I am considering laser removal for my facial hair. My wife is supportive, but I am not ready to come out to friends or to co-workers.
Is this going to be obvious? Seems like this should be a common dilemma, but I didn't find anything in the forum.
Any advice or experience?
Thanks!
no not really. It wasn't for me I begun removing my facial hair long before I begun transition pepole knew I hated my facial hair it happens and when I told pepole they were just "oh okay." . The laser tech wasn't bothered either said she treats quite a few men.
Most guys I know usually aren't that observant or maybe they just don't care that much.
If anyone asked I'd just tell them I hate shaving and I'm getting laser done. I know a lot of guys that hate shaving and I bet a few of them would want to know about laser.
I can just see all those men, spending 10 minutes, every morning, shaving and another 5 patching up the bleeding bits while they psyche themselves up to use aftershave, looking at you getting laser.
No one noticed until I told them, mainly because I had my treatments on a weekend so no one at work would guess. Unless you have laser on a lunch break and then go back to work with lightly bbq'd face you'll be fine.
I did mine Friday at 4 pm. That gave me till Monday to "recover".
I am not on HRT yet.. but I will be removing facial hair. I figure its one of the things that are better done ASAP, since you have to do it over a long time.
Quote from: Maiara on October 15, 2010, 07:25:26 PM
I figure its one of the things that are better done ASAP, since you have to do it over a long time.
^This.
I started laser and electrolysis before I was even sure that I would transition. I figured I'd just look clean-shaven all the time - no biggie. And, as Pebbles and Tamaki said, it is OK even if you tell everyone you are getting it done. It's not necessarily a "trans" thing.
- Kate
I started beard laser before I even started HRT. Doing so w/o a liberal dose of STFU and timing the sessions for discretion apparently played a big part in my being outed by people who connected a few dots.
So do it, but until you're ready for the possibility of being outed by others, use a combination of strategies suggested by others on this thread.
I started with electrolysis before I got on HRT. Laser for me is not doable. too much gray hair. I have been on HRT for six weeks and despite being told that the hair would come oout easier it hasn't. It hurts like hell. I get mine done once a week on Wednesday AM right before going to work. No one notices.
I did a quick calculation and worked out that it is not a lot dearer than shaving for the rest of my life, saves 5 mins in the morning too. Nearly all the dark hair is gone and the grey doesn't show if I miss a shave.
Nobody seems to have noticed at work.
Got the odd look but I think it was more about the inflammation than anything. Since I also wear ear rings I don't think any one really cares. I don't. I also wear 'female' 3/4 leggings to the gym with shaved legs and 'girly' socks in male mode, no one has said boo about that either.
Just do it. It's your body.
Cindy
You can't do it if you have dark skin right?
Quote from: tori319 on October 16, 2010, 02:59:29 AM
You can't do it if you have dark skin right?
Hi Tori,
Laser works by blasting melanin in the hair follicle and there by killing it. If you have dark, melaninated skin laser will just burn you. There was a lady of, I think, Indian descent, she had dark olive skin, and very dark black hair so she seemed OK. If you are dark skinned you need to go to a professional place and get assessed. You may need to go the electrolysis route. If you are dark skinned please be careful you may be scarred. :'(
Hugs
Cindy
It does not work well on dark skin or on very fair hairs. I would go down the Electrolysis route.
I had laser prior to coming out. I got a few strange looks but most people couldn't care less.
Tori, go for a consultation with a reputable laser place. It all depends on what kind of laser they have and how much contrast there is between your skin tone and your hair color. Best results are with fair skin and dark hair, but they can work on darker skin. Just be sure it is a place that knows what they are doing.
- Kate
i got a very nice light gold tan this summer and the laserist was concerned enough to call the manager in to consult and decide to turn machine power down a bit. it still stung as though it was sizzling the follicles though.
I'll definitely do a consultation.Thanks I''ll probably have a better chance with electro though.
thanks for all of the advice. I am going for it. wish me luck!
One thing I've heard is that laser/electro can be less effective if you're not on hormones yet. I tried electro for two months and although it seemed to be working, 95% or more of it grew back when I had to stop for budget reasons. Later heard from someone at my TG group that it gets a lot more effective once you start hormones. I've been on hormones for a while now but I'm trying to figure out where to go now that I'm ready to try again.
Even for dark skin or light hair, laser can work. A laser with a 1064 nm wavelegnth is ideal for working on people with those features.
Can anyone confirm or deny that being on hormones helps keep the hair from coming back. Also I thought the point of lazer/elec was to permanently stop hair from growing in the treated areas? How much does each treatment or session cost? I am wanting to get this done as well, I do not want to shave anymore and do not need the shadow...
It was $2100 for an 8 session laser package. In my area this is actually fairly cheap. For electrolysis I'd probably have been looking at upwards of $9000 for similar area (on of my friends was quoted this). 6 Months after the last treatment I've had 0 hair regrowth other than very small, very fine blond hairs.
While I can't say the situation will be the same years from now, based upon others' experiences I don't think I'll be having much in the way of hair regrowth. I believe hormones retard the hair growth process slightly.
