Hi,
Please bear with me as I detail my situation, express my concerns, ask for your help and voice my suggestions.
Background
I started full-body laser hair removal last July. I thought I was so clever - getting a great deal and starting 6-12 months before I planned on going full-time. I knew I had white hair around my chin and knew I'd need elctrolysis. The shock I've had though is that as the laser is eating away at the dark hair I am now acutely aware of just how much white hair I actually have (either that or I've had a huge increase in white hair over the same time period).
Result
Only my moustache is white-free. My chin, underside of chin and neck are all white and it also stretches up my cheeks to my ear - though thankfully it's not in as great a number as my chin and neck. I've been having electrolysis twice a month for 3 months and was shocked to be told it will take circa 80 hours to do a once-over on my face (though I know I will need about three passes before the hair is no more). Not only was I aghast at the length of time it will take (I can only afford 2x a month) but also at the cost (70ph for (80x3)= £16800!).
This means being full-time whilst still shaving, something I thought I'd be avoiding. I can put off going full-time for a few months but not the years it will take for electrolysis to complete. My beard was never a fast grower anyway and, perversely, one of the benefits of laser - slowing hair growth - has now screwed me because it takes me twice as long to grow my beard. Which means it takes me 4 days to grow hair long enough for my elecrologist to do a decent job. 3 days and it's just a bit too short which she said slowed her down by at least 30% and thus is a false economy. So I'm now gonna have to have at least one part of my face growing hair for the majority of the week! The only good news is that for 2 of the 4 days, it's light stubble with no perceptible length so maybe there's some ultra-thick foundation that can help mask it?
Ideas
The best I can do is shave all hair except for a section for my electrologist and then apply some foundation to try and blend it in (it won't look convincing but its better than nothing) and should limit the risk of being identified as the Bearded Lady. Then:
Sideburns - wear a long wig to cover the unshaved section. As said, the foundation won't stand up to scrutiny but should help to disguise the stubble on the few occasions they get flashed from behind my wig.
Neck - I'm not too fussed about this area. I can wear turtle necks where possible or chokers to cover the unshav ed section of hair.
Underside of chin - Not much I can do here. I'll just have to not look up. At 5' 8" there's not going to be too many people who are so small as to see the underside of my chin.
Cheeks & chin - nothing I can do to hide these areas - no wig, necklace or clothing can be utilised - and as I said earlier, foundation may hide the hair for the first 2 days but not the final 2 days as it will be too long. All I can do is foundation the unshaved section and try my best to cover with my hand or turn away when people pass by. What else can I do other than time it to coincide with my days off and just hide at home?'
Any other suggestions are most welcome. Eg: when the hair starts to get length can I somehow flatten it out and stick it down to my face and then foundation over this newly-smoothed area?
Despairing Vicki :(
Alas, I was thrown into full-time after only around 30 hours of electrolysis, basically first pass clearing done from the lower lip to chin, and that was about it.
I set up all my appointments on Mondays, and my last shave is Friday morning. I have short stubble on Saturday, just enough to roughen the skin to the touch, and visible stubble on Sunday. Monday, well, the only person who will see my is my electrologist.
My hair styles generally cover the cheeks and the rear portion of the jawline. OK, not great.
I've also gotten familiar with Ben Nye concealer, the Cover All SK-1 four color wheel. I actually use 3 of the 4 colors for my skin tones. I brush this stuff lightly so it colors the hairs and makes them a little less obvious. I apply my foundation (Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage) with a stippling brush and it adheres well to the hairs coated with the concealer. This gives me skin-colored hair, which passes casual glances at a few feet. I'll build my daily look on top of this.
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,217010.msg1921004.html#msg1921004
I do pretty much anything on Saturday, on Sunday I'm with a pretty accepting crowd at a Unitarian Universalist church, or at home. Monday morning I head out for electrolysis.
