I'm so sick of having facial hair that over the last few days I've taken up plucking them one by one. I was wondering how many of you have also done this and what have been your results, i.e. how long before you noticed regrowth and over time did you notice and permanent reduction in regrowth?
I have read that over time regrowth can slow significantly but I was looking for some real experiences here.
Thanks! :D
I can only talk about my eyebrows. They get less painful to pluck as time goes on. They seem to grow back thinner - could just be the tips of the hairs are pointy. The hair itself appears to grow as fast as ever but I think there is less of it. I read somewhere that continual plucking can reduce growth in the long term, as some of the follicles get damaged through plucking and stop producing hair.
Can you afford laser or electrolysis? That would be a more sure thing and you see definit results for the pain.
I would love to have laser but I can't afford the $3,000 price tag at the moment. Hopefully I will be back to work soon and can start saving again.
I did pluck my mustache once. Gawd that was painful!
The hairs did take a bit longer to grow back, but not unusually long. Something like a few days as I recall.
Also, while the hairs initially seemed finer than before, within a few weeks the hair was as coarse as before.
I have also heard from my electrologist that plucking actually makes the hair thicker when it grows back (yuck!).
I have also heard about continual plucking eventually destroying the follicle, but I have no "real" information about that.
-Sandy
Seems like people overseas only get these treatments in 'package deals'. In my country you just pay session by session untill you have had enough. There are no package deals that I am aware of. I think it makes it more do-able instead of having a chunk of cash up front, but then there are no garauntees. I must be well endowed as I hear a lot of people saying 6 sessions is enough. I've had 10 and still need some work on my upper lip (plus some strays floatin about). I'm not taking mones so maybe that is the key difference.
That is a shame. I heard of people using eplilators on their face. That just sounds brutal to me.
You could use that hair retardant cream some people get. Apparantly the results are good. It is a bit pricy but maybe it would be a good stop gap? (not sure how it would affect future treatments, maybe you would have to wait some time for your normal growth patterns to come back. Probably not so relevant for electrolysis)
I can get individual sessions at about $130.00 per but even that is a bit much at the moment. I've heard about the cream too. Has anybody here used it? If so, what were your results?
I think cindybc uses it. You could pm her.
I plucked a small area as a test and it grew back in a little less than a week. Hopefully lase isn't too expensive in my area.... there's like 5 places within 10 mins drive so hopefully competition drives the prices down :). Good old capitalism at work...
Quote from: Nicky on May 07, 2009, 04:46:40 PM
I think cindybc uses it. You could pm her.
I'll do that, ty.
There was one woman on a site years ago who said she used an epilator on her face and that it worked.
She also said that it took awhile before she "got used to it." I bet!! But she also said that after that while the pain was drastically reduced.
If you can recall or are going through eyebrow waxing in early transition I imagine that the process is about the same. Those earliest sessions as I recall were very rough with very coarse eyebrow hair.
Now, the hair seems much finer and the strips are much easier, in fact they pretty much glide off, because the hair has grown finer.
The hairs, I think, do not get "thicker" due to plucking although if I were an elektro I could see telling ya that to make sure you used me instead of doing the plucking! :laugh: I've ever imagined my eyebrow hairs getting "thicker" after I pluck them. They all seem to get finer to me. Perhaps YMMV?
N~
Not in your position, but I've picked up a few tricks from having four sisters and from plucking my 5 black facial hairs (I tend to scratch at them otherwise like a nervous habit 'til my chin's raw if I don't pluck 'em).
Pull with the growth.
Chill the area with something really cold. Like a couple of icecubes in a bag. Before you pluck.
uhm...
It gets easier, and a lot less painful, the more you do it.
But like the girls say, there's better ways to deal with it than tweezers ;)
The brows are no problem and the face isn't unbearable... except that !@@#$! upper lip! WOW does that smart! I think I could handle and epilator on my chin and neck area.
