Facial hair

[tiffany leung]

Hi all,

As I am scheduled to 'come out' as a girl this summer, my therapist and I are working hard to make myself as physically 'presentable' as possible by that time.

Because of this, my therapist suggested me to consider permanent laser facial hair removal this month. I checked the price for this online, and I suppose that in my town they charge around USD600 or so for a whole package of facial hair removal. My speculation might be wrong since I have not yet confirmed the price by phone calls.

But anyway, I don't think I can afford laser hair removal at this stage as a student. All I can do is probably by shaving them off.

My facial hair is rather unnoticeable though, perhaps because that I am currently under HRT. It grows rather slow too, but since I want to minimise its affect on my appearance, I insist to shave it everyday.

I heard some says that by shaving too often one can eventually develop a shadow above the lips, and I really fear of getting this. I fear that I will have such a shadow someday and any laser treatments will be too late.

If it is true, do you have any suggestions to minimise the harm to skin by shaving? Thanks!

Tiffany

[GinaDouglas]

Old wives' tale.

[spacial]

It might well be an old wives tale to be honest.

However, when I put myself on hold, (0ver 30 years ago now,    ) I was worrid about that as well and have rarely ever shaved all my facial hair off, preferring to keep it a few mm.

I know the skin under it is still is really good condition, compared to others who have shaved regularly, since.

I always assumed that the problem is caused by the drying effect of soap. If that is the case, then perhaps a good moisturiser might help.

[ClaireA]

Shaving, from what I've heard, is actaully good for your skin - it exfoliates.

We're in the same situation - college student and going full-time this summer when I graduate. Do anything you can to get the hair removal done now. At least with electrolysis, you have to grow your facial hair out a bit before each treatment. I'm part-time right now, so it is ok for it to grow out now, but I'm making sure I'm done before summer. Use the time you have to get it out of the way, if at all possible.

[spacial]

Shaving, from what I've heard, is actaully good for your skin - it exfoliates.

That's what I was told. But to be honest, I don't have any skin problems at all.

If you're worried about the effects of shaving, may I suggest you invest in some decent electric rasers. Some are really good. A plug in one for use at home and a battery one for when you're out/

Think that's what I'd be doing, in your situation.

[Maddie Secutura]

I don't know.  I still have a mild shadow above my lip despite not having any hair there. 

[JennX]

No, that is 100% false. Actually even during laser hair removal, you are encouraged to shave on a regular basis to keep the hair as short as possible so the laser light energy can penetrate deeper down to the root and kill the follicle completely.

[CaitJ]

I have virtually nothing, bar a dusting of blond and transparent hairs, so I just shave with a razor.
Apparently laser doesn't have any effect on light coloured hairs, so there's no point in using it if you don't have dark hairs.

[melissa42013]

Kind of an interesting story. About 15 years ago I had the fortune to meet the guy that funded the research into laser hair removal.  I was in a meeting and he told us that he was approached by a Russian scientist after the USSR collapsed.

Apparently the scientist was working on the Soviet research into the SDI/Star Wars program. He had set up a laser array and walked into the path of the laser beam. He had done it a number of times before but this time the hair on his leg (wearing shorts) fell out where the laser hit it. He told nobody about his discovery but approached this investor once he left the USSR.

The research was to determine why the laser would not remove hair under certain circumstances. What they discovered was that there was a element in the grease that he had in his lab, that when the laser hit it, would vaporize the hair at the root. I thought this was pretty amazing. Fast forward about fifteen years and it is common place. So think about that the next time you are getting zapped.

-M

[glitter]

Facial hair sucks. It's really just the worst. A curse. But oh well.

[Sarah B]

Hi Tiffany

You mentioned in your post:

My facial hair is rather unnoticeable though, perhaps because that I am currently under HRT. It grows rather slow too, but since I want to minimise its affect on my appearance, I insist to shave it everyday.

Your facial hair is unnoticeable because you are young and the effects of the Testosterone has not yet had the full affect on your hairs.  Secondly you have been on hormones for nearly 4 months (correct me if I'm wrong) and this will prevent further effects of the testosterone on your hairs.  Also the estrogen will more than likely prevent new hairs from growing and maybe make the current hairs lighter in colour.

I would presume that you have sparse hairs on your face, so have them waxed off, either professionally or by yourself.  In which case you can go at least a week between waxes and during the week you can tweezer the odd hair that comes through and if that is not possible then a little make up would cover it.

By waxing and the effects of the hormones, your hairs may turn white, which in my case they did, which helped me immensely.  My routine was basically this, wax on Sunday, work during the week, electrolysis on Saturday.  This continued until waxing became point less and electrolysis finished the process for me.

Taking care of your hair this way will allow you to concentrate on your studies, will not cost you too much money and protect your skin from shaving problems.

Kind regards
Sarah B

[Nigella]

If you are on HRT try getting some Vaniqa cream, its made for females that have facial hair growth and slows down and thins the hair. Its also good to use because when you have laser the hair is already less course. I get this through my GP. Not sure how much it would be paying yourself over the counter. Google it. It worked for me and I then had six laser sessions. Laser at the mo only works on dark hair.

Stardust