I am starting my laser treatments next week in tampa as I want to have my surgery with Dr Preech in November, anyways I was thinking full brazialian and underarms first then my back followed by chest and legs. Does this make sense and what have others done and in what order.
Thanks Girls for any input.
body hair usually disappears with HRT anyway so it could be a waist of money. Only face and genitals for most Mtf's. At least that's been my experience. The most important of course in genital to prepare for surgery, you don't want to have that done post surgery believe me.
Stardust
Thanks Stardust for your input.
stardust is correct. My back hair is completely gone, my belly hair is almost gone, and my chest hair is thinning thanks to HRT. But the underarms, arms, legs and pubic area are all unaffected.
What happens to facial hair with HRT? I've been looking into laser, and it seems it's no good if you've got greying hair already, so it's electrolysis or nothing. Does HRT change facial hair growth?
[sorry, not an attempted hijack, just curious...]
I can testify personally, HRT has no effect on a matured male beard. :'(
Mine was predominantly brown, red, blonde, white, and grey so laser was never an option. I'm currently having two to three hours of electrolysis each week. Slight pain (nothing unbearable) and slow process, but it works, no matter what color the hair. Look for an electrologist who uses an Apilus Platinum machine. This machine provides PicoFlash and Synchro technologies which reduce the amount of energy necessary to release each hair (Pico Flash) and speed the treatment (Synchro). The electrologists who participate at hairtell.com can tell you how well it works.
Thanks, I'll see what's available in the south-west of England where I'm moving next month - I like the idea of people there not being used to how the "usual" me looks, so I feel more confident about playing with my appearance :). It's very useful to get the gen on which machinery works best.
Fortunately, my facial skin is so sensitive, I haven't shaved much over the years (I use clippers to keep it debiblicalised) so the skin has stayed kind of girlish underneath (another strange "coincidence").
Quote from: yoxi on March 04, 2011, 01:32:48 PM
Thanks, I'll see what's available in the south-west of England where I'm moving next month - I like the idea of people there not being used to how the "usual" me looks, so I feel more confident about playing with my appearance :). It's very useful to get the gen on which machinery works best.
Fortunately, my facial skin is so sensitive, I haven't shaved much over the years (I use clippers to keep it debiblicalised) so the skin has stayed kind of girlish underneath (another strange "coincidence").
I am exactly the same as you. I have only cut it all off about twice, since I was 23.
But its a real bummer that HRT won't get rid of the wretched stuff. :laugh:
I had a gray beard and got laser to get as much as it could get, followed by electrolysis for the rest. I also had laser on my legs and to trim the pubic patch. I had laser on my chest and will have an occasional white hair grow but otherwise no. I probably could have waited for the chest to see how HRT would affect it, but I was shaving regularly because I couldn't stand to have the hair there.
I haven't had my arms done and don't intend to, especially now that the hair is so fair and light. I also had my armpits lasered, just so I wouldn't have to shave them. I don't have noticeable hair on my back.
At one point my electrolysis tech sent me back to the laser tech for some hair on my face. Laser is quicker and cheaper than electrolysis for the hairs it can handle.
- Kate
How bad was the pain in your armpits? I was a chicken there!
I had full-body laser (not Brazilian, though) several years ago, and the underarms weren't painful at all. They were some of the least painful spots, in fact.
My doctor wrote me a presription for litocaine 5% cream said it should help have others used this cream
I had quite heavy facial hair and the first clearing of the upper lip was a doozy. The goggles were full of tears :o. After 4 treatments I shave about once a week, had my chest and tummy done 'cos I'm thinking of boob implants.
I'm not sure if it's a problem in some parts of the world but I was warned to keep lasered areas covered with sun screen when out.
You can get a test patch done to see if it is going to be successful, which is a good idea with the cost of it.
Cindy
I was told to watch out for the sun as well. The best time to do it then, is late in the afternoon after work.
I'm doing only my beard, since HRT has no effect on it, then I will wait to see what HRT does to my body before I think about laser. I've been waxing and epilating, though. It helps reduce hair a lot.
