Is it worth it?

[kae m]

I have been shopping around for a laser place.  Tomorrow I'm going in for probably my last consultation, I've been to two other places so far.  The first one was terrible.  The doctor was rude, impatient, and was completely dismissive of any concerns I brought up.  I didn't even get to the "by the way, I'm on some medication..." thing before I made up my mind and left.  The second place was absolutely wonderful.  The nurse was totally comfortable, more than happy to answer my questions even though I had a lot of them, and she was very hygiene and safety oriented.  She caught on to why I was there before I had to bring it up and told me that although they haven't seen any other trans clients, she doesn't see why that would be an issue.  This third place I'm going to mostly to price compare with the last one.

But the question "is it worth it?" comes up because I'm looking to get my upper body done, not my face.  My face has red and blonde hairs, laser isn't an option for me there, but my body hairs are dark brown and black.  I get very bad ingrown hairs no matter what I do to get rid of the hair (waxing, shaving, nair/veet/etc all end up the same way).  It's not so much the hairs, but my skin is extremely sensitive.  The hairs trying to come to the surface causes inflammation which then blocks the hairs from breaking the surface of the skin.  Nothing that I've tried over the past 5 or so years has been effective to prevent it.  I've had to resort to trimming everything as close as possible, but yeah, gross.

Now I'm wondering if it's really worth it, or if I'm just being impatient.  I could wait another 6 months or so to see if HRT helps, but I want to prevent any extra damage from happening to my skin.  I'm on E now, but I won't be on spiro for about 6 weeks depending on how my labs turn out.  I'm guessing, maybe not correctly, that I won't need a full course of treatments because of what the hormones will do.  Realistically I'm looking at spending about $1800-2200 if I do decide on doing laser for my upper back, chest, and shoulders for 2 or 3 treatments.  At this point I have the money set aside in my account, so that's not as much of an issue, but it could really be useful for other things.  Has anyone else had these areas done?  How did the results turn out?

[Alyssa M.]

Based on my experience with my face, it certainly helped with the issues you are talking about. I used to get ingrown hairs after I shaved, especially if I went "against the grain" but now I can shave what's left (much less hair, and less coarse) as close as I want and it's just fine.

Part of the reason I felt compelled to start HRT was that I was beginning to grow chest hair noticeably. It was just the last straw. I couldn't abide another masculine development like that. I haven't needed anything for my chest -- I just pluck whatever I see, and hope for the HRT to kick in and get rid of it -- but I certainly wouldn't be able to abide it. With the facial hair, I can't believe how worth it it was, even with incomplete results. I feel so much more at ease without that constant, daily blow to my self-image.

[Mister]

i don't know crap about laser, but as for the fee comparison, i've found is that i'd prefer any sort of provider (be it doctor, barber, mechanic, whatever..) that makes me feel more taken care of than one that saves me a few bucks.

[Hannah]

I would not think it's worth that much money, but that's just me. In six months you would have to wax the area twice, maybe three times...even less frequently once you get that spiro going. That's like $15 worth of wax and stuff total. That being said I personally couldn't bear it and had a little patch nuked off my back *shudder*, but if I had been able to reach it to wax it I probably would not have and saved a bunch of money. Two thousand dollars is a quarter of a new forehead, half a new nose, lots of therapy sessions, chemical peels, there's all sorts of fun and exciting things to spend it on.

[K8]

i don't know crap about laser, but as for the fee comparison, i've found is that i'd prefer any sort of provider (be it doctor, barber, mechanic, whatever..) that makes me feel more taken care of than one that saves me a few bucks.

I'm with Mister. 

If you have the money, I would go ahead with lasering the chest hair.  HRT will only do so much.  I went in to laser my face but now am having my chest, stomach, and legs done, too.  Smooth skin and not having to shave or wax is wonderful.

(BTW, I'm getting two-for-one at my laser place.  She's removing my hair and is so much fun to talk to and knows so much about TS people that my laser sessions are almost like therapy. )

- Kate

[FairyGirl]

I'm with Mister.

Agreed.

(BTW, I'm getting two-for-one at my laser place.  She's removing my hair and is so much fun to talk to and knows so much about TS people that my laser sessions are almost like therapy. )

Same here too! I really like going to see the nurse that does my laser (except for the pain of course) and she is very helpful, she even volunteered to speak to our local TG support group. Finding someone like that is more important than saving a few bucks.

[Steph]

I'm not sure if you are on HRT yet.  However if you're not you may want to hold off on removing your body hair.  Generally, HRT does cause body hair to grow in lighter and finer.  It did with me and in many other, but as with anything you mileage my vary.

-={LR}=-

[Julie Marie]

Give the HRT a chance first.  If it was your face I'd say go for it because HRT does little to lessen that growth.  But the rest of the body HRT can practically eliminate hair growth.  I used to shave my legs every day pre-HRT.  I can go for a month now and you barely notice any growth.  I had a fair amount of chest hair which now is all practically gone.  Same with the arms.

It's up to you but if it were me I'd definitely let the HRT do it's work before spending thousands on something that isn't permanent.

Julie

[ArleneTgirl]

I started laser prior to hormones, but honestly think that hormones had more of an impact.  My laser place does give a 2 year guarentee after the last treatment, so i continue on.  I agree with the theraputic part of it.  All the technicians who have worked on me have been absolutely wonderful.  Still, it is expensive, and we find many uses for our disposable income, so, choose what works for you.

[kae m]

Thanks for the replies 

i don't know crap about laser, but as for the fee comparison, i've found is that i'd prefer any sort of provider (be it doctor, barber, mechanic, whatever..) that makes me feel more taken care of than one that saves me a few bucks.

Totally, that's my plan.  But not all lasers are created equal and this next place (which rescheduled my consultation til Saturday, grr!) uses a different kind of laser which is arguably better for my skin type.  But I've read enough arguments for both types to know that it's really up to the skill of the technician.  I'm pretty much set on where I'm going to go, but having a third price sheet to negotiate cost can't hurt.


I am leaning toward getting it done, but not starting until I get on spiro because from what I understand it's the lack of T more than the presence of E that's going to do anything for my hair.  My endo doesn't prescribe spiro right away to people starting at the point of development I am at, but I have been taking estrogen for 6 weeks or so now.  My next labs are due at the end of the month, as long as everything is normal, that's when I'll start on spiro.

I really like going to see the nurse that does my laser (except for the pain of course) and she is very helpful, she even volunteered to speak to our local TG support group. Finding someone like that is more important than saving a few bucks.

My electrologist is awesome like that, I already see her a couple hours a week for my face though.  She's so totally supportive and helpful in more than just clearing my face, she has one of those personalities that you can't help but like her.  We could talk for hours if it wasn't for her zapping my mouth and everything

[ArleneTgirl]

Sounds like you have an excellent plan and perspective.  You're going to do wonderfully.