My electrologist has concentrated on clearing the dark hairs in the beard and mustache area that are visible with my hair in place. That pretty quickly got me just gray hairs that were easier to hide. She's been working on clearing the upper lip and keeping the lower lip to chin area cleared, and expanding the cleared area to the sides and below the chin. After 51 hours, the mustache is gone except for some immature hairs jut waking up. The lower lip to chin stays clear. The beard is gone out to roughly an inch on each side of the mouth corners and almost an inch below the chin. The new longer straight hair wig almost completely hides the remaining hair.
I never did try just growing out a small area, preferring to give the electrologist carte blanc to go after whatever seemed to be most visible. Sometimes she'd zap all the new dark hairs. Sometimes she'd work on growing out the cleared areas and re-clearing new growth in those areas. We've been hitting the upper lip pretty heavily recently.
So, wigs, makeup, and controlling where I'm seen when it gets obvious are how I handled this. Not fun, but it is temporary.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Thanks for your input. Unfortunately, apart from the Ben Nye that I can check out, most of what you describe won't apply to me. Lucky for you your beard grows faster than mine so you only have to suffer one day of noticeable growth. I can't let not shave. I may leave a larger section to give her some degree of freedom but I'm definitely be shaving most of the hair. The downside is that I get shaving rashes if I shave too often :(
Is there a product to flatten out an stick down my stubble so I can foundation over it?
Is there extra-thick foundation that will help with the longer growth?
In regards to makeup and going full time while getting electrolysis I would suggest using an airbrush makeup system.
The pressure of the air along with the airbrush makeup (2-3 drops of primer, 3-4 of foundation) mattes the hair down, covers the hair and face well and doesn't give you a caked on/heavy makeup look.
It does take practice but it's been a game changer for me. I was in the same boat, and I still go 2x/month. Those last 4 days would have been impossible without the airbrush.
Also very easy to color correct dark hair area.
Use primer, let dry (45 sec) add some red in, blush, eye shadow etc) put foundation on top.
Also very breathable!
Hugs,
~Brooke~
What I find to be the biggest problem is the darkened area under the skin when shaving. I can live with the light hairs, because if you shave close, they go away. They may turn dark later, but hey, laser works on darkening hair, and it's quicker and cheaper than electrolysis.
I suggest you see how much you can live with for now...
TONS of women have beards. It's why they developed electrolysis in the first place. You've got a big advantage over the rest of us since yours is gray/white and it grows slow so you won't get a 5 o'clock shadow. There's a good chance estrogen will make alot of your body hair fall out, but I'm thinking this is a good thing not bad?!?
Quote from: vicki_sixx on January 11, 2017, 09:05:43 PM
Hi,
Please bear with me as I detail my situation, express my concerns, ask for your help and voice my suggestions.
Background
The best I can do is shave all hair except for a section for my electrologist and then apply some foundation to try and blend it in (it won't look convincing but its better than nothing) and should limit the risk of being identified as the Bearded Lady. Then:
Sideburns - wear a long wig to cover the unshaved section. As said, the foundation won't stand up to scrutiny but should help to disguise the stubble on the few occasions they get flashed from behind my wig.
Neck - I'm not too fussed about this area. I can wear turtle necks where possible or chokers to cover the unshav ed section of hair.
Underside of chin - Not much I can do here. I'll just have to not look up. At 5' 8" there's not going to be too many people who are so small as to see the underside of my chin.
Cheeks & chin - nothing I can do to hide these areas - no wig, necklace or clothing can be utilised - and as I said earlier, foundation may hide the hair for the first 2 days but not the final 2 days as it will be too long. All I can do is foundation the unshaved section and try my best to cover with my hand or turn away when people pass by. What else can I do other than time it to coincide with my days off and just hide at home?'
Any other suggestions are most welcome. Eg: when the hair starts to get length can I somehow flatten it out and stick it down to my face and then foundation over this newly-smoothed area?
