair get quite long otherwise you will do outrageous damage to your skin. Pop some asprin... Then after 15 minutes you run the epilator quickly over the surface of your face... you will rip out maybe 20 hairs or so.

Then you stop and wait 3-5minutes your natural endorphines will flow and given how painful it was intitally they will really flow for you... After the time has elapsed go into it with your epilator again and rip them all out... I won't lie to you it still hurts like hell but it's generally endurable. just about.

The other option whitch you've recently engaged in yourself. and I personally also engaged in when I was a teenager and it was coming through to begin with was to rip it out. and it can take entire days to do.

Beware however if you do it too much this can warp and distort the hair folicle and make it harder to treat for the electrologist when you finally visit one.

I think it was something to do with home laser units

Those items are not suitible for face use you won't get good results with them.

[Jayne]

I can't get laser treatment because of my skin, I spoke to my GP & she said that if I can stand the pain then epilation should be reasonably safe.

Pebbles, what brand of epilator did you use on your face? & doio you know how many tweezers it had? some female friends have said that less tweezers is less painfull but it takes longer & others have said it's better to have more tweezers in the epilator, any ideas?
Also would you like your medal in gold or would you prefer a chocolate one with gold foil?

[Sweet Blue Girl]

Once, in despair
I plucked all my beard hairs
There must be other ways, i say,
It took me three days!
And when i finally saw the result
My soft skin was quite an insult
Cause after other three days
Black hairs grow back at their place
All that suffering all that pain
Slowly faded away
And all my efforts ended
In being just an useless game.
So here's my advice
My dear sister
Don't let the sadness
Kill your patience unless
You really do find money enough
And a good known method to use
Just wait wait wait

[Jayne]

I'd love to be able to wait but it's really getting to me now.
More than anything I want to start dressing as a woman in public, the only thing in my way is the constant stubble.

If I see myself in a dream then i'm normaly female & when I wake up & see a stubbly man in the mirror then it means a day of being depressed.

[Jayne]

Unfortunately, shaving every day is wrecking my skin, the skin on my top lip is hard & below my bottom lip the skin is hard, cracked & very painfull.

My GP has said that epilating once a month may be better for my skin as it would have time to recover (if left alone & given the proper treatment my skin can recover from most states in about a week)

[Jayne]

Is it some sort of eczema? It sounds very nasty. I presume you have tried every moisturiser ever made? What about hydrocortisone? Has the GP prescribed that?

Beverley

The doctor has prescribed almost everything for my excema, i've got a bigger collection of creams, pills, potions & bath oils than my local chemist 
I've just been referred to a dermatologist (again) & barely managed to stay out of hospital with a bad flare up a couple of months ago.

At the moment i'm looking at ways of raising money for electrolysis, I guess the signed Star Trek photos will have to go, i've been saving them for a rainy day & I see clouds on the horizon.
I've got around 40 photos so they should raise a bit, I just need my broadband back & an ebay account to get started

[Jayne]

I wonder if oestrogen would help clear eczema? Seriously, though, it does sound very nasty.

When you are looking for an electrologist, contact trans groups and ask who they use. The bad ones (or average ones) can cause skin damage. I have already identified a few in my local area that the transgirls have used and they come highly recommended. With such sensitive skin the choice of the right practitioner is important - or so it seems to me.

Beverley

The first psyciatrist I saw said that as my excema is aggravated by emotions then getting my gender issues sorted may help.

The electrolosyst i've seen for a test patch said she has dealt with skin problems & is approved by the regulatory group for electrolosys in the UK, she is the only approved one in this part of the country & an hours consultation has given me a great deal of confidence in her.

[pebbles]

I'd love to be able to wait but it's really getting to me now.
More than anything I want to start dressing as a woman in public, the only thing in my way is the constant stubble.

If I see myself in a dream then i'm normaly female & when I wake up & see a stubbly man in the mirror then it means a day of being depressed.

http://www.gadgetspeak.com/gadget/article.rhtm/752/474944/Boots_silky_smooth_compact_epilator_Bran.html

First one on the right... admittedly it's not the best in the world. It's difficult to find one with the attributes you desire for your face depending on how thick it is (i'm guessing very thick) you want Slowish speed to reduce damage to the skin but very high amounts of torque to sucessfully tear out the deep hairs (those 3mm deep ones) at the root without just jarring them and leaving them to get infected.

The first psyciatrist I saw said that as my excema is aggravated by emotions then getting my gender issues sorted may help.

The electrolosyst i've seen for a test patch said she has dealt with skin problems & is approved by the regulatory group for electrolosys in the UK, she is the only approved one in this part of the country & an hours consultation has given me a great deal of confidence in her.