Hormones have very little effect on facial hair (MTF). (I believe it was an NIH [US National Institutes of Health] site that I read this.) Hormones may slow the growth a little and soften the hair, but the effect is slight. (I suppose genetics may come in here - larger effect for some and no effect for others.)
Hair grows in three stages, and only one is visible (I think). That is the hair that laser and electro work on. The hair in the other two stages isn't affected, so you have to wait until it is in the visible stage and zap it then. That's why it appears that an area will be cleared and grow back. The zapped hair didn't grow back - it's the hair that was dormant while the other hair was zapped.
My electro gal said some people it seems like she just keeps clearing the same area over and over, which is frustrating for her and for the client. Other people, once she clears it, it stays cleared with only stray ones that were missed earlier showing up. So it all depends on how your facial hair grows.
We're all different. Some of us have very dense beards - many hairs - and some have sparse beards. I think the amount of hair, not the coarseness of the hair, is what is relevant.
For me it has been a long process. I got laser and have finished, but I'm still getting electrolysis 19 months after I started. Start when you know that you don't want facial hair and have the funds.
- Kate
Quote from: K8 on October 21, 2010, 07:50:38 AMStart when you know that you don't want facial hair and have the funds.
THIS.
Because of several mitigating factors my facial hair was never really noticeable if I shaved every day. So I kept pushing off electro. I even decided to go on HRT prior to dealing with electro figuring changes would be so gradual I'd have plenty of time to deal with it. It turned out to be a huge mistake on my part... within months the Hormones affected my body far quicker than average, and I found myself needing to go full time with unresolved facial hair. It eventually did need to get dealt with thanks to the annoyance factor. Because of my slow growth curve I needed to grow hair out for several days before there was enough for my electrologist to work on them. While it's never really been an issue from a presentation standpoint, it's definitely had a psychological effect on me walking around with hair on my face.
So when asked, my advice with *anyone* starting out... "facial hair removal first!"
Quote from: Valeriedances on October 21, 2010, 09:54:51 AM
p.s. Something that has been bugging me about facial hair removal since I first looked into it, how can they charge us so much money for it, it's practically more than surgery itself. It seems like the hourly cost is meant for people doing limited work. It shouldnt apply to us, yet they seem to see big dollar signs with TS people.
Not knowing what you've been quoted, I would suggest shopping around. In my area the eletrologists who want trans business tend to price themselves with discounts towards blocks of time. The only reason the costs mount for us is electro is a time consuming process.
To be honest, given the certification they need to go through, cost of rent and equipment and given the actual number of hours they can book clients, the rates don't seem unreasonable to me. I pay $80/hour where I go. When you figure realistically she can only book a maximum of 4-5 hours per day (times when people wouldn't be at work) that translates to an average professional wage here.
(On another note - Valarie, I didn't intend any judgment in what I said. I merely wrote what I suggest to people when asked and base it on my personal experience. For me social transition was far more critical than biological transition, which I recognize is a tad atypical).
My electrolysis is $60/hour. When I looked into transition years ago, the advice was that beard removal was the most expensive part of the process. It still can be, but with the rapidly escalating medical costs in the last decade usually GRS is more expensive.
And I think that we are all saying the same thing: We each go through the process differently depending on our needs and resources, but there is no need to wait until after starting HRT to begin removing facial hair if you want to and can begin earlier.
(BTW: I''ve already spent over $8,000 and 20 months on laser and electrolysis and am not done. :()
- Kate
I did not start hair removal until my estrogen level was at a level that is normal for most woman. The reason I did this is because estrogen prevents the thinner light hairs from becoming thick hairs that need to be shaved. Hair grows in stages we all have hair that will go dormant for a period then grow again thats why when you have laser or electro you have hair grow back in that area it was sleeping. Estrogen can stop some of this hair from growing again.
My facial hair decreased some even before I started electolysis. Waiting until you are on hrt for at least 4 months means less trips to have hair removed and less money. I never had much facial hair so getting rid of it has been fast. I was around 23 years old before I even had facial hair. Thankfully I was never a hairy person.
These days, any guy (trans or not) could do beard removal, and most people might notice but probably would not care. No biggie. Just tell 'em your tired of shaving.
My gender counselor advised me to have electrolysis before hormone replacement therapy. Why? Because, deeper into hormone replacement therapy (at which point I now am) your skin is much softer, thinner and more sensitive and will tear and rip much more easily ..., and it'll probably hurt more. Laser? Works fine on darker hair shades but NOT on salt-and-pepper gray or solid gray beards. If you have laser and you're African-American or darker-skinned, have a pro do it and be VERY careful. The laser (Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation) (there is a magnetic antecedent, but it's not available for consumer use, and wisely so!) (Dangerous doo-doo, man!) beam can easily burn and damage dark skin! Be aware of this!
I planned to have electrolysis before now, but I've been helping several different people financially and have put it off for that reason.
I'm thinking about buying a home-laser unit (By strict technical definition, these things are not really lasers.) to remove body hair ... or at least start the process. You'll do well to research the different units on the market, because some of them are moreorless useless, but there ARE some that WORK quite well, all things consider.
Good luck! :)
As I'm writing this, Lou Reed's song "Take a Walk on the Wild Side" is playing! How ironic! :D