Despairing Vicki :(
The #1 secret to concealing a beard shadow is to use a color corrector. By neutralizing the bluish tint of the beard shadow, you can achieve a natural look with less makeup.
Choose your color corrector based on your skin tone:
Use a pink color corrector if you have a light skin tone.
Use a red color corrector if you have a darker skin tone.
While your best bet is to use a color corrector specifically formulated for the face, another option is to use a matte pink or red lipstick.
Quote from: flytrap on January 12, 2017, 09:50:09 AM
TONS of women have beards. It's why they developed electrolysis in the first place.
Tons? That's like saying tons of women suffer from hair loss. Just because enough do doesn't make it the norm. It's not feminine and they're in the minority. Also there's a difference between the facial hair women get, or wanting an end to leg waxing, and sporting the thousands of thick hairs men have on their boat race.
My male friend is insecure about his height - he's 5' 4" - telling him there's loads of short guys in the world doesn't alter the fact he's been short-changed (no pun intended) or make him feel better.
QuoteYou've got a big advantage over the rest of us since yours is gray/white and it grows slow so you won't get a 5 o'clock shadow.
Granted, I don't get shadow and once clean shaven I'll stay baby smooth for the rest of the day but I also suffer from shaing rash - which is the main reason why I used to shave just once a week. Believe me, I don't see it as an advantage. I'd rather it grew fast which means I'd only have to be unshaven for a day as opposed to four.
QuoteThere's a good chance estrogen will make alot of your body hair fall out, but I'm thinking this is a good thing not bad?!?
But oestrogen doesn't make facial hair fall out :(
Quote from: DawnOday on January 12, 2017, 10:30:14 AM
The #1 secret to concealing a beard shadow is to use a color corrector.
Thanks but this isn't a solution. It's great to neutralises the colour of shadow but is useless for hair that's visibly growing out of and away from the face - hair which needs to be long enough for an easy and firm grip with tweezers. I'll still look like a bearded lady. Or a werewolf.
Quote from: Brooke on January 11, 2017, 10:46:06 PM
In regards to makeup and going full time while getting electrolysis I would suggest using an airbrush makeup system.
This could be viable if it really does matt the hair down and makes it smooth and invisible. The fact it doesn't apply a thick finish makes me wary. Is it hard to get to grips with?
What about covering the hairs with spirit gum or a glue stick the way you would eyebrows? I'm not sure if it will work on beards, but if you google "eyebrow cover tutorial" you'll get a number of options on how to cover brows, which may work for beard hair.
QuoteI'll still look like a bearded lady. Or a werewolf.
Which is why I moved to 4 hours of electrolysis on my future appointments. I'll do 2 hours, a lunch break, and another 2 hours. I WANT IT GONE!
I don't know of a magic potion to make all my stiff old bristles lie flat and disappear. Flesh-tinted Brillo pad is about the best I can do. My Sunday going-to-church look. /P
Spirit gum or gluestick on eyebrows? Ow! Get some makeup wax, please! That works OK for little areas like the eyebrows, maybe 1 square inch, but 30 square inches of cheek and sideburn space? And then unclogging all those follicles a day later for electrolysis? Ow.
(Makeup wax is really neat stuff, though. Bam! Vulcan eyebrows, or traditional Trek bumpy foreheads are easy...)
There are some electrologists who use two operators and anesthetic to do a full face clearing in a single day. You would need about four visits in the next year to get the hairs that arrive at different times.
Electrology 3000 in the Dallas area is one. There must be at least several more. I think there is an electrologist associated with Christine McGinn.
Quote from: Michelle_P on January 12, 2017, 01:03:25 PM
Which is why I moved to 4 hours of electrolysis on my future appointments. I'll do 2 hours, a lunch break, and another 2 hours. I WANT IT GONE!
If I had the money. Which is a helluva lot of money, by the way.
QuoteFlesh-tinted Brillo pad is about the best I can do
LOL yeah.