Well the thing with the epilator is that they don't all grow back at once. So after you do the first pluck-everywhere, only some of the hairs start to grow back, so you can just use the epilator as they show up and it's not like you're trying to pull the whole carpet up at once :P.
Unfortunately if you have deep roots there's a period whee the hairs are visible but unpluckable, which is annoying. So I think I'll stick with the permanent removal track...
I've been plucking for quite awhile now. I've somewhat likened it to pulling weeds :laugh: Like pulling weeds, the more you do it the easier it becomes ;) The hair does begin to thin to a degree. but some of the thicker hairs are rather persistent. The other thing is you have to deal with ingrown hairs from time to time :P Get a good face soap and some facial scrubby sponges so you can exfoliate the skin. Also be sure to use an astringent after washing your face. Then put a moisturizing lotion. Also be sure to clean your tweezers with rubbing alcohol. Instant hand sanitizer works well also. hope that helps some :)
Cami, plucking might not be the best thing if you want to go to an electrologist. The one I'm going to asked me first thing if I had plucked any on my face. Apparently it can make it harder to get to the roots, I can't remember the details of her explanation though.
thank you Virginia Marie! It does help. I hadn't thought about the risk of ingrown hairs. thanks for the info. :D
Almost forgot, When you do get an ingrown hair, don't pick at it. I use one of those finger poppers that diabetics use to pop open the pour :laugh:
Yeah, scars would be worse then the hair :laugh:
Quote from: Virginia Marie on May 07, 2009, 06:06:07 PM
Almost forgot, When you do get an ingrown hair, don't pick at it. I use one of those finger poppers that diabetics use to pop open the pour :laugh:
What device is this? Do you have a link or a picture?
A few notes:
first off, plucking does not make hair grow back thicker, coarser or anything. The hair just grows back. I think we expect the hair to grow back coarser, but there's no feedback system at the hair follicle telling it that the hair has been plucked or cut or whatever. It's like the myth about how cutting your hair makes it grow faster. Totally not true.
I'm sure that 99% of it is perception.
Regarding the slow regrowth type stuff:
I use the Noxzema Hair Minimizing Shave Gel. You can get a can at Target for $1.99 (assuming you're in the US) or something like that. It's definitely under $5, and costs the same as regular shave gel. Pretty sure you can get it at pretty much any pharmacy like CVS, too. Sure, it's probably intended for your legs, but before I started laser, I was using it on my face. It works pretty well. You'll notice better/faster results if you use it every day, at least I did.
Again, just my experience, YMMV.
Also, make sure you're off it for at least a few weeks/months before starting laser. I was using it while I was getting laser on my face, at least at first, and I realized that it might be preventing regrowth of hairs that should be getting zapped with the laser. It took a couple weeks, but there was a bit of a growth surge once I stopped using it.
It is a spring loaded pen shaped device that you can load with a new sanitized pin. Diabetics use it to poke their fingers for glucose level testing. Look up diabetic supplies :laugh:
I have tried everything imaginable. Plucking requires the hair to be long enough to grab, hate to not shave. Yeah a transwoman who hates to not shave, but it looks horrible if I don't.
Epilator on my face. :o I hated it on my arms and you want me to..... never mind.
Tried the Noxzema Hair Minimizing Shave Gel, I did not see much difference.
Tried Vaniqa. Very expensive and my result were less than satisfactory.
Nair for face. Burned my skin.
Laser needs to be laser, not IPL. I had IPL and they are back, Damn. So I am stuck with getting laser, when I can afford it.
When it comes to the damned hair, I am RST.
Janet
Quote from: Janet Lynn on May 08, 2009, 01:20:11 AM
Tried the Noxzema Hair Minimizing Shave Gel, I did not see much difference.
I noticed that I had a lot less regrowth in between laser sessions. It's one of the reasons I stopped using it on my face. I didn't want a bunch of hair suddenly springing up when I was done with laser and was ready to stop shaving.
I use it on my legs now, and it definitely slows down the regrowth. I used to need to shave twice a week, and now doing it once a week is sort of pushing it.
