I went to my first electro session today, it's running me $111.60 per session, and there is one other place that I want to check out because I saw a review saying it was trans friendly (Maybe it's cheaper though I don't know how the techs compare). I just went to the one today because they had a really nice website, and the location is more convenient for me. I had a couple of questions for the members who have gone through this because I want to try and find out if my results are on par for what other people had. I also wanted to know if anyone experienced better results once they had started HRT.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e376/D2A_Gunman/a91861d1-820a-4f8b-8ed6-a61a48bd1b85_zps543c94b1.jpg
That's 1 hour after my session and it was an hour long session, I'll post another one after it heals and hair starts growing again. As you can see the amount of hair I have is pretty sparse to begin with.

From what I know, HRT will not impact mAle facial hair growth or will have a very minimal effect. Pretty much once it's there, the only way to get rid of it is fry it. . I've had about 80 hours on my face and neck and still have a long way to go. I'm paying $75/hour for a provider who is local but has limited availability as she is only part time and paying approximately $100/hour for 4-6 hour sessions every 8 to 10 weeks at another provider who has worked with transgender clients for over 20 years. She's fast and I actually get lidocaine injections at a nearby dentist she she can clear my upper lip without any pain.

I started this way but quickly switched to laser instead. I figure, if I can save half the pain, half the money, and 75% of the time... Why the heck not?

That said, electro does seem handy for clearing up those last few stubborn stubbles. Might be something to consider?

I did 7 laser treatments before the results started diminishing. I got what I expected (some reduction on my neck and chin).

I think that looks about right, from the little I know. I have a couple friends who do electro and after the first few treatments it looked pretty close to your picture.

I did laser too for awhile but I'm going to switch to electro I think. I did about five sessions on my chin and upper lip - I have very, very little facial hair - at about $120 per session. The lady was not very bright and had this oh you're "a wanna be girl" attitude about me... I saw some results with laser, definitely cleared most of my chin and lip. I found an electro in town through word of mouth who is supposedly $1 per minute.

As I also understand it, isn't electro more permanent? I think I read somewhere that the FDA has actually banned laser hair removal from being referred to as permanent? That also scared me!

Quote from: ZoeM on June 04, 2013, 07:58:02 AM
I started this way but quickly switched to laser instead. I figure, if I can save half the pain, half the money, and 75% of the time... Why the heck not?

That said, electro does seem handy for clearing up those last few stubborn stubbles. Might be something to consider?

I hear a lot of people do that. Get laser, get rid as much as they can and then finish up with electro on the stubborn stuff.

I didn't want to be the first to say it but yes, laser cannot be sold as permanent hair removal. It's getting better but there are many providers who promise the world. My laser provider was very honest and me being an analytical person I did my research. Like I said, I had some reduction but my upper lip was barely touched. 40 hours of electrolysis on it and there is still a size able amount left to remove (I had very thick facial hair). Laser can work for some but don't be taken in by promises of permanent removal. Run if you hear that.

My laser folks said 'permanent reduction,' which makes sense - my face is really quite reduced at this point, although I'm waiting to see if the reduction on my upper lip sticks or not. Everywhere else on my face, well... I basically have maybe 1 in 5 original hairs remaining? And the beard shadow is basically gone, in most places.

But yeah. Reduction is great, and electro can turn it into removal. The only way this could be really bad is if it all comes back years later, and I don't think that's apt to happen.

Thanks for the responses everyone, I'll post a second picture up for reference when stuff starts growing back. I was told that it would probably take two sessions at least to permanently remove hair but I feel like a decent chunk of my hair will not come back. Fingers crossed anyways.

Quote from: Naomi on June 03, 2013, 08:46:54 PM
I went to my first electro session today, it's running me $111.60 per session, and there is one other place that I want to check out because I saw a review saying it was trans friendly (Maybe it's cheaper though I don't know how the techs compare). I just went to the one today because they had a really nice website, and the location is more convenient for me. I had a couple of questions for the members who have gone through this because I want to try and find out if my results are on par for what other people had. I also wanted to know if anyone experienced better results once they had started HRT.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e376/D2A_Gunman/a91861d1-820a-4f8b-8ed6-a61a48bd1b85_zps543c94b1.jpg
That's 1 hour after my session and it was an hour long session, I'll post another one after it heals and hair starts growing again. As you can see the amount of hair I have is pretty sparse to begin with.

Hi there,
As most of my facial hairs were white or grey, there was no choice for me, it had to be electrolysis.  Like you I thought I had pretty low denisity beard and compared to many, I think that was probably quite true, especially the cheeks.