QuoteThat works OK for little areas like the eyebrows, maybe 1 square inch, but 30 square inches of cheek and sideburn space?
That could work, maybe, as I'll only have a small section of hair to cover (that's the plan, anyway).
Quote from: Randi on January 12, 2017, 01:16:15 PM
There are some electrologists who use two operators and anesthetic to do a full face clearing in a single day. You would need about four visits in the next year to get the hairs that arrive at different times.
Thanks but if I need 80 hours then not even two operators can do that in a day.
Is anyone suffering the same as me - electrolysis on an almost whole beard from the bottom lip down and a fair bit in the sides?
Quote from: Randi on January 12, 2017, 01:16:15 PM
There are some electrologists who use two operators and anesthetic to do a full face clearing in a single day. You would need about four visits in the next year to get the hairs that arrive at different times.
Thanks but if I need 80 hours then not even two operators can clear my face in a day.
I bet there's nothing like these guys in the UK, bloody typical!
Facial hair grows in cycles, so if your face is totally cleared, there will be another group of hairs that start a growth cycle a few months later. That's why at least four visits are required at Electrology 3000.
If you are only doing a few hours a week, then the 80 hours will encompass all the growth cycles.
Quote from: vicki_sixx on January 12, 2017, 01:29:23 PM
Thanks but if I need 80 hours then not even two operators can clear my face in a day.
I bet there's nothing like these guys in the UK, bloody typical!
Are you saying that 80 hours treatment is to be hair-free for good? That it includes the repeated treatment of the same hair follicles? If so then that is wonderful news but I won't get too excited untill you confirm it. I did stress, when I asked my electrologist, how many hours would be needed to blitz my entire face just once - hence I took her answer of 80 hours to be just one session per follicle and that I'm be looking at 240+ sessions. Which of course is the GDP of your average South American country.
I am thinking my post offended you, vicki_sixx. If so, I apologize.
Please try to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. Some people have nothing at all.
Quote from: flytrap on January 12, 2017, 03:06:58 PM
I am thinking my post offended you, vicki_sixx. If so, I apologize.
No you didn't. Worry not. :)
QuotePlease try to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. Some people have nothing at all.
I'll try.
Alas, yes, electrolysis takes many hours. I've got 53 in, upper lip has been cleared except for the inevitable bumper crop that is waking up, lower lip to chin and an inch past the corners of the mouth is pretty much clear. I expect another 100 hours or so, as I have a relatively light and 'easy to work on' beard. So, yeah, 150 hours at $70 US an hour (cheap!), or $10,500. It is my biggest monthly expense after rent.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Just Google "electrology 3000" and read their web page. I've never been there. I know people who have it completed after four visits. The first visit could be pretty intense, lasting all day even with two operators.
You should never have to repeat the treatment on the same follicle.
Quote from: vicki_sixx on January 12, 2017, 02:26:31 PM
Are you saying that 80 hours treatment is to be hair-free for good? That it includes the repeated treatment of the same hair follicles? If so then that is wonderful news but I won't get too excited untill you confirm it. I did stress, when I asked my electrologist, how many hours would be needed to blitz my entire face just once - hence I took her answer of 80 hours to be just one session per follicle and that I'm be looking at 240+ sessions. Which of course is the GDP of your average South American country.
I feel for you, girl. My remaining facial hair is white. I am doing electro and I do 3-4 hour blocks at a a time. I grow it out for 3-4 days prior. I literally stay home for that period. Any sort of foundation I put on only highlights the white hairs sticking out. I shave fri at 4am, then grow it until my appointment on monday. I have had all the laser that will work, and am stuck with this. It is a drastic difference in the areas that have been cleared, through. Nothing I can do about it but go thru the motions. I have most of my face cleared and am down to the under chin an neck...
I am overcome with puns here:
Keep your chin up
Keep plugging along
...lol
I've had 10 face laser sessions and about 150 hours of electrolysis over the past 6 months and still have plenty of hairs to kill. The laser probably made the electrologist's job harder so I would skip it if I could go back in time. I'm not full time yet, fortunately, so growing out hairs isn't a problem.