One thing to remember, it doesn't actually make hair go away, it just makes it grow slower. If you're worried about a beard shadow or something like that, it can help.
Thank you all for the input. It definitely hes given me somethings to consider. I am just getting desperate. My facial hair is so bad, I can have up to three hairs sprouting from the same follicle.
I wouldn't pluck the face, it can cause problems for electro.
I have been epilating my legs for over a year and hair growth is slower than when I started. As to scarring for ingrowns, I haven't noticed any, but I never scarred easily.
Get a wax job done first if you decide to use an epilator, otherwise be prepared for some serious, drawn out pain that first time.
I'm surprised no one has suggested this- orajel. y'know, the stuff for a toothache. apply it to the area to be plucked, wait a couple minutes and tug away, pain free.
Interesting idea.
Probably a great idea for upper lip if you were to do it, small areas where it will hurt like hell (I can think of a few). But trying to use that for the front of your thighs (which can hurt like hell) would be costly I would imagine.
Quote from: Mister on May 08, 2009, 04:12:33 PM
I'm surprised no one has suggested this- orajel. y'know, the stuff for a toothache. apply it to the area to be plucked, wait a couple minutes and tug away, pain free.
I like that idea. Especially for the upper lip. But then, plucking helps me take out my angst :laugh:
I've been pulling out chin hairs ever since they first started appearing around age 18.
It became something of a habit; anything long enough and dark enough got pulled out.
As a consequence, only the blond hairs remain.
I don't grow boy hair on my upper lip, but I imagine that pulling it out would be ->-bleeped-<-ing painful!
why yes, yes it is. lol!
Polynesian trans women (Samoan, Tongan, Maori) all seem to pluck rather than shave.
However, because it's more acceptable in their culture, they usually start plucking as soon as they start growing facial hair.
Many years ago I decided I would wax my face. I have made mistakes before but this one is near the top of my list.
I obtained the wax that you put on with a flat stick, let it harden, and then pull the wax up from the edge...no cloth was necessary.
I decided to start with my neck and covered an area from the bottom of my neck up to my chin. It was probably about 3" wide. I let it dry, grabbed the bottom edge, and pulled. I promise I lifted myself 6" off the ground and not one hair had come out! I tried again but only levitated an inch or so. Now I am standing looking at a big glob of yellow wax and not knowing how in the heck I was going to get it off.
I started slowly (and using the same amount of force it would take to pull a horse out of quicksand) and little by little I was able to pull it up. Think of removing one hair with a pair of tweezers very, very, very slowly....now multiply that by one thousand!!!
When I finally got it off, I now had a three inch strip going from my chin down to my chest. It was creamy white (if you discount the redness and the blood) and on both sides was obvious beard shadow. I looked like a skunk! The piece of wax looked like a porcupine.
I had no choice but to finish my neck although the strips of wax were much thinner. When I finished, I walked to the trash can and tried to throw the container through the bottom of the can all the way to the pits of Hell!
I started electroysis a couple of weeks later.
Ketsy probably has the best solution. Mine always grow back. Sometimes I get a small amount of nose hair and I yank them with hemostats, OUCH!!!
I guess I'm lucky, my X-GF gave me a Gigi microwave wax kit and showed me how to use it correctly. Only prob. is I ran out of wax. So I'm plucking again. The only prob. there is that the thinner hairs have become more difficult to find and/or pluck and break off. Thus causing ingrown hairs. though the thicker hairs are annoying to see, they are easier to pluck. For those who can afford laser or electo., Good for you. Brag until your heads fall off. I'm offering advise to those that are not so spoiled and have a budget to work within ;)
Jeanette-alexis,
Thank you for that post. I was actually considering trying waxing but I figured it would be beyond excruciating.
If you're going to pluck, then atleast invest in one of those $50 do-it-yourself electrolysis kits, ya know the ones than kinda don't work but are better than nothing? Surely a few months of that and you'll be set.
