Susan's Place Transgender Resources

My question is this: is it a good idea to have a complete facial hair removal with laser at the early stages of transition?

I'm not really sure about transition yet, but I just HATE my facial hair, I feel it is so unnatural.

Permanent removal seems, well permanent...

Will my transsexuality be obvious after the removal? Is it very conspicuous and obvious if someone is not in en femme?

I'm not living in a very tolerant enviroment...and I cannot live en femme all the time.

heya Anna ....I started facial hair removal just before starting HRT but I wish I had started much earlier. Actually I would of most preferred to have been done with it before HRT and going full time. So it is a good idea if you know it want it done.
For me I had ten sessions of laser before I considered electrolysis. But I never started due to fund priorities.
It does take a while to completely remove all facial hair and no no one will notice, they would no doubt just think you're well shaven ;)
So yeah it's a good idea ;)

The sooner the better. Lots of men have laser done every day cause shaving sucks no matter what gender you are.

I would recommend doing it as soon as possible. It can take ages. I've been at it for over 2 years now (but then I was significantly hairy). Had 10 sessions of laser and now for the last 6 months have been getting electrolysis everyweek. Finally getting great progress, my upper lip was very stubourn. The laser sorted out my cheeks, but I still had a lot on my upper lip, and lower lip.

I was always so hairy  :embarrassed:

Also if you do transition facial hair is really conspicuous and can be hard to hide (especially electro where you need to let it grow out a bit, laser you can stay clean shaven), and the healing can be pretty rough looking too. Laser left my face looking quite scabby as it healed.  But people will probably think you have bad achne at worst.

Yup, my vote is start now. You won't regreat it. I don't think it will be obvious if still in guy mode.

It is a little scary being permenant, but you HATE it. Yeah, the sooner you do it the better you will feel.

Yep... Start ASAP... If you go with laser, BTW,  it's best to have it done by an M.D. (I see the necessity of facial hair removal as a medical issue for transsexuals, not a strictly cosmetic one.)

  One thing that should be said, though, is that if you have light skin and dark facial hair, the eventual absence of a "shadow" does effect the way the face looks... kindof like the reverse of stage performers using shadow to highlight areas of their face. In other words, you could wind up looking a bit different but, without HRT, not necessarily more feminine.

Yeah, you will look different. But it is not going to make anyone think "->-bleeped-<-!!!"

I would do it ASAP if you really don't think you'll ever want facial hair. And if you're not on HRT, the only changes someone might notice is that you'll look younger.

I concur with the others, start ASAP as it can be a long process.

My question is this: is it a good idea to have a complete facial hair removal with laser at the early stages of transition?
== Yes, the earlier the better.  You'll thank yourself later when you don't have to put thick makeup on just to cover the beard shadow.  ;)
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Will my transsexuality be obvious after the removal? Is it very conspicuous and obvious if someone is not in en femme?
== being trans won't be obvious at all.  That isn't a conclusion most people even think about.  (unless there are other indicators)  My hair was very dense and thick when I started...always obvious beard shadow even after I just shaved.  I don't have much hair above my jawline anymore, and I've hinted a lot with a couple of my family members about it.  People don't notice subtle changes over a long time as much as they do great changes over a short time.  A lot of people just don't see what they don't want to...or expect to...see.  Most will just think that you're clean shaven. (Or if they do suspect, most won't say anything at all unless you bring it up)
.
==Some things about hair removal can be conspicuous though, but there are ways that you can minimize it.  Your face can be red and bumpy, and a bit scabbed for a few days afterward.  (some areas of the face react more than others.  Some days are better than others.)
I've been getting 2 hours of facial electrolysis every week for the past 2 years.  I purposely schedule it for Friday night to minimize what shows.  I have a little gruff the last couple days of the week while it grows out (perfectly normal for guy-mode) (which has gradually diminished over the past 2 years), and (on bad days) a red bumpy face during the weekend after treatment.  Usually I'm healed back close enough to normal by Monday that at worst people might think I'm just breaking out in a few pimples.
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==So far, it doesn't appear that anyone has noticed.  I'm still not out at work, but I hide all of the other indicators pretty well.  I probably don't need to do electro on Friday anymore, but I play it safe anyway.  No matter how you choose do it though, I wish you the best of luck.  :)

I actually disagree with the others... I'm 23 now I've been trying to remove my facial hair since my 20th birthday I spent ALOT of money on IPL and Laser which was frankly pointless because while I had T in my system I would just grow new and more facial hair no matter how much I had my body would always add more. And in the case of Laser and IPL I've seen several studies that show that the heat from the laser and presence of androgen's can make deep hairs even deeper and stronger as I saw in my case.