I essentially starting going full time Dec 30th due to needing to start the clock on the 1 year RLE required by my insurance to pay for SRS but most importantly due to mentally how much stress/negative emotions I had forcing myself to lie and present as male. Just couldn't due it anymore at 7.5 months HRT, couldn't keep living a lie and needing to express myself physically as I feel emotionally. Just had my 5th laser session 1.5 weeks ago and while a majority of my face has very little growth, I still have a bit of shadow above my lips and on my chin and even though I use foundation I can't perfectly cover it up. Just have to manage and so far either I look a heck of a lot more feminine then what I see when I look at a mirror or truly no one in public that I've been seen cares at all so far but that shadow does certainly affect my confidence...
A good friend of mine has been an electrologist for about 20 years. She tells her clients that the average is about 500 hours of electro to remove a full beard once and for all.
Quote from: vicki_sixx on January 12, 2017, 12:48:43 PM
Thanks but this isn't a solution. It's great to neutralises the colour of shadow but is useless for hair that's visibly growing out of and away from the face - hair which needs to be long enough for an easy and firm grip with tweezers. I'll still look like a bearded lady. Or a werewolf.
This could be viable if it really does matt the hair down and makes it smooth and invisible. The fact it doesn't apply a thick finish makes me wary. Is it hard to get to grips with?
Not too difficult. It took me about 4 attempts to get good enough to try during the day. Took another two weeks of daily use to get the natural look. (I got comments that all anyone could see was lipstick and a bit of blush- and that's with me having stubble.)
The biggest learning curve is dealing with air pressure. You have to set the max air pressure on the compresser and get used to how far back to push the trigger on actual airbrush. Too slow and you don't get full coverage, too fast and you only get part of the face.
After about a month of daily use I was down to 10 minutes or less for the full face. Primer, color correction, foundation , blush and eyebrows (nothing on eyes du to eye condition). That's with one hand too.
The first few times I applied it like normal foundation, trying to get enough coverage in one area all at once. The trick is to get the airflow for very light coats, and repeat passes in areas where I need it after that area has dried (about 10 seconds). I work with an outward in approach. I first cover the entire face lightly, making sure to get everything from the neck up, then on each additional pass get less and less, so the triangle area in the middle of the face (eyes, nose, center of forehead and chin) get the most coverage. I save about 1/4 of the makeup until very end after everything is dried to then see if any hairs are poking out, or if I need to blend anywhere. If hairs are showing I increase air pressure to make sure the hairs are covered and dry flat. Any hair growth during the day is against the skin, rather than poking through the makeup.
Just make sure you don't try and blend after your done with a sponge etc. makeup is so thin it will just get removed.
Hugs,
~Brooke~
Its been quite some time since I addressed these same issues. However, I started hair removal with lasers for many years and also electrolysis before I transitioned. Sadly, this facial hair removal for around 30 plus white hairs and some recurring dark ones still randomly appear. So around 30 days before electrolysis I stop plucking my hairs and shave. Then the last 6 to 7 days I have to let it grow to a length that the technician can see and use tweasers. The last few days some hairs are visible. During this time I use a darker foundation. Each of us will use a foundation color that works. If you have a few longer hairs then use a sissor, not to shave, so that it remains short and not so visible but yet can be grasped by tweaser.
After mamy years I still go for electrolysis every 4 months
It gets finer and finer until unless you use a magnifying morror ot cannot be noticed
I started electrolysis in mid 2005 - one hour a week. Sometime in 2006, after a 1 hour session on my upper lip, I woke up the next morning with a lip so swollen I looked like a duck. But I had to go to work. To those who asked I said it was an allergic reaction. Everyone else just stared. I was not out yet.