I have one actually and its much to difficult to use on the face unless you have some one else there to do it for you. It also takes a lot of practice to uses properly without leaving scars.
I've done the exact same thing before... ultimately It's not really productive but it's a desperation move of spite. There is a technique I used (A type of wrist flick) so you pull them out in clusters of 4 or 5 every 3 seconds or so.
Even with this it's just not worth it least in my case I've spent 3hours on it before and only cleared about 1/4 of my face Even with my rather extreme pain threshold I just couldn't push myself further. After that I also needed to take a shower because I was covered in sticky coarse black hairs. (The papilla hair bulb makes them sticky) not only that for the day that area of my face was blue and red instead of skin coloured due to the trauma. that cleared up after a few days not before numerous white heads formed which I then had to treat.
the real kicker is that Facial hair regenerates alot faster than other body hair so unlike leg hair where if you wax it's gone for 4 weeks, in this case 1week later you get "shadow" back where the hair is growing underneath the skin there is nothing you can do to remove them during this stage and at 1.5 weeks it's fully returned to normal. No reduction it's not thinner it's as angry and strong as ever.
Oh yeah also the pain isn't conformal throughout if you rip out the ones on your top lip or ones near your ears those hurt 10xs more than those on your chin, the pain jumps from the nerves in your upper lip and ear, Your upper lip hurts your nose and eyes so you will begin crying like someone smashed you in the face. and your ears will begin ringing like someone slapped you in the side of the head. and this is for every single hair. It dosen't matter how high your threshold to pain is I personally cannot take begin smashed in nose 100 times every 1.5weeks.
Hi there, Cami.
I know EXACLY where you're coming from. This is my tweezing experience:
I could not stand to have upper lip hair mostly, but could not afford standard removal procedures. One morning, I spent quality time under a good light with a good, fine-point tweezers (being the ex-biologist, I had good surgical micro dissection tweezers), and had been on hrt long enough that it softened my facial hair. Before my shave, I pulled out every single hair. After the first dozen, I self-hypnotized to stand the pain. In about an hour and a half, I had no hair left on my upper lip. It was baby smooth, and remained so for days. Then when they reared their ugly little heads, I pulled them all again, and noticed that it was easier to pull them out. Again, several days later, the same.
On the next round of pulling, there seemed to be fewer hairs, and on each new time, fewer still. Then, after about half a year into tweezing, I was down to about 50 hairs to pull. After another year, I had about 24 persistent hairs, and still do several years later, but now I pluck when I see them about once each 2 weeks, and it is painless.
The more times I pulled them out, the easier it became. They were not as tightly embedded, and became finer. I also started on my chin at this time. There are finer hairs left that I cannot see, and so, yes, I still shave lightly, but my entire face is baby smooth for about 36 hrs.
VERY important.......if you do this, pull slowly in the direction of growth, don't yank! In the past 4 years, I have had one in-grow, and excized it with the same needle-fine forceps, gently squeezed the area, and forgot about it. it made a small pink spot, which was gone in one day.
Okay.....long winded, but that's my experience.
Good luck!
Bev
Thanks for the Input and Ideas again ladies.
Yesterday I decided to attack my upper lip. I tried Misters suggestion of using orajel and to my great surprise it actually helped! I smeared a thin layer over my upper lip from one side to the other then massaged it in a bit and let it set for a few minutes. After about 1 minute I started to feel some slight numbing in the area so I went at them. While it was still far from comfortable it was at lease bearable and I could get relatively close to my nose with out bringing instant tears to my eyes.
Necessity may be the mother of invention but desperation is the mother of innovation. :D
Native American berdaches, genetic males who lived as women, plucked their facial hair with their fingernails, without the benefit of mirrors.
I just shows to goya what an imperative it can be to do what has to be done to live in the right gender.
Quote from: GinaDouglas on May 11, 2009, 07:20:47 PM
Native American berdaches, genetic males who lived as women, plucked their facial hair with their fingernails, without the benefit of mirrors.