Estrogen might help as it will generally tend to make your skin thinner and less oily. Honestly tho for an inflammitory illness like eczema you might be much better off with progesterone as that hormone inhibits the inflammation responce.

[smooth]

Really not a good idea to pluck beard hair and an epilator is doing just that, so's waxing. It can and does strengthen hair and it can make permanent removal harder. Follicles benefit from an increased blood supply to repair the damage when the hair was ripped out. Future hairs end up being better nourished as a result and can have a stronger root requiring more energy to destroy (more dis comfort) and potentially a thicker hair. There's also ingrown hairs to worry about. These can take up to 9 weeks to appear after a hair has been plucked. They're not always easy to remove and they often end up infected. Removing them can leave a scar and shaving over the top of them (those red bumps) can remove skin down to the dermis and this can also result in scarring.
Plucking beard hair is only ever going to be temporary. I did try it once years ago when I didn't know better and it hurts. From memory I'd say it's similar to having a hair zapped with electrolysis, the obvious difference being that electrolysis isn't temporary....

[V M]

I've been plucking for a few years now, yes it is painful and dealing with ingrown hairs is bothersome    But it is what I can do until I can afford electro and/or laser... I have combination light and dark hair, plus a good percent has turned grey

The upper lip hairs do tend to hurt the most

One thing I have noticed is that my facial hair has thinned out over the past few years

[Annah]

omg you're going to pluck every hair follicle from your face? Ouch!

Wishing you the best!

[Kahlan Amnell]

It may seem impossible to get the money but once you set your mind to it, you never know what luck you will have. I recommend focusing on getting laser treatments to begin with if you have fair skin and dark hair especially.

I had the majority of my dark hairs wiped out within four full face and neck treatments of Intense pulsed light (IPL) ($145 each time)

Since then I've had some touchup Lightsheer Diode Laser and IPL from a different practitioner. All worked fabulous for me.

If you're gonna pluck and go the electrolysis route in the future, you better do some research. I've read that plucking causes deformity in the root and makes it more difficult to kill the hairs with electrolysis.

BTW - If anyone is doing electrolysis or contemplating it and needs to do research I heartily recommend going to the boards at http://www.hairtell.com/

Best of luck.

[titsup]

I can't afford to start elecrolysis at the moment & want to wait until i've started HRT to make it more effective/efficiant.
Because of ecxma I can't use too much make-up, partly because I get too hot & my skin fares up & partly because when my skin is flaky foundation makes it look worse than it really is.

I decided a few days ago to let my hair grow a bit & try plucking it out, I didn't care how long it would take as it would be worth it in the long run not to have to shave for a couple of weeks.

I found the hairs around my jaw & cheeks was almost painless as long as I pulled the skin tight, chin hairs hurt like hell to pluck but I came unstuck as soon as I tried to pluck the hairs from my top lip. . . . AAARGH!!!!!! doesn't even come close to describing it, after half a dozen hair were plucked I couldn't see a thing due to my eyes watering too much.
I'm just really glad that I did a test of each area before I spent my whole weekend with tweezers in hand.

If anyone has managed to tweezer their facial hair off then they deserve a medal of epic proportions.
If anyone is considering doing this then try your top lip first, if you can handle the pain & watering eyes then the rest of your face will be plain sailing, as a famous space smuggler once said "good luck, you'll need it"

So true, pulling hair is repetive but than electroliysis is not pic nil either.

[titsup]

It may seem impossible to get the money but once you set your mind to it, you never know what luck you will have. I recommend focusing on getting laser treatments to begin with if you have fair skin and dark hair especially.

I had the majority of my dark hairs wiped out within four full face and neck treatments of Intense pulsed light (IPL) ($145 each time)

Since then I've had some touchup Lightsheer Diode Laser and IPL from a different practitioner. All worked fabulous for me.

If you're gonna pluck and go the electrolysis route in the future, you better do some research. I've read that plucking causes deformity in the root and makes it more difficult to kill the hairs with electrolysis.

BTW - If anyone is doing electrolysis or contemplating it and needs to do research I heartily recommend going to the boards at http://www.hairtell.com/

Best of luck.

where did you here this about deformity?

[Kahlan Amnell]

Google this:

distorted follicles caused by plucking

You'll see lots of references from good sources that explain how the follicle get's distorted and makes it more difficult for successful kills in electrolysis, which in the long run just means a lot more pain and money.

[pebbles]

Google this:

distorted follicles caused by plucking

You'll see lots of references from good sources that explain how the follicle get's distorted and makes it more difficult for successful kills in electrolysis, which in the long run just means a lot more pain and money.

If your facial hair is thick enough then it's likely to be distorted anyway from repetitive tugging from shaving.