My E3000 Results

[LizMarie]

Here is the thing with E3000 for me.

1. They use pain killers to make the session easy.
2. They do full facial clears each session.
3. They are only 4 hours drive for me which does not bug me in the least.

I've never seen them advertise "3 and done" so I am unfamiliar with that claim. When we started she told me "probably 7-9 sessions but maybe a few more" and she said this because I had very dense facial hair. But the total reduction has been massive. See the picture below. That was a quick selfie taken today. My hair (human hair wig) is pulled back into a pony tail. But look at my lower face. I am still shaving daily but it's now very sparse and that pic is with no makeup at all aside from some lip gloss. A very trifling light foundation, some powder, and I'm ready to go. Gone are the days of massive makeup prep to hide beard shadow.

The roughness in the face is still there but there is basically no beard shadow left. That roughness comes from three things (I am told):

1. Years of shaving.
2. Remaining hair follicles.
3. The facial skin being far more sensitive now under 2+ years of estrogen than before under testosterone.

All in all, I am quite pleased with the progress. I don't think we'll be done in 9 sessions but I can see 10 or 11 total. And it still will be a bargain given that my original estimate for weekly 1 hour sessions here in Houston was 3 years at $75 per hour which would have totaled about $11,700. This is going to come in at under 18 months. My current expense is about $6150 so far and I expect to spend about another $2000. Even adding $100 overnight food and lodging costs to each trip will only add another thousand to the total, so this is going to probably save me about $2700 and 18 months and I don't have to be in pain constant because of it. Oh, and I only grow the face out for a few days every 6-7 weeks.

I do plan a full facial peel once this is done to help smooth out the complexion and that roughness. I fully expect to have a complexion that no one will be able to tell was ever male. Add in some FFS later and I believe I'm going to look damned good for an older lady.

[jeni]

I do plan a full facial peel once this is done to help smooth out the complexion and that roughness. I fully expect to have a complexion that no one will be able to tell was ever male. Add in some FFS later and I believe I'm going to look damned good for an older lady.

After? You look damned good for a lady (older or otherwise, we're all older than someone!) right now!

[LizMarie]

I think I do look pretty good at this point. A cups in the breast, a nice figure (38-31-37, shooting for 38-29-37 eventually), and my face is pretty good. But there's enough tell-tale male there compared to my sister and my daughter that it bugs me. So after GCS at some point, I'll follow with FFS and a full facial peel. I think at that point, I'll look almost like my mother, may she rest in peace. I always did think she was a beautiful woman and other people said that to so if I can get to look like even a shadow of my mother, I'll be immensely pleased.

[Aphaea]

As another E3K patient with seven sessions done so far I asked about the amount of sessions to completely remove it. The reply I got back that complete removal takes around 12 sessions, but there is still the possibility of a hair popping up. Mostly it is advertised as around six sessions,  but that is because many clients stop coming for various reasons. While I am happy with my results so far I still feel as if I have a long ways to go.

[jeni]

I've got my first appointment scheduled in March and I'd like to make hotel arrangements. I see they've got a couple options with discounts on their site. Any recommendations or experience with those or other alternatives?

[LizMarie]

I use the Baymont in Lewisville. Make sure the site has been update to reference to the new location in Lewisville. I've not checked the site since before they moved so am not aware if it's updated or not. There are cheaper accomodations, and I've tried a few but been happiest with the Baymont. I show up in androgynous mode, am never given any flack for a female name with a hairy face, and they have a nice continental breakfast before driving over to the office, just a few miles away.

One thing I am noticing is the less hair left, the more irritated my skin gets in the final two weeks before the next appointment, where there are still some concentrations of hair. For me, that's the chin and the jawline, and a very small area right at either corner of the mouth. All of those are far less dense than when we started but still the worst parts of my face (YMMV of course) and with HRT at 28+ months now, the irritation that a large, thick male facial hair does to my skin is quite noticeable. And when there are a lot of them, they are annoying in the extreme.