I just shows to goya what an imperative it can be to do what has to be done to live in the right gender.
Yes. Modern inhabitants of North America prefer to kill time watching TV nowadays. Sure beats plucking junk off your face.
Or just read a lot like me:D
Seriously though, I don't get it. After HRT I just told myself over and over again that I didn't want facial hair. If I go two-three weeks it's noticeable, but other than that ever 3 days I exfoliate the skin at my chin where that stubble starts building up then put some lotion there and shave it off, the lotion works better than shaving cream.
Quote from: Vexing on May 13, 2009, 03:19:52 AM
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Or it gets the hose!
ROFL!
Well I tried some of those wax strips on my upper lip. I followed the directions exactly. (Except, that is, the part about not doing this to your upper lip). When I yanked off the strips, I think half my skin stuck to it. My hoped-for smooth upper lip was not to be. Instead I sported a big scab for about a week. I also threw the stuff away and consigned it to an especially disgusting spot in the dump next to the Nair that once scalded me silly.
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Your a braver woman then I Kristi. Waxing the upper lip.... just.... OW! :laugh:
I researched this product on a whim this morning. I hit up the forums where users were reviewing it as well as the 'official' testimonials.
Seems to be well grounded.
Have at it.
Silk'n Laser Hair Removal - Celine stops shaving after 15 weeks of use (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPucc5E7-4A#lq-lq2-hq)
Quote from: Annwyn on May 13, 2009, 10:53:33 AM
I researched this product on a whim this morning. I hit up the forums where users were reviewing it as well as the 'official' testimonials.
Seems to be well grounded.
Have at it.
IIRC, those aren't safe to use on your face. I should confess that I didn't watch the video, but all the other similar products I've seen specifically warn against using marketed-to-home lasers on the face. Probably something about the proximity to your eyes. I'm not sure if it would be safer to use if you had the goggles like at the laser clinic. :)
Maybe they're just afraid of people burning their faces?
Quote from: Jessica L. on May 18, 2009, 01:54:13 PM
IIRC, those aren't safe to use on your face. I should confess that I didn't watch the video, but all the other similar products I've seen specifically warn against using marketed-to-home lasers on the face. Probably something about the proximity to your eyes. I'm not sure if it would be safer to use if you had the goggles like at the laser clinic. :)
Maybe they're just afraid of people burning their faces?
I asked for opinions on the 2 main home laser (Tria and the Silk'n) like devices a while back. I have actually used both.
I had a first gen tria. They just released the second gen after I bought mine. With the tria zapping (except facial/neck) was no worse than epilating. The face/neck area REALLY REALLY HURT, but would have been bearable. I did 2 treatments on my face and 1 on my whole body. My wife also did 2 treatments on her legs. Neither of us found that it did much if anything in the form of temporary shedding. We figured if it couldn't temp shed then perm results were out of the question. I returned it after the 30 day trial period. It is possible that the newer model is more effective, and it is also possible that both of us are just more resistant so YMMV, but I would not be looking at it again.
Right now we are trying the Silk'n. It doesn't hurt as bad as the tria. It is also causing a decent amount of temp shedding. I've hit 1 treatment all over and then 2 on my face, hands, and lower legs. My arms have completely bare spots (I didn't account for the window properly the first time (needed to lap more)). Of course it has the replacement bulb cost to consider. For us, its lower pain + temp shedding is making it look like a definate keeper. I've got decent thinning on my beard area (but nothing clear like my arms).
Quote from: Jeneva on May 18, 2009, 02:21:33 PM
I asked for opinions on the 2 main home laser (Tria and the Silk'n) like devices a while back. I have actually used both.
