I've been following this thread and most of the others relating to hair removal here at Susan's because it's a subject that's close to my heart. My main interest is electrolysis because that's what I'm aiming to do professionally once I'm happy I've reached a good standard. I'm forever raising my eyebrows at some of the things that people say. It's sad but there is a lot of bad information about what works and what doesn't, It bugs me big time. I'm hoping that as more time passes I'll be able to shrug it off and just accept that that's how life is, we're bogged down in BS and there's a lot of people making a lot of money off the back of it.
I think there's always going to be an argument around which is best, laser or electrolysis and I doubt it will ever be resolved completely. I'm heavily biased towards electrolysis because I know that with a good practitioner it works and will remove Any hair permanently. I was prompted to throw in my two penneths worth when I read Cindys post. Where she says "I'm now clear but have to get the upper lip touched up about every 2-3 months." Sorry Cindy I'm not picking on you
When you say "clear" I think it's a little... misleading, I'll try to clear up why.
First I'll start by saying that there are obviously exceptions to every rule and there's always going to someone who stands up and let's everyone else know it. I've been that person more than once
But! Having looked into it, it's becoming apparent and even obvious that laser will only take Most people to a certain point with hair removal at which time no further progress will be made.... I know this to be true from personal experience and from talking with and corresponding with some very experienced people in this field. It's been said and noticed more and more by electrologists everywhere that laser is actually good for business. There was a fear initially when laser was introduced as a means of "permanent hair removal" that electrolysis was going to vanish for good. As time has passed however this has proved not to be the case and laser treatments can no longer be called permanent hair removal. Strictly speaking it should be referred to as permanent hair reduction because this is the reality of it. Laser has prompted more people to consider permanent hair removal as an option because it made it appear like it is easy to achieve. When they start on this quest it ultimately ends up with them tracking down a good electrologist to finish the job if what they want to achieve is "Clearance" (no more hairs, no touch ups and "no plucking the odd hair here and there") As Cindy pointed out when she said she is "now clear" she still has to do touch ups every 2-3 months. Cindy's experience is probably quite typical of a lot of people who have solely used laser to remove any facial hair. There are going to be others who have also had electrolysis but were unfortunate in that they couldn't/didn't find a good electrologist to finish their hair removal 100% "Clear!" their story will be similar. Unfortunately there are by all accounts plenty of so called electrologists out there who are not doing good work. This is giving the profession a bad name and eating away at the good reputation that electrolysis deserves. I dare say there is a similar situation with laser practitioners as there is in many professions. The difference being that a good electrologist will get rid of all of the hair because they are able to but a good laser operator won't because they are always going to be restrained by the fact that laser treatments do have limits beyond which they don't work. Typically these limitations will be experienced by most TG people trying to remove facial "beard" hair.
The hair removal business generates millions and millions every year as people strive to be hair free. The companies producing the lasers for hair removal are constantly bringing out new models that supercede the last one. Where it didn't work before they claim that it now does. It's starting to look a little bit like the approach that the manufacturers of mascara have. We're always seeing new brands appearing that make claims about the longest lashes, no clumping, longer lasting etc. Do they live up to their marketing.... "Do they EK!" as they say in Yorkshire
Both laser and mascara are simply trying their best to strangle every last penny form their potential market share. Does that equate to better treatment/longer lashes, I'll leave that conclusion to you...
I do personally think that laser does achieve a level of success with removing a typical male beard. However I'm also aware that if you want it gone completely then the reality will probably mean finding a good electrologist to finish off what the laser started. Not everyone feels the need to be 100% clear, some people are happy plucking the odd hair here and there or going in for touch ups, this will be on going..... if you find a good electrologist you will be able to forget about it for good. Until menopause of course but that's another story for another post and is common to a lot of women TG or otherwise...
