beard removal before coming out

[Kaelleria]

Even for dark skin or light hair, laser can work. A laser with a 1064 nm wavelegnth is ideal for working on people with those features.

[Divine]

Can anyone confirm or deny that being on hormones helps keep the hair from coming back. Also I thought the point of lazer/elec was to permanently stop hair from growing in the treated areas? How much does each treatment or session cost? I am wanting to get this done as well, I do not want to shave anymore and do not need the shadow...

[Kaelleria]

It was $2100 for an 8 session laser package. In my area this is actually fairly cheap. For electrolysis I'd probably have been looking at upwards of $9000 for similar area (on of my friends was quoted this). 6 Months after the last treatment I've had 0 hair regrowth other than very small, very fine blond hairs.

While I can't say the situation will be the same years from now, based upon others' experiences I don't think I'll be having much in the way of hair regrowth. I believe hormones retard the hair growth process slightly.

[K8]

Hormones have very little effect on facial hair (MTF).  (I believe it was an NIH [US National Institutes of Health] site that I read this.)  Hormones may slow the growth a little and soften the hair, but the effect is slight.  (I suppose genetics may come in here - larger effect for some and no effect for others.)

Hair grows in three stages, and only one is visible (I think).  That is the hair that laser and electro work on.  The hair in the other two stages isn't affected, so you have to wait until it is in the visible stage and zap it then.  That's why it appears that an area will be cleared and grow back.  The zapped hair didn't grow back - it's the hair that was dormant while the other hair was zapped.

My electro gal said some people it seems like she just keeps clearing the same area over and over, which is frustrating for her and for the client.  Other people, once she clears it, it stays cleared with only stray ones that were missed earlier showing up.  So it all depends on how your facial hair grows.

We're all different.  Some of us have very dense beards - many hairs - and some have sparse beards.  I think the amount of hair, not the coarseness of the hair, is what is relevant.

For me it has been a long process.  I got laser and have finished, but I'm still getting electrolysis 19 months after I started.  Start when you know that you don't want facial hair and have the funds.

- Kate

[pheonix]

Start when you know that you don't want facial hair and have the funds.

THIS.

Because of several mitigating factors my facial hair was never really noticeable if I shaved every day.  So I kept pushing off electro.  I even decided to go on HRT prior to dealing with electro figuring changes would be so gradual I'd have plenty of time to deal with it.  It turned out to be a huge mistake on my part... within months the Hormones affected my body far quicker than average, and I found myself needing to go full time with unresolved facial hair.  It eventually did need to get dealt with thanks to the annoyance factor.  Because of my slow growth curve I needed to grow hair out for several days before there was enough for my electrologist to work on them.  While it's never really been an issue from a presentation standpoint, it's definitely had a psychological effect on me walking around with hair on my face.

So when asked, my advice with *anyone* starting out... "facial hair removal first!"

[pheonix]

p.s. Something that has been bugging me about facial hair removal since I first looked into it, how can they charge us so much money for it, it's practically more than surgery itself. It seems like the hourly cost is meant for people doing limited work. It shouldnt apply to us, yet they seem to see big dollar signs with TS people.

Not knowing what you've been quoted, I would suggest shopping around.  In my area the eletrologists who want trans business tend to price themselves with discounts towards blocks of time.  The only reason the costs mount for us is electro is a time consuming process.

To be honest, given the certification they need to go through, cost of rent and equipment and given the actual number of hours they can book clients, the rates don't seem unreasonable to me.  I pay $80/hour where I go.  When you figure realistically she can only book a maximum of 4-5 hours per day (times when people wouldn't be at work) that translates to an average professional wage here.

(On another note - Valarie, I didn't intend any judgment in what I said.  I merely wrote what I suggest to people when asked and base it on my personal experience.  For me social transition was far more critical than biological transition, which I recognize is a tad atypical).

[K8]

My electrolysis is $60/hour.  When I looked into transition years ago, the advice was that beard removal was the most expensive part of the process.  It still can be, but with the rapidly escalating medical costs in the last decade usually GRS is more expensive.

And I think that we are all saying the same thing: We each go through the process differently depending on our needs and resources, but there is no need to wait until after starting HRT to begin removing facial hair if you want to and can begin earlier.

(BTW: I''ve already spent over $8,000 and 20 months on laser and electrolysis and am not done. )

- Kate

[Jalene E.]

I did not start hair removal until my estrogen level was at a level that is normal for most woman. The reason I did this is because estrogen prevents the thinner light hairs from becoming thick hairs that need to be shaved. Hair grows in stages we all have hair that will go dormant for a period then grow again thats why when you have laser or electro you have hair grow back in that area it was sleeping. Estrogen can stop some of this hair from growing again.

My facial hair decreased some even before I started electolysis. Waiting until you are on hrt for at least 4 months means less trips to have hair removed and less money. I never had much facial hair so getting rid of it has been fast. I was around 23 years old before I even had facial hair. Thankfully I was never a hairy person.

[Lacey Lynne]

These days, any guy (trans or not) could do beard removal, and most people might notice but probably would not care.  No biggie.  Just tell 'em your tired of shaving. 

My gender counselor advised me to have electrolysis before hormone replacement therapy.  Why?  Because, deeper into hormone replacement therapy (at which point I now am) your skin is much softer, thinner and more sensitive and will tear and rip much more easily ..., and it'll probably hurt more.  Laser?  Works fine on darker hair shades but NOT on salt-and-pepper gray or solid gray beards.  If you have laser and you're African-American or darker-skinned, have a pro do it and be VERY careful.  The laser (Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation) (there is a magnetic antecedent, but it's not available for consumer use, and wisely so!) (Dangerous doo-doo, man!) beam can easily burn and damage dark skin!  Be aware of this!

I planned to have electrolysis before now, but I've been helping several different people financially and have put it off for that reason. 

I'm thinking about buying a home-laser unit (By strict technical definition, these things are not really lasers.) to remove body hair ... or at least start the process.  You'll do well to research the different units on the market, because some of them are moreorless useless, but there ARE some that WORK quite well, all things consider.

Good luck!   

As I'm writing this, Lou Reed's song "Take a Walk on the Wild Side" is playing!  How ironic!