I love my face for the first 2.5 weeks after a session then it starts coming in thick enough again that I have to resume shaving, and by the 5th or 6th week, it's downright irritating.

[jeni]

Thanks! The Baymont looks like a winner to me. It's cheaper and closer than their cheaper discounted option. The one they suggest has a shuttle service, but since I'll have my car that's not a requirement. (Their site is up to date, and they were very helpful about offering travel and lodging tips when I called to make the appointment.)

Sorry to hear about the irritation, I hope it's done soon!

[LizMarie]

The image below is a comparison from before my first E3000 session in December 2013 to today, which is immediately before my ninth E3000 session on Friday morning.

Clearly there is still facial hair to be removed but just as clearly there has been a gigantic reduction in total facial hair. The densest areas remain the jawline and the lower chin. The neck is beginning to thin nicely now also. And I took a magnifying mirror and did a rough count - my upper lip probably has about 60-70 total hairs left on it, compared to hundred when I began.

I am fairly certain I will complete facial hair removal sometime this year, and maybe even in the first half of the year. Overall, I am pleased.

[LizMarie]

The latest session, on February 6th, was $565, about 5 hours and 20 minutes total or "a hair more than before" as I joked to a friend. However, Denise remarked that there was noticeably less hair and that she was taking more and more care with each remaining hair now, occasionally zapping the same hair twice when she wasn't certain about it. I'm expecting 3-6 more sessions at this rate but who knows? Facial hair can be rather unpredictable.

[LizMarie]

I had a session on March 12th, of about 4.5 hours, $471 total. Hair reduction continues, slowly but steadily yet there remains a lot of annoying hair especially on the jawline and lower chin. The throat continues to thin out nicely and the cheeks now just have a few stray hairs per session. The upper lip continues to be stubborn, with probably 75-100 total hairs removed during the last 3 sessions each. It's obviously very thin yet just as obviously hairy enough to be bothersome.


My next session will have to wait until July. I was told I should wait at least two months after FFS, which I am doing in late April, so late June or early July made sense. Since I will be going to Thailand in mid-July, I chose to get it done in the first week of July. The next session after that will likely be sometime in September, if it's still needed (which I suspect it will).

My surgeries this year will stretch out my time for finishing facial hair removal but I won't stop at this point, that's for sure!

[jeni]

Thanks for the update. I'm a couple weeks away from my first visit. Feeling kind of anxious, but looking forward to getting it over with.

[jeni]

On my way to Dallas, appointment is in a couple days. It's funny, I'm more worried about coming out to an old friend in the area than spending 14 hours having my face poked, prodded, and zapped.

Incidentally any suggestions for food in the area? I'm thinking I'll want to bring something with me for lunch, and probably something that doesn't involve being out in public for dinner... :-)

[LizMarie]

I just noticed this, Jeni. Sorry! I always just do fast food via a drive through on the day of my session. I usually eat early before leaving Houston to go to Lewisville since it's a four hour drive approximately. I have the complimentary breakfast at the Baymont, getting up early enough that people don't notice me. And I tend to dress very andro most of the time when doing this.

[jeni]

Thanks, it worked out great. I stopped at Subway in the AM and stuck a sandwich in the fridge there, then on the second day brought in some pizza that I had delivered to the hotel. (I had a friend hanging out with me, so I let him answer the door.)

The hotel was pretty empty, so there wasn't a crowd at breakfast. The first day I just popped down to grab some pastries rather than linger, though. That was  more because I didn't want to drool all over the tables trying to eat with my upper lip swollen. :-)

For me it was about a 14 hour drive which I split up into a couple days. They've added more affordable flights into Dallas now, so I think next time I can fly and rent a car for the same cost as the gas and hotel en route. I am also now more confident that my swelling will be at a level where I can be out in public after a day's healing. (I'm booked for two days next time, but even on this one I only needed a couple hours on the second day to clean up my chin.)