But worse than the swelling was the pitting. My skin had always been smooth but my upper lip (most of the 30 hours of electro I had were on the upper lip) was beginning to look like a mortar field. So I stopped.
I went full time in 2007. I never returned to the electrologist's chair. I shave every day but most hairs are white and with a touch of makeup I can hide any sign of facial hair. After a close shave with a blade, I have presented in public without any makeup.
Yes, it's a pain. And if a neighbor stops by and I haven't shaved, I won't answer the door, and I hate that fact. But I resist the temptation to return to the electrologist because of the pitting issue. (FWIW, it was determined, after much research, that my skin is more prone to pitting than average.)
There have been times when I considered starting electro again but the concept of growing out my face time and again has stopped that thought dead in its track. The only way I'd ever do it now is if I did Electrology 3000. Fly to Dallas, stay for a week, 50 hours in the chair, recover and fly back home. Then repeat as needed. But if that caused pitting, I'd be really upset with myself. So I just live with it.
Quote from: Randi on January 12, 2017, 03:40:57 PM
I've never been there. I know people who have it completed after four visits. The first visit could be pretty intense, lasting all day even with two operators.
I just finished my second session there, and they cleared my in a day with two operators. On my first clearing it took two operators almost 2 whole days. Estimates are just estimates, in my estimation. I have read from one of our faithful here that they were able to swing a deal between a dentist and electrologist to duplicate the anesthetic process, can't remember off the top of my head who it was.
Hope you can find a solution to either the clearing or the covering. Meanwhile you do look amazing.
Erin
Quote from: Julie Marie on January 13, 2017, 08:49:08 AM
But worse than the swelling was the pitting. My skin had always been smooth but my upper lip (most of the 30 hours of electro I had were on the upper lip) was beginning to look like a mortar field. So I stopped.
From what I understand if you have thermolysis or if the thermolysis component of the blend is set to high, pitting will occur. Galvanic is slower but less likely to cause damage. If you decide to resume treatment you will need to be sure the person treating you is experienced as it sounds like your operator had insufficient training to understand the problem and correct it.
I only did electrolysis but I had about 120 hours of electrolysis when I went full time. Toss in losing the ability to shave for a few months due to recovery from FFS and well I was concerned too. So I hammered away at the electrolysis before the FFS. Still though, it took a good 200-300 hours of electrolysis to say my face was clear. I also had a problem with coarse white hairs as well. I still remember a few being twisted and even with blend it took 2 zaps to get it to release. I think around the time I went full time I was down to shaving maybe once a week. After I healed enough from FFS, and maybe from the electrolysis downtime allowing hairs to grow back in, things went very quickly. I was down to maybe once a month shaving a little while after that, and then never shaving ever again. The only thing that sucked was ingrown facial hairs. They required gently digging out of the skin to get to the follicle to treat. Fun days those were. Not.
Thanks for all the replies (and compliment if that was meant for me, Erin) My despair is subsiding now and I am beginning to 'deal' with the situation. The bulk of the white is on my neck* and I can live with that because it can be hidden quite easily on the days I have to let it grow and a large portion is under the chin which no one but oompa loompas can see.
Has anyone else been told what my electrologist tod me - that it can take several attempts to excise a single hair follicle as the first couple of direct hits only weaken the growth, not stop it completely?
*I hope this is reality and not denial!
Quote from: vicki_sixx on January 17, 2017, 07:03:34 PM
Has anyone else been told what my electrologist tod me - that it can take several attempts to excise a single hair follicle as the first couple of direct hits only weaken the growth, not stop it completely?
Yes. It's one of my electrologist's pet peeves- that many places (like on Groupon) will tell a customer it'll take X amount of time. What they don't tell you is that you'll need several clearings to make an impact.
My understanding is that each removal of the hair damages the follicle. The hair grows back again and again and again until the follicle is damaged beyond repair and/or the cells are no longer able to get nutrients.
I was also told that each time the follicle is removed it comes back thinner and less course. That's why you're left with white hairs and eventually just give up and stop growing.