I had a first gen tria. They just released the second gen after I bought mine. With the tria zapping (except facial/neck) was no worse than epilating. The face/neck area REALLY REALLY HURT, but would have been bearable. I did 2 treatments on my face and 1 on my whole body. My wife also did 2 treatments on her legs. Neither of us found that it did much if anything in the form of temporary shedding. We figured if it couldn't temp shed then perm results were out of the question. I returned it after the 30 day trial period. It is possible that the newer model is more effective, and it is also possible that both of us are just more resistant so YMMV, but I would not be looking at it again.
Right now we are trying the Silk'n. It doesn't hurt as bad as the tria. It is also causing a decent amount of temp shedding. I've hit 1 treatment all over and then 2 on my face, hands, and lower legs. My arms have completely bare spots (I didn't account for the window properly the first time (needed to lap more)). Of course it has the replacement bulb cost to consider. For us, its lower pain + temp shedding is making it look like a definate keeper. I've got decent thinning on my beard area (but nothing clear like my arms).
So the Silk'n is effectively an IPL, rather than a laser. So I guess it's going to have more effect on body hair where the follicle is closer to the surface, and could appear to cause temp shedding similar to pro-laser. That might explain why the arm treatment is working better than the face, and why the device can be higher powered over a larger area without the risk of permanent damage. Sounds like the device is working reasonably well for a home treatment, but I still doubt it will achieve the long term results of a pro-laser device on the face. ::)
BTW I tried the Rio 60x ($400) and it stung like hell (felt like it was going to give me a tattoo) but did nothing. The device uses a really cumbersome head which makes facial work difficult, and crudely scans a dot across the skin. Difficult to see what improvements were made over their previous scanning laser, other than extending the time period to make it hurt more. :-\
I think you will find the reason for these devices not being used on the face is the risk of an eye damage lawsuit from mis-use like Jessica says.
Chrissty
I didn't know anyone had tried any of them. The tria is the one I've seen adverts for, and all the warnings about not using it near your face.
From my own experience with laser, it seems like even ideal candidates (light skin, dark hair) still have to have the power upped considerably for anything even close to permanent hair removal. I would guess the for-home-use lasers just can't produce that kind of power.
Vulpes on Hairtell did a fairly through testing of the tria and he also found a pair of glasses that will block the tria laser. I bought a pair and did use them when I used the tria on my face. They kind of give you a cyclops look though.
I use my hand to block with the silk'n and wore my dark full eye riding glasses the first time.
Another warning is that if you use the tria on your face it is highly likely you will look like hamburger for a week.
Overseas the tria is cleared for higher up (just below the nose I think is the limit). I'm sure it is all about product liability when someone gets a facial scar.
probably true. without being able to adjust the power, zapping an area where you've got a freckle or mole or something will probably burn you.
I would be interested to try something like a tria, but the price tag just seems a little high for something that doesn't really sound like it works all that well.
I may look into getting some type of home kit in the future for places like my chest and arms but for now I think I'll just stick with the pros for my face. Its ugly enough as is, I'd hate to make it worse! :laugh:
LOL. I agree with you. That's the thing, a DIY laser might be okay, but if you burn your face or something, that can take a REALLY long time to heal (if it ever does). I think it's worth the money of an electrologist/laser operator.
Doesn't help much if you're broke, though. :(
Quote from: Jessica L. on May 19, 2009, 01:17:18 PM
LOL. I agree with you.
You agree that I'm ugly ? :'( :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Quote from: Cami on May 19, 2009, 01:46:16 PM
You agree that I'm ugly ? :'( :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
:laugh: yeah, I initially wondered about that too! :laugh:
Ok, so I just have to ask am I? *puppydog eyes*
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Quote from: Cami on May 19, 2009, 02:59:58 PM
Ok, so I just have to ask am I? *puppydog eyes*
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OMG!! Get over it, girl. You look like Ernest Bourgnine! :laugh: :laugh:
You know better than that, that is one of the most shameless pleas for a compliment I have ever seen! :laugh:
Ok, love the hair! :)
I always thought that one of the warning signs of adulthood is learning not to ask questions you really don't want to know the answer to.
i plucked all my upper lip hair off once, and it hurt like hell. i actually tried it again, but it made me cry.