Anyway, to start with, it took about 17 hours of work to do a full facial clearance and the last full clearance, the 4th,  took just over 5 hours. If I extrapolate on this, I should have more or less complete elimination in a little over 50 hours treatment which is very much on the low end of the scale. My electrologist who is also TG, told me that 100 hours is far more typical.

However, based on the time necessary to do the initial clearance, it is very much in line with what I had been lead to expect ie. a rule of thumb which says that when electrolysis is properly done you can expect each full clearance to eliminate about 30% of the hairs definitively. The rest grows back and, a very annoying detail as far as I am concerned, the hairs that grow back are much darker than the ones that were there to start with. This means that I now have some  beard shadow on my upper lip wheareas I had none before starting electrolyis.

In my own case,  regrowth has typically only started after about 4 weeks and hasn't become significant until 6 weeks. Because of this, I typically wait two months between each session.  Not only does this mean that there has been time enough for hairs to regrow, it also rests my skin.

Because my electrologist lives a 2 hour drive from where I live, I have been doing long sessions which can be quite draining, I did up to 8.5 hours in one session without any anesthetic. Not for the faint hearted, but it does actually work whereas the evidence about the results from laser is mixed at best.

Hope that clarifies a few things and bon courage as they say over here!  Electrolysis is a bummer  but it will get you there.
Donna

That makes me really sad since if it really takes that long I have no idea how I'm going to pay for it.

Quote from: Naomi on June 04, 2013, 01:23:43 PM
That makes me really sad since if it really takes that long I have no idea how I'm going to pay for it.

Hi Naomi,
I have given you a picture based on my own experience, that of  a couple of good friends and what my Electrologist has told me. I suggest you also just ask the person you went to. One way or another, I am reasonably sure about the 30% elimination per clearance figure so what is would be interesting for you to establish is how much time is required to do the 1st clearance. That will give you a benchmark to work from.
Overall though, unless you get into DIY electrolysis (slow but perfectly doable by all accounts), do not expect it to be cheap.
Best regards.
Donna

Yeah. My facial hair is red/gray, so it's not really a good candidate for laser (unllike my body hair). I really want to get started with electro, but I'm having problems paying rent at this point in time, so my transition has been put on indefinite hold. I just hope I can keep it together long enough for things to turn around.

Quote from: Donna Elvira on June 04, 2013, 02:17:17 PM
Hi Naomi,
I have given you a picture based on my own experience, that of  a couple of good friends and what my Electrologist has told me. I suggest you also just ask the person you went to. One way or another, I am reasonably sure about the 30% elimination per clearance figure so what is would be interesting for you to establish is how much time is required to do the 1st clearance. That will give you a benchmark to work from.
Overall though, unless you get into DIY electrolysis (slow but perfectly doable by all accounts), do not expect it to be cheap.
Best regards.
Donna

I guess I was just being kind of hopeful and was thinking like 2-3 thousand dollars, but if I went by an estimated 50 hours it would run me closer to 6.

Naomi, hair removal can be the most expensive part of the transition process. Is very unfortunate but that's how it is, especially for those of us cursed with a LOT of hair. Hang in there.

Yeah. Winning the lottery should not be a requisite part of transition.

HRT... Estrogen specifically will make electro longer and harder. E will make the hair take longer to grow out and thinner/weaker... so it's hard for an electrologist to see and kill. It's a zero net sum gain. You'll start to notice the difference after say 6 months to a year on HRT... it will start taking a week for your facial to grow as long as it did in a day or two. This is a sucky part of facial hair removal.

Oh no worries there. My insurance doesn't cover HRT, so it'd be all out of pocket. I figure the  more I get rid of before HRT, the less I have to deal with it once I start. It ain't much but it's something.

Quote from: Naomi on June 04, 2013, 09:13:38 AM
Thanks for the responses everyone, I'll post a second picture up for reference when stuff starts growing back. I was told that it would probably take two sessions at least to permanently remove hair but I feel like a decent chunk of my hair will not come back. Fingers crossed anyways.

Fingers crossed, but don't get your hopes up too high. Some of the areas of my face now have 5+ sessions of electro, and there are still a few stubborn hairs left. My main issue is that depending on the day, we can only do about 30 minutes, even with anaesthetic cream, before my skin simply goes overboard. We did a single 2 hour session initially, and the area took 4 months to recover enough to try again. Very sensitive skin coupled with extremely stubborn hairs is a bad combination. Method is blend, and typically the operator has to use 2 impulses just below the scarring threshold for each hair, some of the most stubborn require up to 5 (just to qualify, the pore reacts picture perfect after the 1st impulse, but the hair simply refuses to budge). Luckily she has a lot of TG experience, as otherwise I think she might have given up after the first few sessions. I started properly 4 months before HRT, but now wish I'd have started 6 months earlier than that...