Quote from: Maiara on March 06, 2011, 01:16:09 AM
I'm doing only my beard, since HRT has no effect on it, then I will wait to see what HRT does to my body before I think about laser.
That's the best thing to do in almost every circumstance. Wait and let HRT do it's job. Body hair, facial changes, boobs, body shape, etc. People tend to want to rush things a bit too much when HRT will do most of what they want over time.
I went for full-body, including face. And now use electro to kill off the few remaining hairs on my face. HRT does help, but it takes time. I'm just not that patient. :)
Oh, and the arm pits don't hurt that much. Your face, right under your nose/upper lip is about as bad as it gets. :P :icon_blah: :icon_ashamed:
Quote from: JennX on March 06, 2011, 03:55:45 PM
Oh, and the arm pits don't hurt that much. Your face, right under your nose/upper lip is about as bad as it gets. :P :icon_blah: :icon_ashamed:
Thank god it doesn't gets worse than the upper lip, because it is simply horrid!!!!
Yah it hurts REALLLLYYY BAD :'( :'( :'(
Quote from: SamanthaFLA on March 06, 2011, 01:28:51 PM
That's the best thing to do in almost every circumstance. Wait and let HRT do it's job. Body hair, facial changes, boobs, body shape, etc. People tend to want to rush things a bit too much when HRT will do most of what they want over time.
I agree with Samantha on this one.
I'm getting my beard and neck done with LASER first and letting the HRT take over the rest. I've been on HRT for around 5 months and most of my leg hair is almost nil. My chest hair is taking it's time but the texture is def changing already. I would concentrate on the face first since that is what people will see first.
Quote from: CindyJames on March 06, 2011, 12:13:54 AM
I had quite heavy facial hair and the first clearing of the upper lip was a doozy. The goggles were full of tears :o. After 4 treatments I shave about once a week, had my chest and tummy done 'cos I'm thinking of boob implants.
I'm not sure if it's a problem in some parts of the world but I was warned to keep lasered areas covered with sun screen when out.
You can get a test patch done to see if it is going to be successful, which is a good idea with the cost of it.
Cindy
Cindy is that life long sunscreened?
I have heavy beard though my upper lip isn't particularly so I'm hoping for a reprieve, hoping :D
Quote from: Safiyah on March 07, 2011, 04:20:54 PM
Cindy is that life long sunscreened?
I have heavy beard though my upper lip isn't particularly so I'm hoping for a reprieve, hoping :D
Hi Safiyah (cute name BTW)
My understanding was a definite for the short term, as you have been exposed to the energy of the laser to your skin will be more sensitive to exposure to UV from the sun. Two other things she has told me. Firstly, if you get sunburn they may not be able to laser you as you skin type changes and it cannot take the laser energy. Sorry if that sounds confusing but I think it's the the same argument as your skin being sensitive to the sun, if you get sunburn you are too sensitive to the laser, so they won't go ahead with it. Also my laser ladies are all Registered Nurses and they are very keen on skin care in general so moisturiser etc is brought up all the time, and I think there is a little bit of them teaching a newbie girl about skin care. They are very sweet to me. They say I'm the first TG they have worked with and I'm sort of special to them.
As far as pain is concerned it is the hair follicle density, the denser the area the more the pain. In most of us the upper lip has the densest hair so gets quite painful. It's painful but by no means unbearable., I didn't cry, my eyes watered. Imagine having a rubber band flicked into your face every few seconds it's like that.
In my first pass they took three separate sessions to do my face. It was too much for one. It took 3 hours in accumulated time over the three weeks. Then I had to wait 4 weeks for the second session it too 1.5 hours, yes that much reduction. Wait another 4 weeks took 20 mins so I had my chest and tummy started as well. After three sessions of waiting four weeks between sessions, these are there to catch yout natural hair growth cycles. I can go back when ever I wish. I now have a faint upper lip, a small line under my lower lip and a cople of very small cheek patches. I'll go back soon and get then zapped again. I have been totally delighted by the results. I still have to use foundation but I certainly don't need that several layer job that I needed in the past :laugh:.
