Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I've recently tried shaving my legs, chest, butt, etc., but it never comes out as close as my face. I use an electric razor, and up there it works like a charm. But everywhere else, the hair just lays down flat no matter what I try to do, and I can never get it to feel smooth in all directions. There's always just enough hair left...

If it's long, you're going to have a hard time with an electric razor; you need to trim it first.

Obvious stuff aside, I don't think electric razors work terribly well on body hair. Plus, a face razor is probably not made the same way as a body razor. I think you'd be much better off with blade razors such as Schick Quattro; those don't fail.

I found the best to use is something you can clean easy,
so I use an old kind double edge safety razor
the blades for it are very low price,
and it works very well.
here is the one I got
Merkur Model 180 Long Handled Safety Razor
http://www.amazon.com/Merkur-Model-180-Handled-Safety/dp/B000NL0T1G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 (http://www.amazon.com/Merkur-Model-180-Handled-Safety/dp/B000NL0T1G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8)
and I get the blades from a local store because they sell them

  Yeah that electric razor isn't gonna cut it lol. For razors i'd recommend the Venus line, or you could use Nair is works great too!

  I personally wax any hair off, it last much longer then shaving and depilatory creams and after waxing for so long your hair becomes lighter and less dense. Try Veet wax stripes they're really easy to use and cheap (around 7-8 dollars) and with one box I can do my legs and arm hair and they stay smooth for 3-4 weeks!  :D

 

 Epilator o.o

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!
I'll definitely keep them in mind. :)

dont use a face electric razor to shave your body, it wont do the same it does on your face because it's not designed for that purpose.
disposable razors work really well for me and are not expensive at all. use a new one every time you shave to avoid cuts.

Quote from: Danielle×o on January 17, 2012, 04:54:19 PM
For razors i'd recommend the Venus line, or you could use Nair is works great too!

I agree with the Venus line of razors.  I do not, whatsoever, agree with using Nair or like-products.

Quote from: Kelly J. P. on January 17, 2012, 05:13:34 PM
Epilator o.o

This I agree with as well.

Make sure to use a good shaving cream as well.  If not shaving cream, conditioner works too.

Quote from: Kelly J. P. on January 17, 2012, 05:13:34 PM
Epilator o.o

This.  I got a Braun epilator off Amazon a few weeks ago and it works perfectly.

Epilators, however, have the drawback of being the one most painful hair removal method, and the longest, too. It takes me about three hours for an arm, elbow to fingers.... After which I stop and wait for a while until I do the other arm (lol) because I cry in pain. Higher part of the arm, I succeeded in doing it once, but i,m not able to anymore. Feels like I'm tearing the skin off. Legs are pretty much fine until the knee, but anything higher is impossible since it's too much pain, and even if you can endure it, the thin skin gets stuck. And anything else is out of question, since it's even more painful.

Talking for me only. Appears many people can endure epilation on their whole body. T'would seem I'm a wimp.

 It's all about how dense your hair is. My arms are pretty easy, but my tummy is a nightmare. Not unbearable... just close is all.  :P If you thin it out a bit beforehand (with a razor, or tweezers), it will be easier... and you can follow up with the thinned-out hair when that pops up again.

I just use a razor on my arms, legs and chest (visible part) and face. I hope HRT will thin the body hair (if I ever start!).

Quote from: PaigeM on January 18, 2012, 12:38:03 AM
I just use a razor on my arms, legs and chest (visible part) and face. I hope HRT will thin the body hair (if I ever start!).

Hopefully. I do hope that you have plans for if it doesn't, though - that's just one of many things that may or may not happen for seemingly no reason at all.

I'm sure that was a totally unnecessary note to leave... however, one can never see every outcome to whatever they do.

I had my chest lasered, it only took a couple of sessions, and I really didn't want hairy boobs :embarrassed:

Unfortunately for me, what isn't blonde is red :-(

 I wish I could laser my hairy boobs. I'll have to go through college before being able to afford electrolysis for all that stuff though... a wee bit too light and thin and not-coarse to laser, unfortunately (and fortunately - means it's less visible after shaving).

Yes that is the other problem. Luckily I didn't have much anyway and it has decreased with HRT.

I think one piece of advice for newbie shavers is to get it all shaved and then establish a routine of regular shaving to keep it under control. The other thing of course is to get waxed. Even if you are living in boy mode waxing is very common with many guys, and it is quite cheap and lasts for I think, about 6 weeks.

Quote from: Danielle×o on January 17, 2012, 04:54:19 PM
  I personally wax any hair off, it last much longer then shaving and depilatory creams and after waxing for so long your hair becomes lighter and less dense. Try Veet wax stripes they're really easy to use and cheap (around 7-8 dollars) and with one box I can do my legs and arm hair and they stay smooth for 3-4 weeks!  :D

This is what I do at the moment. If you're starting out, you can trim the hair to under 3-4mm. It doesn't hurt at all when you pull the strips!