I could have saved that money if I'd waited until I started hormones before beginning my efforts.

Will my transsexuality be obvious after the removal?
No In my case I was asked with IPL and laser "why do you want to remove it?" I said "I really hate it" and that was that. The IPL Technician hadn't treated many males but it wasn't unheard of. My Laser Tech said that she had males coming in all the time to treat facial hair.  My electrologist hadn't treated any Transsexuals or males (Bar two who didn't do whole beard removal) despite begin in business for 20 years.

Is it very conspicuous and obvious if someone is not in en femme?
Not really My electrologist figured it out straight off there could have been many reasons... She identified me as a female on the phone based on my voice and when she saw me in person I was dressed androgynously she stared at me for 10 seconds before saying "Umm... Your a guy aren't you?" didn't react well at the surprise. If that wasn't enough during the skin test session I had to fill in a medical form... In which it asked if I was taking the following medications and had a list in which the top two were.
"Testosterone Antagonists" [_]
"Estrogen Replacement Therapy" [_]

Which outed me and removed any possible doubt.

The laser Techs had no clue really and thought of me as a "man" They didn't ask any such questions about medications they merely asked me to sign a disclaimer and asked if I had any skin conditions.

I would have thought that it would be better to do it after having been on HRT for awhile because that would decrease the thickness of any facial hair and thus require less laser/electrolysis. I can't afford laser/electrolysis. :( In fact, the only reason I'm able to afford HRT now is because I'm going through my university's health center.

I started laser before HRT and it worked fine on me.  At the time I figured that even if I didn't transiton I just wouldn't be able grow a beard again and (yay!) wouldn't have to shave.  Now I'm post-op and still getting electrolysis to remove the white whiskers.  It's a drag. 

So I would say that if you know you don't want to grow facial hair and can afford it, start now.

Every electrolysis tech and laser tech I've met works on both trans and cis people.  Being trans is so not important to them.  (But as in all things, YMMV. :P)

- Kate

If you hate your facial hair, you probably will feel a lot better getting started on removal as early as possible.  It does take a while, and the first few times tend to hurt a bit.  According to most people I know, and my own experiences to a lesser extent, HRT makes you feel pain more acutely, so you might as well get the worst sessions over with before you can feel them as much.  (Not that it's horrible by any means.)

Quote from: anna_MTF on August 04, 2010, 11:44:17 PM
My question is this: is it a good idea to have a complete facial hair removal with laser at the early stages of transition?

I'm not really sure about transition yet, but I just HATE my facial hair, I feel it is so unnatural.

Permanent removal seems, well permanent...

Will my transsexuality be obvious after the removal? Is it very conspicuous and obvious if someone is not in en femme?

I'm not living in a very tolerant enviroment...and I cannot live en femme all the time.

IMHO, laser is best started as early as possible. It really takes a while before it does enough of a good job. I don't believe that it will give you away though in boy mode. I started laser 4 months before I came out at work and nobody questioned it or had a clue.

I've had similar questions about when to start lazer (really whether I should wait til I start HRT or not). People have told me in the past that since I am fair-skinned and have dark hair, lazer is the way to go. In my avatar pic, that's about an hour after shaving. You can probably still notice the beard shadow. I keep a beard right now for a lot of reasons..

1. to "preserve" my face from the rigors of day-to-day shaving
2. to give me a bit of cover/sense of safety in all-male environments for now
3. because I am more attractive as a man w/ the beard by most accounts (and if I have to be a man for now I prefer to be attractive)

Here's how I look at full-beardy-ness
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg255.imageshack.us%2Fimg255%2F7210%2Fbeardo.jpg&hash=a60b98daf60b2d804cfe835a35c1871b587c25b0)

If anyone has info on good lazer tech in the Columbus or Toledo areas, I'd love to know

Johnnie

I dont want to change the topic, but I want to say something mtfbuckeye.I hope you take this as a compliment.You know who I think you will wind up looking as when you transition? Christina Hendricks.Also I dont want to seem nosy, but im curious, when do you plan to start hormones?

Angela,
No way you could give me a greater compliment.. Christina Hendricks is one of the most beautiful women alive! I've been a fan of hers since Firefly.. remember her then?