Do shop around, you need people you are comfortable with. It is a very personal experience. My charges were AD$250 per treatment for the first pass, that is $750 for one whole face pass, it went down to $500 for the second. I now pay $200 for a full facial.
Some places were cheaper but I lost confidence in their attitude to me. If I feel uncomfortable I let my female intuition take over, it hasn't let me down so far.
Laser only works on dark hair it will not remove anything from grey downwards. If they say it does they are lying and I would get out of that place ASAP. My ladies did say from the onset that they had no idea how many sessions I would need. The minimum was three, to fit in with the hair cycle growth.
There has been no embarrassment, they have been totally caring, chatty, funny, helpful and supportive. As I go in guy mode, they don't want any make up on you, they address me with my male name in public and with my real name in private.
They have given me great confidence to go forward, so much that I went to an eyebrow studio, again in guy mode, make up again, and got my eyebrows shaped. And again none of the staff batted an eye lid, or raised an eyebrow (sorry :laugh:).
Sorry for the long reply.
AD is Australian Dollars which is about equivalent to USA dollars at the moment.
Let me know how you get on.
Love
Cindy
Cindy, thank you about the name :) not sure about how I want to pronounce it, the first time I heard it was like Sapphire but with an 'a' on the end, but I like Sophia as well with an 'a' instead of an 'o'.
That was a such a great reply, and it made me emotional :) I'm hoping for acceptance and hearing of acceptance make me really emotional.
Laser treatment, if I prep myself psychologically I can handle the pain, I'm very tough psychologically I wish I wasn't I would have been myself many years ago, maybe it's that simple. But it really isn't though. Life is really is about finding out who we are and things like wanting children made a decision for me how could my 18 year old self not think it would all work out ok when she adores women?
I don't think I'm ever able to keep things on topic lol.
Eyebrows yes me too I want my eyebrows sculpted too :D
Thank you Safiyah,
That was very sweet of you. Acceptance is something we have to practice for. I'm not sure how far in the journey you are but getting the courage up to out and be seen as you is the first step in being accepted. The firt en femme shopping trip is usually the fateful moment when yoy know there is no going back ::).
I did have one funny event being lasered. We have a national holiday here for Australia Day. So I had a few friends round for a BBQ. I decided to show off and wore my new bikini, just to make them jealous, I havent got enough happened to fill the top or empty the bottoms :laugh:. But I managed to get them suitably jealous :laugh:. What I didn't realise was that I got my top sunburned. Next day I had a total sunburn bikini image. Oh No :laugh:.
I went back to be zapped a few weeks later and fessed up to my laser girl that I got my tummy sunburned, so she says OK lets see the damage. So I took of my T and she just gave a quick laugh and said, 'That needed a drum roll'.
They are nice people.
Take Care and Hugs
Cindy
Quote from: CindyJames on March 09, 2011, 01:21:56 AM
What I didn't realise was that I got my top sunburned. Next day I had a total sunburn bikini image. Oh No :laugh:.
Keep it up, and you'll have delicious womanly tan lines. ;D
Seriously, I hope you didn't burn too badly.
Haha great story Cindy :D Australia is such a beautiful place to live :)
I've been feeling emotions about alot of things all because of the realisation of exactly who I am, it's all good (so far) :)
I just had a thought do you know any of the australian aborigines have a two-spirits tradition?
I have been outside... at night, but still O yes, constantly looking at all the houses windows as I walk past hehe, turning to go up a hill and suddenly there was this guy crossing my path, scared and thrilled such a great feeling :D I snuggled my lower face into the coat I felt so alive I was thinking he's gonna say something or laugh but the opposite happened there was actually some chemistry :D woohoo :D I made sure he didn't get too close lol.
So laser treatments I've decided even though I don't have the money readily available I'm going to pay over the odds as the treatments can conincide with my weight loss, though I need to be saving for a hair transplant probably. Laser treatment + weight loss + a good wig and I'll pass really well.
I just want to be able to wear things like thick black wollen tights and denim shorts lol, I have to stop myself from buying any new clothes as I'm going to drop down to a size 12, I must cut back on chocolate haha.