Jenny

OXOXOXOX

Partly off-topic: Does someone know about how much it costs to get professionally waxed all over? I know it depends, but the range certainly isn't 1-1000$. Because, well, waxing by myself is too hard and messy, and sometimes I leave with the strip but not the wax, and... Well... Doesn't work, and I'd like to get a full-on clearing. It would certainly make me feel much better, if only for a few weeks.

All of you are such weenies I swear xD
Epilating doesn't hurt.. that much.

Armpits was probably the most painful, its a little hardcore.
I never stop when i do it, just keep going til all the hairs been ripped out.;)

Listening to music helps.
I love the results of epilating since you never get the prickly or itchy feeling when you get regrowth.


Lyra: the best body shavers are the Venus Embrace ones, IMO.
I like Skintimate shavegel too.

Do you have a bathtub or a shower?
I guess it doesnt matter which one you have, if you have a tub it'd be easier but a big tip is putting the area you want to shave under warm/hot water. That'll open up the pore and soften the hair by a lot.

Epilating? You mean, with a bzz-bzz machine? The armpits? You either have very fine hair, super leather or a broken pain system. You have to. o.o

Quote from: A on January 19, 2012, 03:05:30 PM
Epilating? You mean, with a bzz-bzz machine? The armpits? You either have very fine hair, super leather or a broken pain system. You have to. o.o

I have very thick body hair :(

And i have a high pain threshhold so that helps.
I like to think of myself as tough :3

Quote from: A on January 19, 2012, 08:47:06 AM
Partly off-topic: Does someone know about how much it costs to get professionally waxed all over? I know it depends, but the range certainly isn't 1-1000$. Because, well, waxing by myself is too hard and messy, and sometimes I leave with the strip but not the wax, and... Well... Doesn't work, and I'd like to get a full-on clearing. It would certainly make me feel much better, if only for a few weeks.

Place I go to, Full body is about $300 but it varies from client to client depending on the amount of work. And if you really want FULL body  XXX. They also want to know if you want, ears, nose bottom, hands and feet. At first I thought they were trying to wax a hobbit :laugh:. But seemingly some people have hairy everything ::).

I get my back done for $20 the rest I look after myself or have had laser.

Wet shaving works well but if you've got typical male pattern growth and growth rate, on your legs for example, your gonna be up against it. I found that almost as soon as the hair had been shaved off it was coming through again and feeling horribly stubbly. Then you've got shaving rash to consider. This tends to be more of an issue in areas more prone to perspiration or where the skin is more prone to chaffing and rubbing. Upper legs can be horrible both on the inside and at the back near the butt. The hairs on the upper leg don't all grow downwards or even in the same direction and if you end up shaving against the direction of growth there's a possibility of nicking the skin around the follicle as the razor cuts the hair. Next thing you know Bob's your auntie  ;) and you have a shaving rash that looks like a tropical disease. If your keen to keep things smooth all the time you might consider trying to shave over the shaving rash, this isn't a good idea. I tried it myself once when I was young and stupid and it was certainly lesson learned. (These days I'm just stupid) If the shaving rash doesn't resolve fairly quickly you can end up with ingrowns where the hair can't break through the scabs that can form. If you don't have oestrogen on your side you might find your skin isn't as "smooth" as it could be and again this can result in shaving rash where the tiny raised bumps and spots are shaved off. Something else to consider with shaving is that when the hairs grow through they are often coarse and rough at the cut as they are cut in the middle of their growth cycle and end up being cut at their thickest point. This is why some people are of the opinion that shaving increases growth. Male hair growth is generally thicker, more profuse and faster growing so what works for a woman might not be as successful, easy or practical for a trans woman.
Shaving the arms is a similar battle with the tide. Shaving rash shouldn't be as much of an issue but it can rear it's head sometimes. Re-growth is obvious on the arms and hands and stands out like a sore thumb and feels horrible and rough. It's a similar story for other body areas like the chest and back with stubble and shaving rash being the price to pay. Typically before oestrogen shaving needs to be thorough and daily and as a result your skin will take a battering and is more prone to minor infection and shaving rash
Waxing is a good temporary fix but it's a maintenance thing requiring constant update. Once you're into a groove with waxing all of your new growth will appear finer because all hairs start with a tapered tip before they man up and get thicker and darker.
Women bleat on about how men can't take it when they're getting waxed but the truth is that there are considerably more hairs being ripped out and they are normally more established than your typical female, hence they do actually hurt more.
The truth is the first line of this tune
tammy wynette stand by your man (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwBirf4BWew#)
I dare say a lot of the guys here at Susans are thanking their lucky stars that they can forget about the chore that is hair removal  :)
For your amusement
Mrs Brown Gets A Bikini Wax HQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5djs9m31g70#)
;D  ;D  ;D