Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Do you shave against the grain to be completely smooth on the surface or is it okay to leave a tiny (very short) bit of growth? I've heard a lot of mixed opinions about this.
Had my first laser session today.

Hi,

I find it works better with some stubble. This is what my clinician advised and the treatment is working well. Your clinician would probably be the best to advise you based on the equipment they use.

Hope that helps.

I've only ever shaved against the grain, and laser results have been good... but I shave a few hours before my sessions. Nikki's advice sounds right, just ask your tech what they advise.

Good luck!

I went in with very short stubble but visible enough to where she could see what she had to cover.
she didn't give me a definite answer when i asked, so i figured i would ask other girls what they did.

My laser tech said "clean-shaven," but didn't specify whether for or against the grain. :)

thanks!

They told me it should be shaved as close and nice as possible. I think basically the goal is to make the "point of impact" as close as possible to the root. Though when I came in the evening with my face shaved in the morning with a crappy electric razor, that was completely fine too, so it's probably not a big deal.

I heard that laser is more of a temporary hair reduction than a permanent one, as if it makes the follicles dormant for some time.  Is that true?

Mostly false. It is true that some hair is likely to come back after a few years, but those were just not hit hard enough, but then again that happens with electrolysis too. Most of the hair (assuming you're not a bad candidate and using a proper laser at the right strength) should stay dead for good, after enough sessions.

i'll shave against the grain for the rest of my sessions then.

if anyone is interested in doing laser i really recommend downloading groupon on your smartphone and finding good deals.
i got 6 sessions that cover my face and neck for 199 no tax. it's hard to beat deals like that lol

Gene : Basically, it seems to be confusion over the fact that only electrolysis is legally [in the US] permitted to advertise "permanent hair removal." My own understanding is that laser is billed as permanent reduction because it can't guarantee killing off all of the hairs - but the ones it does kill, stay dead. It can look like places were able to regrow "killed" hairs b/c some spots have lots of hair follicles and the growth cycle is pretty long, but in reality laser is as effective at killing a given hair root as electrolysis. The catch is that, unlike electrolysis, it's not as precisely targeted so not all hair follicles will be hit. Basically, it's a question of whether the "survivors" left are enough to cause problems.

I got lucky. 6 sessions of laser and 2-3 touch-ups and 99% of my facial hair was gone and I haven't needed any electrolysis so far after all. (It's been about five years, too, and no regrowth yet. I did have maybe a dozen hairs that survived the initial laser, and it just hasn't been worth it to me to seek out electrolysis and deal with the hassle and expense when plucking them once a month works fine.)

I actually did crunch the numbers and decided that at the price I paid, it was also likely to be cheaper to go back for more laser every 5-10 years for the rest of my life than to pay for electrolysis of my whole face. So far, so good.

http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/SurgicalandTherapeutic/ucm142607.htm

"Several manufacturers received FDA permission to claim, "permanent reduction," NOT "permanent removal" for their lasers. This means that although laser treatments with these devices will permanently reduce the total number of body hairs, they will not result in a permanent removal of all hair. The specific claim granted is "intended to effect stable, long-term, or permanent reduction" through selective targeting of melanin in hair follicles. Permanent hair reduction is defined as the long-term, stable reduction in the number of hairs re-growing after a treatment regime, which may include several sessions. The number of hairs regrowing must be stable over time greater than the duration of the complete growth cycle of hair follicles, which varies from four to twelve months according to body location. Permanent hair reduction does not necessarily imply the elimination of all hairs in the treatment area."