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rankopedia.com%2FCandidatePix%2F5926.gif&hash=d5153e998a47e91eb85cecc218871f6128666cf0)

and, I'm a HUGE Mad Men fan, and she managed to get even more beautiful on that show!
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fprogressivepulse.com%2Fblog2%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F04%2FMadMenHendricks.jpg&hash=453e2234073ac0b52d09d7d21859f4c7a314f29b)

Maybe her and I have a similar nose, but beyond that, I WISH I could see what you are seeing in me :) For one thing, I'll never have her bountiful bosoms unless I totally change my mind about getting a BA (which I don't want at this point)  but thank you... you just made my day! :)

Weird fact: Christina Hendricks and I were born only a year apart from each other back in 1975 :)

That was her in firefly???? ??? ??? ??? I would have never known if you didnt tell me.

Yuppers. She's all kinds of awesome, isn't she?

Yes she is.

Why do you think I look like her? (yes, I am fishing for compliments) :)

From exactly after the eyes end .You have her lips , nose , jawline.Youre forehead is diffrent though.

Angela,
Can I give you like a million reputation points? :)

LOL!

It's funny though.. when I imagine myself in the future as a woman, I have more of a geekgirl/Liz Lemon look.. glasses, dark hair, etc.. I've never considered the notion of being a total sexbomb like Christina Hendricks :)

Liz Lemon look ? Who is that ?

Boom. Here's the pic... I'm short on time, so just type "30 Rock" into a google search. :)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fsinglemindedwomen.com%2Fwp%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F05%2FTina-794463.jpg&hash=92e2c61dcb31d8a45dcd3bf622a948260a4474db)

And now, back to our regularly-scheduled thread about when to start facial hair removal...


- Kate :police:

Quote from: K8 on August 31, 2010, 06:21:54 PM
And now, back to our regularly-scheduled thread about when to start facial hair removal...


- Kate :police:

lol yeah talk about thread derailing! Facial hair to Liz Lemon! haha

As soon as you can afford it!

 I've just started Laser, been on HRT for about 5 months with no obvious effects to me. The woman doing the laser is very pleasant I'm the first TG she has done, I came out and told her that was what I wanted it for. She replied that she will do the best job that she can and if I have TG friends who want laser she will be delighted to help them.
She also said that the effect varies from person to person and the number of treatments also varies. I have just returned from my first upper and lower lip and chin. I know it's only the first time but it is obvious that I have lost considerable hair on the upper lip at least. Work tomorrow should be interesting :laugh: :laugh:

Cindy

Quote from: CindyJames on October 07, 2010, 05:23:03 AM
Work tomorrow should be interesting :laugh: :laugh:

Go girl!  I often think that the oddities of how we find ourselves during transition make us strong. :)

And congrats on starting laser.  Even though the process isn't wonderful, I think you'll like the end result.

- Kate

I am going to throw in another vote for as soon as possible.  I pretty much finished all my facial hair removal before starting on HRT.  I think I got lucky with 6 sessions of laser and another 20 hours or so with electrolysis.  Both technicians were recommended to me by the trans community.  I felt it was important that the laser tech was familiar doing faces, it can easily burn!!!
Jenna

I am going for my first session of laser starting this Saturday.  ;D  My tech has been doing laser and electrolysis for the past 17 years and she says she has done a lot of trans girls.  So I am feeling good about my choice.

Oh and I forgot to add, yeah I am starting somewhat early, at least 6 months before HRT by my estimates. MY tech told me it will probably be about 10 sessions of laser and then electro after that.

Sadie

I felt that if my body was still under the influence of T, it would be a bit of a waste of money to start, and have progress erased. After 1 month of HRT, I got a laser (not IPL) treatment every 5-6 weeks, for a total of 5 treatments. After the laser, I didn't really have the time to get any more hair removal done. Also, I felt that since I'm young, a fair bit of my facial hair is still blonde, so electrolysis is really the only option then. I've now had 2 electrolysis sessions. Nowadays, it's harder to see my facial hair, even when I don't shave between electrolysis sessions; I still feel it though. Hopefully with about 2 - 1hr sessions per week, I can get to a point where I don't need to shave at all by the time the summer rolls around.

My electrologist has been in the business for a long time, and works on many trans people as well as cis-folk, so I trust what she says. She's told me that her other trans patients are all much older and have coarser hair, while apparently my facial hair is weak and will be much easier to vanquish. ;D My face hasn't gotten scabby or anything, just red for about half a day to a day, and I apply polysporin for burns (the one in the red box) to my face afterward to encourage healing. No matter what, it's always a bit awkward to ride the subway afterward on the way home. Last thing, and a small tit-bit of advice: EMLA cream is your friend during electrolysis!