Quote from: Nichole on May 07, 2009, 04:54:44 PM
There was one woman on a site years ago who said she used an epilator on her face and that it worked.
She also said that it took awhile before she "got used to it." I bet!! But she also said that after that while the pain was drastically reduced.
If you can recall or are going through eyebrow waxing in early transition I imagine that the process is about the same. Those earliest sessions as I recall were very rough with very coarse eyebrow hair.
Now, the hair seems much finer and the strips are much easier, in fact they pretty much glide off, because the hair has grown finer.
The hairs, I think, do not get "thicker" due to plucking although if I were an elektro I could see telling ya that to make sure you used me instead of doing the plucking! :laugh: I've ever imagined my eyebrow hairs getting "thicker" after I pluck them. They all seem to get finer to me. Perhaps YMMV?
N~
I'm unable to have laser or electrolysis because I have a pacemaker, so I've tried numerous other ways to rid myself of beard hair.
Yes I've epilated my face, but never able to complete my whole face in one session because of the extreme
P-A-I-N. I tried just doing a small area each day but it made my face quite sore and the pain was unbelievable especially above and below my lips.
I've used hair removal creams such as Nair for Men which have been no more effective than shaving. The only preparation which has actually slowed down growth is Eflora (also marketed as Vaniqa). Its full name is Eflornithine Hydrochloride Cream and it requires a prescription. But be warned, it's expensive if you are paying for it and once you've started you have to keep right on applying it twice a day or it's back to square one.
Plucking? If I was doing thirty years in jail and had nothing else to do but pluck hairs all day it might work in time for my release :)
By the way, I'm still shaving daily :'(
Quote from: Cami on May 19, 2009, 01:46:16 PM
You agree that I'm ugly ? :'( :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
LOLZ. I thought the context of the remark would have indicated what I was talking about-- leaving the laser and electrolysis to the pros.
As for the shameless plea for a compliment: ::) (rolling my eyes is one of my favorite pasttimes)
Puh-lease. :D (in other words, you look great)
Quote from: Jessica L. on May 19, 2009, 06:16:32 PM
LOLZ. I thought the context of the remark would have indicated what I was talking about-- leaving the laser and electrolysis to the pros.
Yeah, I knew what you meant but I saw an opportunity to fish for compliments. Or insults... ::) :laugh:
Quote from: tekla on May 19, 2009, 03:21:43 PM
I always thought that one of the warning signs of adulthood is learning not to ask questions you really don't want to know the answer to.
Honestly I don't give a rats ass what most people think about my appearance. I'd rather look like an ugly woman then a good looking guy. I don't get the crap beat out of me when I walk down the street but I don't get many catcalls or turned heads either. I am perfectly content to go mostly unnoticed. At least I'm not afraid to show my face in public or admit what I am.
I am clearly no expert on this, but I wouldn't recommend sunglasses to protect your eyes from a laser unless I saw some documentation showing it really did work. I have seen people who have used a few pairs of sunglasses stacked to do welding, it worked, for a little while, but they still ended up with flashburns.
Research it first, it's better than being blind.
Quote from: Leslie Ann on May 20, 2009, 03:15:29 AM
I am clearly no expert on this, but I wouldn't recommend sunglasses to protect your eyes from a laser unless I saw some documentation showing it really did work. I have seen people who have used a few pairs of sunglasses stacked to do welding, it worked, for a little while, but they still ended up with flashburns.
Research it first, it's better than being blind.
Just so no one misreads my earlier post. I never suggested sunglasses for the tria (diode laser). I used a pair of protective glasses rated for the tria wavelengths. As I said Vulpes had already done the legwork on them for everyone else. Here is a direct link to his page for anyone interested http://www.geocities.com/vulpresults/tria.html (http://www.geocities.com/vulpresults/tria.html)
The silk'n is not a laser, it is an IPL (high powered flashlight). Because it is an IPL there isn't going to be a tight wavelength band to block (its wide spectrum). I did only use sunglasses for that, but at no point was I actually near my eyes and I used my free hand to block the light and since it is button triggered I kept my eyes closed during the pulse. With the silk'n its not a bad idea to close your eyes before the pop anyway simply because it lights the room enough to be annoying.