I would guess that over time some follicles are able to repair themselves hence the need for occasional electrolysis throughput our life, even years after we got rid of all the facial hair.
I'm pretty sure I've "cleared" my face around 25x now. Still have lots of blonde hairs and a few stubborn black ones on the sides of my upper lip.
I think many trans women don't quite get the right info. I know for me, permanent hair removal is going to be the second greatest expense right under GCS
Hugs,
~Brooke~
Quote from: vicki_sixx on January 11, 2017, 09:05:43 PM
Hi,
Please bear with me as I detail my situation, express my concerns, ask for your help and voice my suggestions.
Background
I started full-body laser hair removal last July. I thought I was so clever - getting a great deal and starting 6-12 months before I planned on going full-time. I knew I had white hair around my chin and knew I'd need elctrolysis. The shock I've had though is that as the laser is eating away at the dark hair I am now acutely aware of just how much white hair I actually have (either that or I've had a huge increase in white hair over the same time period).
Result
Only my moustache is white-free. My chin, underside of chin and neck are all white and it also stretches up my cheeks to my ear - though thankfully it's not in as great a number as my chin and neck. I've been having electrolysis twice a month for 3 months and was shocked to be told it will take circa 80 hours to do a once-over on my face (though I know I will need about three passes before the hair is no more). Not only was I aghast at the length of time it will take (I can only afford 2x a month) but also at the cost (70ph for (80x3)= £16800!).
This means being full-time whilst still shaving, something I thought I'd be avoiding. I can put off going full-time for a few months but not the years it will take for electrolysis to complete. My beard was never a fast grower anyway and, perversely, one of the benefits of laser - slowing hair growth - has now screwed me because it takes me twice as long to grow my beard. Which means it takes me 4 days to grow hair long enough for my elecrologist to do a decent job. 3 days and it's just a bit too short which she said slowed her down by at least 30% and thus is a false economy. So I'm now gonna have to have at least one part of my face growing hair for the majority of the week! The only good news is that for 2 of the 4 days, it's light stubble with no perceptible length so maybe there's some ultra-thick foundation that can help mask it?
Ideas
The best I can do is shave all hair except for a section for my electrologist and then apply some foundation to try and blend it in (it won't look convincing but its better than nothing) and should limit the risk of being identified as the Bearded Lady. Then:
Sideburns - wear a long wig to cover the unshaved section. As said, the foundation won't stand up to scrutiny but should help to disguise the stubble on the few occasions they get flashed from behind my wig.
Neck - I'm not too fussed about this area. I can wear turtle necks where possible or chokers to cover the unshav ed section of hair.
Underside of chin - Not much I can do here. I'll just have to not look up. At 5' 8" there's not going to be too many people who are so small as to see the underside of my chin.
Cheeks & chin - nothing I can do to hide these areas - no wig, necklace or clothing can be utilised - and as I said earlier, foundation may hide the hair for the first 2 days but not the final 2 days as it will be too long. All I can do is foundation the unshaved section and try my best to cover with my hand or turn away when people pass by. What else can I do other than time it to coincide with my days off and just hide at home?'
Any other suggestions are most welcome. Eg: when the hair starts to get length can I somehow flatten it out and stick it down to my face and then foundation over this newly-smoothed area?
Despairing Vicki :(
Uh, hm you know what i'm not mtf but! i got a idea i don't know if it's a good idea so please ask around first or look into it and see if you're comfortable with this.
But white lies don't hurt you could say you have PCOS iv'e heard of people going of T and saying this
now i don't know if it works but you can look into it. maybe it could work for a MTF?
It basically means you have higher T levels but doesn't mean you're not female a lot of females have this
although it is lieing and i don't suggest doing that a lot. but it means other things too so you may not be okay with that or you may depends on the person i'd look it up.
I'm a guy but i actually have that and i had facial hair (slightly) before T noticeable if looking carefully.