I am really, really, really happy with the experience. Well, aside from the whole electrolysis thing. The time in the chair went a thousand times faster than I expected. It helped that there was a really good radio station on (well, great up until ad where the morning deejay did his "ha ha I'm a ->-bleeped-<-" "joke." Even by standards of that "joke" it was pathetic.)

[LizMarie]

Yeah, the fact they number your face makes it so much easier to tolerate. Like I said before, I've fallen asleep in the chair as they've worked on me.

It's also about 3 weeks since the March 12th clearing and we crossed a threshold. I can let it go an extra day and unless someone gets close t my face, they can't see that there is facial hair there. And where it is, it is very spotty now. Right jawline is almost bare now but the left is a bit thicker. Bottom of the chin remains hairier than anywhere else but even that is far thinner than before.

So this is at 10 sessions for me. I don't know how many more I'll need but there's a light at the end of the tunnel and I don't think it's an oncoming train!

[LizMarie]

This is an update. Progress continues!

After an almost 4 month break, since I had FFS in late April and had to let the face heal before continuing hair removal, I had another session on Thursday, July 2nd, 2015. This was session #11. While it still looked and felt horrible to me, it was far less hair than ever before. Despite nearly 4 months since the last session, there were just 3 hours in the chair this time. Technically it was 4 hours, but she needed to take a few breaks in there as I guess she was assisting a new electrologist who was getting familiar with how things were done while working on another client.

So I was billed for basically 3 hours, $318.

I can't tell how far away it is, but there's light at the end of this tunnel now, finally.

As usual, the Baymont Inn where I usually stay, was courteous both at checkin and checkout (no comments about the bearded lady).

Since I am having GCS in July, my next session will be mid-October, after I've had time to heal down there a bit.

[jeni]

Great! Thanks for the update! Glad things are progressing (and congrats on the FFS and upcoming GRS).

When I was in a few weeks ago, the new electrologists were there. One, who was still in trainee, worked on me the second day. That was a little anxiety-inducing at first, but she was great.

Baymont is great, though I present male when interacting with the front desk so I don't really test those waters. It's nicely quiet, though. It's also nice they've got the Cracker Barrel next door. I mustered up the courage to go in for breakfast with a 3/4-hairless, asymmetrically swollen face last time. Nobody said a thing (though the Texan courtesy runs a little heavy on the "sir" for my tastes...). The Baymont waffles are great, but I felt like something a little different that morning.

[LizMarie]

Since last fall when I got my court order done, I've not even attempted to pretend male again. Even for these appointments. I suspect the Baymont gets its share of E3000 customers. And my IDs and credit card are all in my female name, female pictures. I'd rather honestly explain the facial hair, if asked, than try to deal with me using a woman's credit card while trying to look male anymore.

[LizMarie]

October 18th was session #12 for me at E3000.

It is now more than two weeks later. I am currently shaving only every third day or so. I suspect we're near the end but not quite there. There are a couple patches on the left jawline that are annoying and on the neck. The remainder are all stragglers except for two small clusters of hair at each corner of my mouth (so annoying!).

I was told 70-90 total technician hours. It now looks like that's going to be very close.

I'm almost done, and after FFS, BA, and GCS earlier this year, my medical needs now become routine endocrinology things and just living my life.

I remain super satisfied with E3000. The comfort, compared to electrolysis without lidocaine injections, is huge. And I did that for nine months before booking my first trip to E3000 nearly 2 years ago.

I've had reasonably dense and unfortunately stubborn facial hair, yet they've consistently and professionally tackled it each time.

I have nothing but praise for my personal experience at E3000.

[LizMarie]

I forgot to put an entry here for my Dec. 18th session. Under 3 hours! Hair is getting very sparse. I'm not sure how many more sessions there will be but the end continues to approach.

Once again, my latest session was done very well and professionally, and I am very happy with the results.

My next session will be Feb. 12th.