Actually since then I've had my eyes checked since then and I'm still 20/20 with no problems. My wife and children all have eye problems so I have to carry vision insurance. Since I was covered as well and there isn't a big copay, I went along on the last visit since I hadn't had mine checked in a ~5 years.
YMMV and any facial use is denied by the mfr. Please use your OWN judgment on safety and eye protection.
I don't think any home remedies really work. I would include any hair removal tools you buy yourself and herbal hormones from the vitamin counter. I am speaking from experience, both mine and others. When I finally began eletrolysis by a professional and prescription hormones, the speed of the changes was amazing. I started in 2001 and in two years I got a job as female and went to conferences in DC ( as my new self) as the guest of CSAT and SAMHSA. I really believe that anybody who thinks they can transition without professional help is just prolonging the "agony".
I use hair removel cream, but it make all my skin red an the skin that i have put it on will be numb or a a few hours =/
I tried waxing once on a test strip along my lower breastbone and onto my upper belly and I found that on the soft fatty area that the result was a very blotchy area that lasted for days. That made me afraid to use it in some of the problem places (I find that when I shave the places where I get the worst results are the softest fattiest areas) I had been hoping to take care of
(I still have that $15 paperweight)
But the major problem I had wasn't that- the problem I had was holding off shaving long enough to get enough hair for the wax to stick to. i CAN'T go 2 or 3 weeks without shaving - I just CAN'T.
At least not for a temporary removal - I might put up with it for a laser or electro session.
As for plucking, I don't have a steady enough hand or good enough eyes to grab a single hair with a pair of tweezers. The only places i pluck are in my nose (yuck!) and one persistent hair in near the bottom of each earlobe.
I've tried a few waxes and found that most are too chemi for my sensitive skin. The only one I'd recommend is the GiGi microwave wax system. It takes a little while to learn to use but it does a good job without giving you a nasty chem. burn. Luckily the girl that gave me the wax showed me how to get the wax to the right temp and some good application techniques. I think there are a few other co. that make similar products, but I haven't tried them. I wouldn't give Nair to my worst enemy :P
I finally broke down and bought an epilator for my body... I absolutely love that thing! I don't dare use it on my face but it works great every place else. Only cost me about $40.
How long does the hair have to be for an epi to work?
and how long is it before you have stubble again after using?
It will get hairs as short as about 1/16th of an inch so you don't have to let it grow out for more then a weekend really. I let mine grow form Friday to Monday morning then I use it. I can go at least three days before I have to retouch some spots.
HRT has really slowed my body hair growth though so depending on how long you have been on them can make a difference.
I got the Remington epilator/shaver from Wal-mart... it has both a power cord and and rechargeable batteries.
Quote from: Cami on May 07, 2009, 03:59:46 PM
I'm so sick of having facial hair that over the last few days I've taken up plucking them one by one. I was wondering how many of you have also done this and what have been your results, i.e. how long before you noticed regrowth and over time did you notice and permanent reduction in regrowth?
I have read that over time regrowth can slow significantly but I was looking for some real experiences here.
Thanks! :D
Back in the day, I was the queen of tweezing. I tweezed all of my mustache hair and goatee hair and tweezed my eyebrows, too. All of your hair doesn't come back at the same time. It comes back in cycles, so one wave of hair comes back say every other week and another wave comes back every other week between those weeks. If you're going to be transitioning, however, I'd recommend laser hair removal. After 12 sessions, my facial hair is all gone save for maybe 6 that come back every other week. I can tweeze those easily without fuss.
Yep. Laser is the way to go. I'll be going for my first session July 21st... YIPEEE!